CLI: Serverless Containers

Deploy and manage serverless containers using the DanubeData CLI.

Prerequisites

DanubeData CLI installed
Authenticated via danube login or DANUBE_TOKEN

Quick start

Deploy a serverless container from a Docker image:

Bash

danube rapids create --name my-api --type docker_image --image node --tag 20-alpine --port 3000

Or deploy from a local directory:

Bash

danube rapids create --name my-api --type zip_upload --source-type dockerfile
danube rapids deploy my-api --dir ./

Listing containers

Bash

danube rapids ls

Shows all containers with name, status, resource profile, URL, and creation date.

Creating a container

Bash

danube rapids create

Without flags, the CLI guides you through interactive prompts. You can also pass flags for non-interactive creation.

From a Docker image

Bash

danube rapids create \
  --name my-api \
  --type docker_image \
  --image node \
  --tag 20-alpine \
  --profile small \
  --port 3000

From a Git repository

Bash

danube rapids create \
  --name my-api \
  --type git_repository \
  --repo https://github.com/username/my-api \
  --source-type dockerfile \
  --profile small \
  --port 8080

Build methods:

dockerfile — Uses your project's Dockerfile
buildpack — Auto-detects runtime (Node.js, Python, Go, Java, Ruby, PHP, .NET, Rust)

From a local directory (ZIP upload)

Bash

danube rapids create \
  --name my-api \
  --type zip_upload \
  --source-type buildpack \
  --profile small \
  --port 3000

Then deploy your code:

Bash

danube rapids deploy my-api --dir ./

Resource profiles

Profile	vCPU	Memory
`free`	0.01-0.1	64-128 MB
`micro`	0.1-1	256-512 MB
`small`	0.5-1	256-512 MB
`medium`	1-2	512 MB-1 GB
`large`	2-4	1-2 GB

Billing is pay-per-use, with a free tier of 2 million requests per month.

Deploying code

Deploy from a local directory to an existing container:

Bash

danube rapids deploy my-api

Deploy a specific directory:

Bash

danube rapids deploy my-api --dir ./app

Deploy without waiting for the build to complete:

Bash

danube rapids deploy my-api --no-wait

The CLI packages your files into a ZIP, uploads them, and polls the build status every 2 seconds (timeout: 10 minutes).

Container resolution

You can reference containers by name, slug, ID, or ID prefix:

Bash

danube rapids deploy my-api          # by name
danube rapids deploy 42              # by ID
danube rapids deploy a1b2            # by ID prefix

Viewing container details

Bash

danube rapids show my-api

Displays:

ID, status, and deployment type
Image and port
Resource profile and monthly cost
Scaling configuration (min/max replicas, metric, targets)
Environment variables (values masked)

Updating a container

Update any configuration without redeploying:

Bash

# Change resource profile
danube rapids update my-api --profile medium

# Update scaling
danube rapids update my-api --min-scale 1 --max-scale 20

# Change scaling metric
danube rapids update my-api --scaling-metric concurrency --concurrency-target 50

# Set request timeout (max 3600 seconds)
danube rapids update my-api --timeout 300

# Update Docker image
danube rapids update my-api --image node --tag 22-alpine

# Add/update environment variables
danube rapids update my-api --env DATABASE_URL=postgres://... --env API_KEY=secret

# Remove environment variables
danube rapids update my-api --rm-env OLD_KEY UNUSED_KEY

# Combine multiple updates
danube rapids update my-api \
  --profile large \
  --min-scale 2 \
  --max-scale 50 \
  --env NODE_ENV=production

update returns as soon as the change is accepted. To block until that change has been rolled out (CLI 1.3.0 and later):

Bash

danube rapids update my-api --tag "$SHA" --wait --wait-timeout 10m

--wait exits non-zero only when the rollout settled as failed; a timeout means it is still in progress. Changes sent while a rollout is running are queued behind it, never dropped — send each change once, in a single update, rather than as several quick calls. See Rapids automation for what the wait checks.

Scaling options

Flag	Description	Default
`--min-scale <n>`	Minimum replicas (0 = scale-to-zero)	0
`--max-scale <n>`	Maximum replicas	10
`--scaling-metric <metric>`	`rps` or `concurrency`	`rps`
`--scaling-target <n>`	Target requests per second per pod	100
`--concurrency-target <n>`	Target concurrent requests per pod	100
`--timeout <seconds>`	Request timeout (max 3600)	300

Deleting a container

Bash

danube rapids rm my-api

Prompts for confirmation. Use -y to skip:

Bash

danube rapids rm my-api -y

Deployment history

Bash

danube rapids deployments my-api

Shows all deployments with revision number, status, image:tag, traffic percentage, and deployment date.

Usage and billing

Bash

danube rapids usage my-api

Displays:

Total requests
Total compute seconds
Monthly cost

Filter by billing period:

Bash

danube rapids usage my-api --period 2026-01

Complete workflow example

Bash

# Install the CLI
npm install -g @danubedata/cli

# Authenticate
danube login

# Create a container from a Docker image
danube rapids create \
  --name my-api \
  --type docker_image \
  --image myorg/my-api \
  --tag v1.0.0 \
  --profile small \
  --port 8080

# View the container
danube rapids show my-api

# Update environment variables
danube rapids update my-api \
  --env DATABASE_URL=postgres://db.example.com/mydb \
  --env API_KEY=sk-abc123

# Scale up for production
danube rapids update my-api \
  --profile medium \
  --min-scale 1 \
  --max-scale 20

# Check usage
danube rapids usage my-api

# View deployment history
danube rapids deployments my-api

Next steps

CLI Overview — Installation, auth, and configuration
CLI: Static Sites — Static site deployment commands
Serverless Containers overview — Full product reference
Serverless Invoking — Code examples for calling your containers

Questions? Contact support at support@danubedata.ro