My app has no railway.json or railway.toml. Is that a problem?

No: your agent starts from your code, which while detects automatically in Node.js, Python or Go, or from your Dockerfile.

Do I need to write a Dockerfile?

No, a Node.js, Python or Go app is detected automatically. If your app already has its own, while uses it.

Can I keep Railway while I check?

Yes, your app runs on while at its own address before you switch your domain.

Migrate from Railway over MCP, without a rewrite

Your customers want their data in France, or you want an agent that deploys for you? Connected to while over MCP, it takes over your Railway app as is, copies the database and deploys it.

Prerequisites

An app on Railway, in Node.js, Python or Go, or with its Dockerfile.
The Railway command line, to read your variables and export the database.
An AI agent that works in a terminal: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Gemini CLI.

Step 1: Give your agent these instructions

Open your agent in your app’s folder and paste these instructions into it:

Instructions

Connect to while with my account (while.sh/agents), then deploy my app.

With your account, your agent adds while’s MCP server itself. On the first call to while, a page opens in your browser: choose “A new app”, then click Authorize.

Step 2: Open your app

Your agent gives you your app’s address, for example https://mon-appli.while.cloud, over HTTPS.

What your agent does

It reads your railway.json or railway.toml, if there is one¹, and carries its settings over to while.yaml:

In railway.json	In while.yaml
`startCommand`	the service’s command, `command`
`healthcheckPath`	the health path, `health.path`
`cronSchedule`	a scheduled job, in `crons`
`dockerfilePath`	the service’s Dockerfile, `dockerfile`

while.yaml

apiVersion: while/v1
project: mon-appli
services:
  - name: web
    health:
      path: /health
databases:
  - name: main

Copy your Railway database

You, to your agent: Copy our Railway database to while.

Your agent exports the database with pg_dump, through the database’s public address (DATABASE_PUBLIC_URL) or through a Railway command-line tunnel, then loads it into while³.

Carry over your variables

You, to your agent: Carry over our Railway variables.

Your agent reads your variables with railway variable list² and carries them over to while. Sealed variables don’t come out²: those, and your secret keys, you enter yourself in while, and your agent never sees them.

Move to your own domain

You, to your agent: Put the app on www.acme.com.

Your agent declares the domain, you add the DNS records it gives you, and the HTTPS certificate follows.

Go back to the previous version

You, to your agent: Go back to the previous version.

In the 30 minutes after a deployment, the previous version comes back in a second. After that, it takes a few seconds.

In the docs: PostgreSQL databases, Scheduled jobs, Custom domain, Versions and rollback and Variables and secrets.

Leave Railway without rewriting your app, from your AI agent