Contentstack Launch Setup Guide

This guide walks you through setting up Contentstack Launch to use with dotman. By the end, you'll have all the credentials needed to securely manage your environment variables.

Prerequisites

• A Contentstack account with access to Launch
• A Launch project already created (dotman does not create Launch projects)
• Access to the Contentstack API docs ("Run in Swagger" is helpful for generating auth tokens)

What You'll Set Up

Step 1: Get Your Organization UID

Get the Organization UID from Organization Information in the new navigation:

1. Log in to your Contentstack account.
2. Click your Profile menu in the top-right and switch to the organization you use for Launch.
3. Click the 9-dot App Switcher in the top-right and open Administration.
4. Open Organization Information (or the Info tab, depending on your account UI).
5. Copy the Organization ID value shown there.

Use this value as CS_LAUNCH_ORGANIZATION_UID.

Step 2: Get Your Launch Project UID

Get the Launch Project UID from Launch project settings:

1. Click the 9-dot App Switcher in the top-right and open Launch.
2. Select the Launch project you want dotman to manage.
3. Click the project Settings icon.
4. Open General and go to Project Details.
5. Copy the Project UID value.

Save this as CS_LAUNCH_PROJECT_UID.

Step 3: Generate an Auth Token

Generate your auth token by following this exact guide:

https://www.contentstack.com/docs/developers/apis/launch-api#how-to-get-authtoken

Complete the steps in that section and copy the authtoken value from the response.

Save this as CS_LAUNCH_AUTH_TOKEN.

Step 4: Confirm Your Launch API Base URL (Optional)

dotman defaults to:

If your Launch project is in another region, set CS_LAUNCH_API_URL to that region-specific Launch API URL (for example https://eu-launch-api.contentstack.com).

Known Launch API base URLs from Contentstack docs:

Step 5: Understand Environment Mapping

dotman uses this environment mapping with Contentstack Launch:

• master (the .env file) maps to Launch environment Default
• For non-master environments, dotman maps by the same name. Example: .env.stag syncs with Launch environment stag.
• Launch environments must be created by you in Contentstack; dotman does not create Launch environments

When you run dotman env new <name>, dotman first checks whether Launch environment <name> exists in your configured project (CS_LAUNCH_PROJECT_UID). It creates local .env.<name> only after that validation passes.

Example: if your Launch project already has environment stag, then dotman env new stag creates local .env.stag, and dotman push -e stag --apply syncs variables with Launch environment stag.

Step 6: Configure dotman

Run:

When prompted, select Contentstack Launch and enter:

• Project name: your dotman project name (for example my-app)
• Auth token: CS_LAUNCH_AUTH_TOKEN
• Organization UID: CS_LAUNCH_ORGANIZATION_UID
• Launch project UID: CS_LAUNCH_PROJECT_UID
• Launch API URL: optional (CS_LAUNCH_API_URL)

dotman will create/update your .env file and validate your Launch project connectivity.

Launch-Specific Notes

• Empty values are not allowed in Launch environment variables. dotman push --apply will fail if any variable value is empty.
• During initialization, dotman validates connectivity by calling GET /projects/{project_uid}.
• dotman requires an existing Launch project and existing Launch environments; it validates them but does not create them for you.

Quick Reference

After setup, your .env file should contain:

Helpful Links

• Launch API Documentation
• How to Get authtoken
• Contentstack Home and Top Navigation (App Switcher + profile org switch)
• Switch Between Organizations
• Organization Settings Overview
• Organization Information (where Organization ID is shown)
• Launch Environments
• Launch Environment Variables
• Content Management API - User Session