Vercel deployment status in your Mac menu bar
ShipBoard shows the latest Vercel deployment for each project and environment you pick — Production, Preview or a custom environment — in the macOS menu bar, and sends a native notification the moment a build fails.
What you see for each environment
- The newest deployment per environment, split into Build and Deploy steps.
- The Git branch and commit message, for projects connected to GitHub.
- Open deployment on Vercel to jump to the deployment inspector.
- Green when ready; red on error; amber while queued, initializing or building; grey when canceled.
Set it up
- Create an access token in your Vercel account settings. Choose a scope that covers the projects you want: Full Account includes your personal projects and every team you belong to.
- In ShipBoard, click +, choose Vercel, and paste the token. It’s verified with Vercel, then saved to your Keychain.
- Search your projects and tick the environments to watch.
What access ShipBoard needs
| Credential | A Vercel access token, stored in the macOS Keychain. |
|---|---|
| Scope | Vercel tokens are scoped to your full account, one team or one project, and can’t be made read-only. ShipBoard only makes read requests. |
| API calls | GET /v2/user, /v2/teams, /v9/projects, …/custom-environments, /v6/deployments |
ShipBoard never creates, promotes or deletes deployments. Setting an expiry date on the token is a good habit.
Good to know
- Build logs aren’t shown — open the deployment on Vercel for those.
- Branch and commit details appear for projects connected to GitHub.
- The picker lists up to 100 projects.
Vercel FAQ
Does ShipBoard see my team projects?
Yes. With a Full Account token it lists your personal projects and every team you belong to.
Can the token be read-only?
Vercel doesn’t offer read-only tokens. ShipBoard only sends GET requests, and the token never leaves your Mac except to talk to Vercel.
Can I watch preview deployments?
Yes. Pick Production, Preview or any custom environment for each project.
Will it tell me when a build fails?
Yes. macOS shows a native notification when a deployment goes from building to failed, and optionally when it succeeds. You can turn each one off in Settings.
How often does ShipBoard check Vercel?
Every 30 seconds by default; you can choose anything from 15 seconds to 5 minutes in Settings. Each check makes one read-only request per environment you watch, and if Vercel can’t be reached ShipBoard retries every 15 seconds until it’s back.
What happens when my token expires?
The Vercel group on the board shows “Your Vercel token is invalid or expired.” Use Set Vercel token on that row to paste a new one, and the deployments refresh straight away.