fix(deploy): auto-pick the only project when --project is missing

internal/commands/deploy.go

@@ -113,6 +113,51 @@ func resolveStartRevision(server *sdk.Server, group *sdk.ServerGroup, flagStart
 	return ""
 }
 
+// resolveDeployProject returns the project identifier for a deploy.
+//
+// When the user did not pass --project (or set DEPLOYHQ_PROJECT / a
+// .deployhq.toml), we mirror the server auto-pick behaviour: if the account
+// has exactly one project, use it. Otherwise return a UserError that lists
+// the available projects so callers (including agents) can retry with a
+// concrete identifier.
+func resolveDeployProject(ctx context.Context, client *sdk.Client, configured string, env *output.Envelope) (string, error) {
+	if configured != "" {
+		return configured, nil
+	}
+
+	projects, err := client.ListProjects(ctx, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Don't swallow the API error — but keep the original "No project
+		// specified" message as the headline so the failure bucket stays
+		// recognisable in telemetry.
+		return "", &output.UserError{
+			Message: "No project specified",
+			Hint:    fmt.Sprintf("Could not auto-detect a project: %v\nPass --project <identifier> or set DEPLOYHQ_PROJECT.", err),
+		}
+	}
+
+	switch len(projects) {
+	case 0:
+		return "", &output.UserError{
+			Message: "No project specified",
+			Hint:    "This account has no projects yet. Create one in the DeployHQ dashboard, then re-run with --project <identifier>.",
+		}
+	case 1:
+		env.Status("Auto-selected project: %s", projects[0].Name)
+		return projects[0].Identifier, nil
+	default:
+		items := make([]string, 0, len(projects))
+		for _, p := range projects {
+			items = append(items, fmt.Sprintf("%s (%s)", p.Identifier, p.Name))
+		}
+		return "", &output.UserError{
+			Message: "No project specified",
+			Hint: fmt.Sprintf("Account has %d projects — pass --project <identifier>. Available: %s",
+				len(projects), strings.Join(items, ", ")),
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // resolveLatestRevision tries to find the latest revision for a project,
 // falling back to the most recent deployment's end revision if the
 // repository endpoint fails (e.g. empty repo, missing default branch).
@@ -260,7 +305,7 @@ func newDeployCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "deploy",
 		Short: "Deploy to a server (shortcut for deployments create)",
-		Long:  "Create a deployment. Shortcut for 'dhq deployments create'.\n\nBy default deploys are incremental: the start revision defaults to the server's last successfully deployed commit. Use --full to deploy the entire branch from the first commit.\n\nUse --wait (-w) to watch the deployment until it completes or fails.",
+		Long:  "Create a deployment. Shortcut for 'dhq deployments create'.\n\nBy default deploys are incremental: the start revision defaults to the server's last successfully deployed commit. Use --full to deploy the entire branch from the first commit.\n\nUse --wait (-w) to watch the deployment until it completes or fails.\n\nWhen --project is not provided (and DEPLOYHQ_PROJECT / .deployhq.toml don't set it), `dhq deploy` auto-selects the only project on the account; if there are multiple, the error lists them so you can pick.",
 		Example: `  # Deploy the latest revision (auto-selects the only server, uses the server's preferred branch)
   dhq deploy
 
@@ -282,11 +327,6 @@ func newDeployCmd() *cobra.Command {
   # Deploy the entire branch from the first commit (overrides incremental default)
   dhq deploy --full`,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			projectID, err := cliCtx.RequireProject()
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-
 			if dryRun && wait {
 				return &output.UserError{
 					Message: "--dry-run and --wait are mutually exclusive",
@@ -305,6 +345,11 @@ func newDeployCmd() *cobra.Command {
 
 			env := cliCtx.Envelope
 
+			projectID, err := resolveDeployProject(cliCtx.Background(), client, cliCtx.Config.Project, env)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
 			// Track the Server or ServerGroup we resolved to, so branch/revision lookup
 			// can reuse them without extra round-trips. Exactly one of these will be
 			// non-nil once the target is locked in (or both nil for a project-wide deploy).

internal/commands/deploy_test.go

@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 package commands
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/deployhq/deployhq-cli/internal/output"
 	"github.com/deployhq/deployhq-cli/pkg/sdk"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -505,6 +508,99 @@ func TestResolveBranchAndRevision_ServerPreferredBranchBeatsGroup(t *testing.T)
 	assert.Equal(t, "sha-of-server", revision)
 }
 
+// testEnvelope returns an Envelope wired to a bytes.Buffer so Status messages
+// are captured for assertion.
+func testEnvelope() (*output.Envelope, *bytes.Buffer) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	return &output.Envelope{Stdout: io.Discard, Stderr: &buf}, &buf
+}
+
+func TestResolveDeployProject_ConfiguredShortCircuits(t *testing.T) {
+	// No API server: a configured project must NOT trigger ListProjects.
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected request: %s %s", r.Method, r.URL.Path)
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	client := newTestSDKClient(t, srv)
+	env, _ := testEnvelope()
+
+	id, err := resolveDeployProject(t.Context(), client, "my-app", env)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "my-app", id)
+}
+
+func TestResolveDeployProject_AutoPicksLoneProject(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		assert.Equal(t, "/projects", r.URL.Path)
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode([]sdk.Project{{Identifier: "only-id", Name: "Only Project"}})
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	client := newTestSDKClient(t, srv)
+	env, stderr := testEnvelope()
+
+	id, err := resolveDeployProject(t.Context(), client, "", env)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "only-id", id)
+	assert.Contains(t, stderr.String(), "Auto-selected project: Only Project")
+}
+
+func TestResolveDeployProject_MultipleProjectsListsThem(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode([]sdk.Project{
+			{Identifier: "a-id", Name: "Alpha"},
+			{Identifier: "b-id", Name: "Beta"},
+			{Identifier: "c-id", Name: "Gamma"},
+		})
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	client := newTestSDKClient(t, srv)
+	env, _ := testEnvelope()
+
+	id, err := resolveDeployProject(t.Context(), client, "", env)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Empty(t, id)
+	msg := err.Error()
+	// Headline preserved for telemetry continuity.
+	firstLine := strings.SplitN(msg, "\n", 2)[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "No project specified", firstLine)
+	// Hint lists each project so agents can self-correct on retry.
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "3 projects")
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "a-id (Alpha)")
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "b-id (Beta)")
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "c-id (Gamma)")
+}
+
+func TestResolveDeployProject_ZeroProjects(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode([]sdk.Project{})
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	client := newTestSDKClient(t, srv)
+	env, _ := testEnvelope()
+
+	id, err := resolveDeployProject(t.Context(), client, "", env)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Empty(t, id)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "No project specified")
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "no projects yet")
+}
+
+func TestResolveDeployProject_APIErrorKeepsHeadline(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	client := newTestSDKClient(t, srv)
+	env, _ := testEnvelope()
+
+	_, err := resolveDeployProject(t.Context(), client, "", env)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	// The "No project specified" headline must survive telemetry sanitization
+	// (which keeps only the first line) so the failure bucket stays recognisable.
+	firstLine := strings.SplitN(err.Error(), "\n", 2)[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "No project specified", firstLine)
+}
+
 // TestResolveLatestRevision_EmbedsStatusCodeInMessage guards the telemetry
 // regression: SanitizeErrorMessage keeps only the first line of err.Error(),
 // so anything in the Hint never reaches the dashboard. The status code must