Netlify Platform Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-05-22

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Netlify is a cloud platform for building, deploying, and scaling modern web projects — particularly those following the Jamstack architecture (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup). It connects directly to Git repositories, automates CI/CD builds, and distributes sites across a global edge CDN on every push. The platform's key insight is that by pre-building and pre-serving as much content as possible at the network edge, developers avoid managing servers entirely while still powering dynamic experiences through serverless functions and edge compute. Understanding where each Netlify primitive (functions, edge functions, blobs, redirects) fits in the request-processing order is essential for using the platform effectively.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 20 focused tables and 185 indexed concepts, 150 flashcards. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Core Platform Concepts and Jamstack ArchitectureTable 2: Build Settings and ConfigurationTable 3: Deploy ContextsTable 4: netlify.toml File-Based ConfigurationTable 5: Netlify CLITable 6: Serverless FunctionsTable 7: Edge FunctionsTable 8: Environment Variables and SecretsTable 9: Redirects, Rewrites, and HeadersTable 10: Deploy Previews and Git IntegrationTable 11: Split Testing and Feature FlagsTable 12: Forms and IdentityTable 13: Image CDN and On-Demand BuildersTable 14: Build PluginsTable 15: Custom Domains, DNS, and HTTPSTable 16: Pricing Plans and Cost ModelTable 17: Framework Presets and Monorepo SupportTable 18: Team Collaboration and Access ControlTable 19: Netlify vs Vercel vs Cloudflare PagesTable 20: Troubleshooting and Common Issues

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Table 1: Core Platform Concepts and Jamstack Architecture

Netlify's architecture is built around the principle that serving pre-built static assets from a global CDN beats running application servers for most workloads — dynamic logic is added through APIs and serverless compute instead of traditional backend servers. These core concepts define how Netlify positions itself in the modern web ecosystem.

Concept	Example	Description
Jamstack	Site = static HTML built from React + API calls at run time	Architecture pattern: JavaScript, APIs, and Markup — pre-built files served from CDN, dynamic logic via APIs and serverless functions.
Atomic deploy	All files for a deploy go live simultaneously	• Each deploy is an immutable, all-or-nothing snapshot • the CDN switches from old to new version instantly with no partial states
Instant cache invalidation	New deploy live in seconds, old cache gone	When a new deploy goes live, Netlify invalidates the CDN cache for all changed files immediately — no stale-content window.
Global edge CDN	Site served from nearest of 100+ PoPs worldwide	• Static assets are distributed across Netlify's edge network • requests are routed to the geographically closest node automatically
Continuous deployment	Push to `main` → build → deploy	• Netlify links to a Git repo • every push triggers a build and deploy with no manual steps needed
Rollback	Click "Publish deploy" on any older deploy in the UI	Every past deploy is retained and can be instantly republished as the live production site from the Netlify UI.
Deploy preview	PR #42 gets `deploy-preview-42--mysite.netlify.app`	Every pull/merge request automatically gets its own unique URL where the proposed changes can be reviewed before merging.
Branch deploy	`staging` branch → `staging--mysite.netlify.app`	Any non-production branch can be deployed to a persistent URL for long-running test environments or staging setups.
netlify.app subdomain	`mysite.netlify.app` (free, auto-assigned)	• Every site gets a free `*.netlify.app` subdomain at creation • this persists even when a custom domain is added

Table 2: Build Settings and Configuration

Build configuration tells Netlify how to compile your source code into a deployable output. Settings can be defined in the Netlify UI, in netlify.toml at repo root, or both — with netlify.toml taking precedence over UI settings for the same property.

Setting	Example	Description
Build command	`npm run build`	• Shell command Netlify runs to produce the site output • runs in the Bash shell so Bash syntax is supported

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 3: Deploy Contexts

Deploy contexts let you vary build commands, environment variables, and plugin behavior depending on where a deploy is going — production, a PR preview, or a branch. Context-aware settings in netlify.toml use [context.*] blocks and are the primary way to manage environment-specific configuration without duplicating code.

Context	Example	Description
production	`[context.production]` `command = "make publish"`	• Deploys from the production branch (typically `main`) • receives its own block in `netlify.toml` for production-specific overrides

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 4: netlify.toml File-Based Configuration

The netlify.toml file is the single most important configuration artifact on Netlify — it defines build settings, deploy contexts, redirects, headers, function settings, and plugin declarations in one version-controlled place. Settings in this file override their UI equivalents.

Section	Example	Description
[build] block	`[build]` `base = "project/"` `publish = "build-output/"` `command = "npm run build"`	Defines the global build settings: base dir, publish dir, and build command for all deploy contexts by default.

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 1: Core Platform Concepts and Jamstack Architecture

Concept	Example	Description
Jamstack	Site = static HTML built from React + API calls at run time	Architecture pattern: JavaScript, APIs, and Markup — pre-built files served from CDN, dynamic logic via APIs and serverless functions.
Atomic deploy	All files for a deploy go live simultaneously	• Each deploy is an immutable, all-or-nothing snapshot • the CDN switches from old to new version instantly with no partial states
Instant cache invalidation	New deploy live in seconds, old cache gone	When a new deploy goes live, Netlify invalidates the CDN cache for all changed files immediately — no stale-content window.
Global edge CDN	Site served from nearest of 100+ PoPs worldwide	• Static assets are distributed across Netlify's edge network • requests are routed to the geographically closest node automatically
Continuous deployment	Push to `main` → build → deploy	• Netlify links to a Git repo • every push triggers a build and deploy with no manual steps needed
Rollback	Click "Publish deploy" on any older deploy in the UI	Every past deploy is retained and can be instantly republished as the live production site from the Netlify UI.
Deploy preview	PR #42 gets `deploy-preview-42--mysite.netlify.app`	Every pull/merge request automatically gets its own unique URL where the proposed changes can be reviewed before merging.
Branch deploy	`staging` branch → `staging--mysite.netlify.app`	Any non-production branch can be deployed to a persistent URL for long-running test environments or staging setups.
netlify.app subdomain	`mysite.netlify.app` (free, auto-assigned)	• Every site gets a free `*.netlify.app` subdomain at creation • this persists even when a custom domain is added

Table 2: Build Settings and Configuration

Setting	Example	Description
Build command	`npm run build`	• Shell command Netlify runs to produce the site output • runs in the Bash shell so Bash syntax is supported

Table 3: Deploy Contexts

Context	Example	Description
production	`[context.production]` `command = "make publish"`	• Deploys from the production branch (typically `main`) • receives its own block in `netlify.toml` for production-specific overrides

Table 4: netlify.toml File-Based Configuration

Section	Example	Description
[build] block	`[build]` `base = "project/"` `publish = "build-output/"` `command = "npm run build"`	Defines the global build settings: base dir, publish dir, and build command for all deploy contexts by default.