Deploying to IC Mainnet

This guide walks through deploying your canisters to the Internet Computer mainnet.

Prerequisites

Before deploying to mainnet, ensure you have:

1. A working project — Test locally first with icp deploy on your local network
2. An identity — See Managing Identities
3. Cycles — Canisters require cycles to run on mainnet

Setting Up an Identity

If you haven’t already, create an identity:

icp identity new mainnet-deployer

Set it as default:

icp identity default mainnet-deployer

View your principal:

icp identity principal

Acquiring Cycles

Canisters need cycles to operate on mainnet. You’ll need cycles before deploying.

Quick start:

# Check your cycles balance
icp cycles balance -e ic

# Convert ICP to cycles (if you have ICP)
icp cycles mint --icp 1 -e ic

How many cycles do you need?

• Creating a canister: ~100B cycles (0.1T)
• Simple backend: 1-5T cycles lasts weeks to months
• Start with 1-2T cycles and top up as needed

For detailed information on acquiring ICP, converting to cycles, and managing balances, see Tokens and Cycles.

Deploying

To deploy to the IC mainnet, use the implicit ic environment with the --environment ic flag or the -e ic shorthand:

icp deploy --environment ic

This will:

1. Build your canisters
2. Create canisters on mainnet (if first deployment)
3. Install your WASM code
4. Run any sync steps (e.g., asset uploads)

Deploying Specific Canisters

Deploy only certain canisters:

icp deploy frontend --environment ic

Using Environments

You can configure multiple environments pointing to the IC mainnet in icp.yaml:

environments:
  - name: prod
    network: ic  # ic is an implicit network
  - name: staging
    network: ic

This allows you to deploy independent sets of canisters for each environment:

icp deploy -e staging
icp deploy --environment prod

See Managing Environments for setup details.

Verifying Deployment

List canisters configured in this environment:

# List the canisters in an environment
icp canister list -e myenv

# Check canister status:
icp canister status my-canister -e myenv

# Call a method to verify it's working:
icp canister call my-canister greet '("World")' -e myenv

Updating Deployed Canisters

After making changes, redeploy:

icp deploy --environment prod

This rebuilds and upgrades your existing canisters, preserving their state.

Managing Canister Settings

View current settings:

icp canister settings show my-canister -e prod

Update settings:

icp canister settings update my-canister --freezing-threshold 2592000 -e prod

Topping Up Cycles

Monitor canister cycles and top up when needed:

# Check canister cycles balance
icp canister status my-canister -e prod

# Top up with 1 trillion cycles
icp canister top-up my-canister --amount 1000000000000 -e prod

See Tokens and Cycles for more on managing cycles.

Troubleshooting

“Insufficient cycles”

Your canister needs more cycles. Top up using:

icp canister top-up my-canister --amount 1000000000000 -e prod

“Not a controller”

You’re not authorized to modify this canister. Verify you’re using the correct identity:

icp identity principal
icp identity list

If needed, switch to the correct identity:

icp identity default <identity-name>

Next Steps

• Tokens and Cycles — Managing ICP and cycles in detail
• Managing Environments — Set up staging and production

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