publish-models

Docs

Cog reference: https://cog.run/llms.txt
```
cog push
```
reference: https://cog.run/cli#cog-push
cog-safe-push: https://github.com/replicate/cog-safe-push
Model CI template: https://github.com/replicate/model-ci-template
Continuous deployment guide: https://replicate.com/docs/guides/continuous-model-deployment

When to use this skill

You have a working Cog project (see
```
build-models
```
if you don't yet).
You want to publish a private or public model on Replicate.
You're releasing a new version of an existing model and want to avoid breaking changes.
You're setting up CI/CD for model releases.

Prerequisites

Cog installed and

cog login

against

r8.im

(or

echo $TOKEN | cog login --token-stdin

A model created at
```
replicate.com/{owner}/{name}
```
via the API, web UI, or
```
r8-model
```
CLI.
```
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN
```
set in your environment.

Plain

cog push

The simplest path. Build and upload a new version:

cog push r8.im/owner/my-model

Or set

image: r8.im/owner/my-model

cog.yaml

and run a bare:

cog push

Useful flags:

```
--separate-weights
```
— store weights in a separate layer; faster cold boots and pushes for models with > 1GB of weights.
```
--x-fast
```
— faster pushes during iteration (skips some validation).
```
--secret id=hf,src=$HOME/.hf_token
```
— pass build-time secrets without baking them into image history.

cog-safe-push (recommended for any model with users)

cog-safe-push

pushes to a private

-test

model first, checks schema compatibility against the live version, runs prediction comparisons, and fuzzes inputs. Catches breaking changes before they reach users.

Install:

pip install git+https://github.com/replicate/cog-safe-push.git

Required env vars:

```
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN
```
```
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
```
(Claude judges output similarity for stochastic models)

Basic usage:

cog-safe-push --test-hardware=gpu-l40s owner/my-model

This will:

Lint
```
predict.py
```
with ruff.
Create a private test model
```
owner/my-model-test
```
if missing.
Push the local Cog model to the test model.
Lint the schema (descriptions, defaults, etc.).
Check schema compatibility against the live
```
owner/my-model
```
version.
Run prediction comparisons between live and test versions.
Fuzz the test model with AI-generated inputs.
If everything passes, push to
```
owner/my-model
```
.

cog-safe-push.yaml schema

Drop a

cog-safe-push.yaml

in your project root (or

cog-safe-push-configs/<variant>.yaml

for multi-model repos). All five test-case checker types in one example:

yaml

model: owner/my-model
test_model: owner/my-model-test
test_hardware: gpu-l40s

predict:
  compare_outputs: false              # set false for stochastic models
  predict_timeout: 600
  test_cases:
    - inputs:
        prompt: "a serene mountain landscape"
      match_prompt: "a landscape photo of mountains"   # AI-judged via Claude
    - inputs:
        prompt: "a cat"
      match_url: "https://example.com/reference-cat.png"   # binary/image match
    - inputs:
        prompt: ""
      error_contains: "prompt cannot be empty"           # negative test
    - inputs:
        mode: "json"
      jq_query: '.confidence > 0.8 and .status == "success"'   # JSON output
    - inputs:
        prompt: "echo this"
      exact_string: "echo this"                          # exact string match
  fuzz:
    fixed_inputs:
      seed: 42
    disabled_inputs:
      - debug
    iterations: 10
    prompt: "Generate creative and diverse prompts"

train:                                  # if your model has a trainer
  destination: owner/my-model-trained
  destination_hardware: gpu-l40s
  train_timeout: 1800
  test_cases:
    - inputs:
        input_images: "https://.../training.zip"
        steps: 10

deployment:                             # auto-create or update on push
  name: my-model
  owner: owner
  hardware: gpu-l40s

parallel: 4
fast_push: false
ignore_schema_compatibility: false
official_model: owner/my-model         # for proxy/wrapper models, see below

Test case checkers are mutually exclusive: pick exactly one of

match_prompt

match_url

error_contains

jq_query

, or

exact_string

per case. Use

compare_outputs: false

for any stochastic model (diffusion, LLMs); the default

true

is brittle.

CI/CD: GitHub Actions

Two paths, depending on how much glue you want.

Path A: roll your own

yaml

# .github/workflows/push.yaml
name: Push to Replicate
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      no_push:
        type: boolean
        default: false

jobs:
  push:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest-4-cores       # builds need disk + cores
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: jlumbroso/free-disk-space@v1.3.1
        with:
          tool-cache: false
          docker-images: false
      - uses: replicate/setup-cog@v2
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.REPLICATE_API_TOKEN }}
      - run: pip install git+https://github.com/replicate/cog-safe-push.git
      - env:
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          REPLICATE_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REPLICATE_API_TOKEN }}
        run: |
          cog-safe-push -vv ${{ inputs.no_push && '--no-push' || '' }}

Add a

concurrency:

block so PR builds cancel each other while main-branch pushes queue:

yaml

concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.ref != 'refs/heads/main' }}

Path B: reusable workflow from model-ci-template

For Replicate-style multi-model repos, drop in:

yaml

# .github/workflows/ci.yaml
name: CI
on:
  pull_request: { branches: [main] }
  push: { branches: [main] }
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      models: { type: string, default: "all" }
      ignore_schema_checks: { type: boolean, default: false }
      cog_version: { type: string, default: "latest" }
      test_only: { type: boolean, default: false }

jobs:
  ci:
    uses: replicate/model-ci-template/.github/workflows/template.yaml@main
    with:
      trigger_type: ${{ github.event_name }}
      models: ${{ inputs.models || 'all' }}
      ignore_schema_checks: ${{ inputs.ignore_schema_checks || false }}
      cog_version: ${{ inputs.cog_version || 'latest' }}
      test_only: ${{ inputs.test_only || false }}
    secrets: inherit

The reusable workflow expects:

```
cog-safe-push-configs/<model>.yaml
```
— one per model variant.
```
script/select-model
```
— bash file with
```
if/elif [[ "$MODEL" == "..." ]]
```
blocks listing valid model names.

Secrets:

COG_TOKEN

REPLICATE_API_TOKEN

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Multi-model matrix pushes

Pattern from

replicate/cog-flux

: one repo, N variants, push them in parallel.

yaml

jobs:
  prepare:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      matrix: ${{ steps.set.outputs.matrix }}
    steps:
      - id: set
        run: |
          if [ "${{ inputs.models }}" = "all" ]; then
            echo 'matrix={"model":["schnell","dev","krea-dev"]}' >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          else
            list=$(echo "${{ inputs.models }}" | jq -Rc 'split(",")')
            echo "matrix={\"model\":$list}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          fi

  push:
    needs: prepare
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest-4-cores
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix: ${{ fromJson(needs.prepare.outputs.matrix) }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: ./script/select.sh ${{ matrix.model }}     # produces cog.yaml from a template
      - run: cog-safe-push --config cog-safe-push-configs/${{ matrix.model }}.yaml -vv

Two-pass push for proxy / official models

When you maintain a proxy that wraps a third-party API, you push to a private wrapper first, then update the public-facing official model card. Pattern from

replicate/cog-official-template

bash

./script/write-api-key                                              # bake API key into config
cog-safe-push --config cog-safe-push-configs/${MODEL}.yaml -vv

./script/delete-api-key                                             # strip the key
cog-safe-push --push-official-model --config cog-safe-push-configs/${MODEL}.yaml -vv

Set

official_model: owner/name

in the config so

--push-official-model

knows where to publish.

Deployments

Add a

deployment

block to

cog-safe-push.yaml

to create or update a Replicate deployment automatically on each push:

yaml

deployment:
  name: my-model
  owner: owner
  hardware: gpu-l40s

Scaling defaults: CPU deployments scale 1-20 instances, GPU deployments scale 0-2. Adjust manually via the API or web UI when needed.

Monitoring published models

Run an hourly canary that exercises the registry path. Pattern from

replicate/cog-pagerduty-check

yaml

name: Hourly cog push check
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 * * * *"
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          # generate a tiny model with a unique uuid, push it, run a prediction
          # by digest, fail loudly if anything breaks.
          ./script/canary.sh

Worth doing for any production-critical model, especially when revenue depends on the registry being up.

Guidelines

Don't break schema compatibility unless you mean to. cog-safe-push catches it;
```
--ignore-schema-compatibility
```
is the opt-out.
Pin
```
test_hardware
```
so test pushes are reproducible.
Use
```
--no-push
```
for dry runs in PR CI; full push on merge to main or on version tags.
Push from CI rather than laptops once you have users.
Use
```
compare_outputs: false
```
for stochastic models. Use
```
match_prompt:
```
for image/video outputs (VLM judgment),
```
match_url:
```
for binary outputs you control,
```
jq_query:
```
for JSON,
```
error_contains:
```
for negative tests.
Never commit
```
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN
```
or
```
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
```
. Use repo secrets.
For models with weights > 1GB, push with
```
--separate-weights
```
.

Production references

https://github.com/replicate/cog-safe-push — the tool itself, plus its config schema.
https://github.com/replicate/model-ci-template — reusable GitHub Actions workflow.
https://github.com/replicate/cog-official-template — proxy/official model template.
https://github.com/replicate/cog-flux/blob/main/.github/workflows/push.yaml — matrix push across FLUX variants.
https://github.com/replicate/cog-comfyui/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yaml — ComfyUI model CI with custom-node install step.
https://github.com/replicate/cog-pagerduty-check — hourly canary pattern.

publish-models

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Docs

When to use this skill

Prerequisites

Plain
`cog push`

cog-safe-push (recommended for any model with users)

cog-safe-push.yaml schema

CI/CD: GitHub Actions

Path A: roll your own

Path B: reusable workflow from model-ci-template

Multi-model matrix pushes

Two-pass push for proxy / official models

Deployments

Monitoring published models

Guidelines

Production references