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Create services based on existing ones

You can quickly create a new service using the configuration of one that already exists. This saves time, reduces manual setup, and helps you promote known-good configurations across environments or regions.

This is especially useful when setting up a service in a new environment (like staging or prod) or creating parallel services for different dimensions or scopes.

info

This feature does not support imported services, such as monitoring tools (e.g., New Relic), AI services (e.g., OpenAI), or other third-party integrations.

How it works​

You can create a new service right from the UI:

  1. Go to your application’s Development dashboard and open the Services view.
  2. Find the service you want to reuse and click Manage > New service like this.
  3. A form will open with the original service’s details already filled in.
  4. Make any changes you need—such as updating the target dimensions or environment.
  5. Click Create service to finish.

The new service will appear in your service list.

When to use this​

Use this flow when you're setting up a new service using a config that already works. It's a great fit for:

  • Rolling out services to new environments
  • Creating services with different regions or dimensions—like dev-us, dev-uk, or dev-eu
  • Reducing repetitive setup and config drift

If you're working with two services that already exist and want to apply updates from one to the other, consider syncing instead.

Set up an action spec of type create​

You won’t be able to create a service based on an existing one if that service doesn’t have a create action specification associated with its service spec.

To enable this feature, you’ll need to create an action specification first:

  1. Go to Platform settings > Services > Specifications and search for the service spec you want to reuse.
  2. Click Action specifications, then click + New action specification to open the Create action specification form.

    ℹ️ Important: The create action’s parameters schema must match—or be compatible with— the service’s attributes schema. See Schema compatibility requirements for more info.

  3. Fill in the required fields in the form:
    • Type: Set this to "create" ("type": "create").
    • Schema: Define the parameters schema used when creating a service.
    • UI Schema (optional): Configure the form layout, grouping, or field behaviors if needed.
  4. Then click Create to save it.
  5. Return to Development > Services and try creating a service again using Manage > New service like this.
tip

The action’s parameters schema must match or be compatible with the service’s attributes schema. If you're using use_default_actions: true, compatibility is handled automatically.

More on this: Schema compatibility requirements