Sanity GraphQL deploy fails with HTTP 401 "Session not found" error

Hey! This is a classic authentication issue with the Sanity CLI. Based on the official CLI errors documentation, the "Unauthorized - Session not found" error can happen for a few different reasons when running commands like sanity graphql deploy or sanity graphql list.

Quick Fix

The most common solution is to log out and log back in with the CLI:

npx sanity logout
npx sanity login

(Or use pnpm dlx, yarn dlx, or bunx depending on your package manager)

Why This Happens

According to the Sanity docs, this error can occur because:

1. Session timeout - Your CLI session may have expired while you were away
2. Invalid token - If you have a SANITY_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable set, it might be invalid
3. Temporary issue - Sometimes it's just a hiccup, and retrying the command works
4. User authentication issue - Something went wrong with your logged-in user

Where CLI Stores Auth

The Sanity CLI stores your authentication session locally (typically in ~/.config/sanity on Mac/Linux). When you've been away for a while, this session can expire or become invalid.

Additional Things to Check

• Make sure you're running the command from within your Sanity project directory (where your package.json and sanity.config.js/ts files are)
• Verify your project has the correct projectId and dataset configured in sanity.cli.js or sanity.cli.ts
• If you're using an authentication token via environment variables, double-check that it's still valid

The logout/login cycle should refresh your session and get you back up and running. Welcome back! 🎉