> For AI agents: the complete Sanity documentation index is available at [https://www.sanity.io/docs/llms.txt](https://www.sanity.io/docs/llms.txt).

# Manage an existing resource with Blueprints

Learn how to bring an existing Sanity resource under Blueprints stack management, and how to release a resource without destroying it.

If you have a Sanity resource that exists outside of a stack, you can bring it under stack management without recreating it. Once attached, Blueprints manages the resource like any other resource in your stack.

## Prerequisites

- An existing blueprint. See [Blueprints introduction](https://www.sanity.io/docs/blueprints/blueprints-introduction) if you haven't set one up yet.
- The identifier of the resource you want to attach.
- For project-scoped resources, the project ID the resource belongs to.

## Attach the resource

Add the resource to your blueprint with `ownershipAction` set to `attach`.

**sanity.blueprint.ts**

```typescript
import { defineBlueprint, defineDataset } from "@sanity/blueprints"

export default defineBlueprint({
  resources: [
    defineDataset({
      name: 'production',
      datasetName: 'production',
      lifecycle: {
        ownershipAction: {
          type: 'attach',
          id: 'your-resource-id',
          projectId: 'your-project-id',
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
})
```

The `id` field is the identifier of the existing resource. For project-scoped resources, include `projectId` as well.

Deploy the blueprint to complete the attachment.

**npm**

```shell
npx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**pnpm**

```shell
pnpm dlx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**yarn**

```shell
yarn dlx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**bun**

```shell
bunx sanity blueprints deploy
```

After the deployment, the resource is managed by the stack. Future deployments will update it alongside any other resources in your blueprint.

You can remove `ownershipAction` from the resource definition once the attachment is complete. Leaving it in has no effect on subsequent deployments.

## Release a resource without destroying it

If you want to stop managing a resource but keep it running, use `detach`. Blueprints removes the resource from the stack without deleting it from Sanity.

**sanity.blueprint.ts**

```typescript
import { defineBlueprint, defineDataset } from "@sanity/blueprints"

export default defineBlueprint({
  resources: [
    defineDataset({
      name: 'production',
      datasetName: 'production',
      lifecycle: {
        ownershipAction: {
          type: 'detach',
        },
      },
    }),
  ],
})
```

Deploy the blueprint to detach the resource.

**npm**

```shell
npx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**pnpm**

```shell
pnpm dlx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**yarn**

```shell
yarn dlx sanity blueprints deploy
```

**bun**

```shell
bunx sanity blueprints deploy
```

Once the deployment completes, remove the resource definition from your blueprint.

### How detach works across deploys

Blueprints evaluates your blueprint fresh on every deploy. After a resource is detached, it is no longer part of the stack. On the next deploy, if that resource still appears in your blueprint without `ownershipAction`, Blueprints sees a name with no matching stack record and creates a new resource in its place.

Detaching always takes two deploys: one to release the resource, and one to remove it from your blueprint. Between those two deploys, keep `ownershipAction: { type: 'detach' }` on the resource. Blueprints will ignore it rather than recreate it.

✅ Use `detach` before destroying a stack if you want to preserve specific resources.

❌ Don't remove a resource from the blueprint without setting `ownershipAction` to `detach` first. Blueprints will destroy it.

❌ Don't remove `ownershipAction` from a resource while it is still in your blueprint after detaching. Blueprints will treat it as a new resource and create it again.

#### Related

[Blueprints introduction](https://www.sanity.io/docs/blueprints/blueprints-introduction)
Learn what Blueprints are, how they work, and how to get started.