Make --target explicit and prompted if flag is missing

cmd/root.go

@@ -219,13 +219,21 @@ func newRootCommand() *cobra.Command {
 					return err
 				}
 
+				// Stop spinner before AttachSettings — it may prompt for target selection
+				if showSpinner {
+					spinner.Stop()
+				}
+
 				err := runtimeContext.AttachSettings(cmd, isLoadDeploymentRPC(cmd))
 				if err != nil {
-					if showSpinner {
-						spinner.Stop()
-					}
 					return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
 				}
+
+				// Restart spinner for remaining initialization
+				if showSpinner {
+					spinner = ui.NewSpinner()
+					spinner.Start("Loading settings...")
+				}
 			}
 
 			// Stop the initialization spinner - commands can start their own if needed

internal/settings/settings.go

@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/charmbracelet/huh"
 	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 
 	"github.com/smartcontractkit/cre-cli/internal/constants"
+	"github.com/smartcontractkit/cre-cli/internal/ui"
 )
 
 // sensitive information (not in configuration file)
@@ -69,6 +71,15 @@ func New(logger *zerolog.Logger, v *viper.Viper, cmd *cobra.Command, registryCha
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	if target == "" {
+		target, err = promptForTarget(logger)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		// Store the selected target so subsequent GetTarget() calls find it
+		v.Set(Flags.Target.Name, target)
+	}
+
 	logger.Debug().Msgf("Target:  %s", target)
 
 	err = LoadSettingsIntoViper(v, cmd)
@@ -169,3 +180,44 @@ func NormalizeHexKey(k string) string {
 	}
 	return k
 }
+
+// promptForTarget discovers available targets from project.yaml and prompts the user to select one.
+func promptForTarget(logger *zerolog.Logger) (string, error) {
+	targets, err := GetAvailableTargets()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("target not set and unable to discover targets: %w\nSpecify --%s or set %s env var",
+			err, Flags.Target.Name, CreTargetEnvVar)
+	}
+
+	if len(targets) == 0 {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("no targets found in project.yaml; specify --%s or set %s env var",
+			Flags.Target.Name, CreTargetEnvVar)
+	}
+
+	if len(targets) == 1 {
+		logger.Debug().Msgf("Auto-selecting target: %s", targets[0])
+		return targets[0], nil
+	}
+
+	var selected string
+	options := make([]huh.Option[string], len(targets))
+	for i, t := range targets {
+		options[i] = huh.NewOption(t, t)
+	}
+
+	form := huh.NewForm(
+		huh.NewGroup(
+			huh.NewSelect[string]().
+				Title("Select a target").
+				Description("No --target flag or CRE_TARGET env var set.").
+				Options(options...).
+				Value(&selected),
+		),
+	).WithTheme(ui.ChainlinkTheme())
+
+	if err := form.Run(); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("target selection cancelled: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return selected, nil
+}

internal/settings/settings_get.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 	ethcommon "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 
 	chainSelectors "github.com/smartcontractkit/chain-selectors"
 
@@ -172,10 +173,49 @@ func GetTarget(v *viper.Viper) (string, error) {
 		return target, nil
 	}
 
-	return "", fmt.Errorf(
-		"target not set: specify --%s or set %s env var",
-		Flags.Target.Name, CreTargetEnvVar,
-	)
+	return "", nil
+}
+
+// GetAvailableTargets reads project.yaml and returns the top-level keys
+// that represent target configurations, preserving the order from the file.
+func GetAvailableTargets() ([]string, error) {
+	projectPath, err := getProjectSettingsPath()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to find project settings: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(projectPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read project settings: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Parse with yaml.v3 Node to preserve key order
+	var doc yaml.Node
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &doc); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse project settings: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if doc.Kind != yaml.DocumentNode || len(doc.Content) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	root := doc.Content[0]
+	if root.Kind != yaml.MappingNode {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	// Mapping nodes alternate key, value, key, value...
+	// Only include keys whose values are mappings (actual target configs).
+	var targets []string
+	for i := 0; i+1 < len(root.Content); i += 2 {
+		key := root.Content[i]
+		val := root.Content[i+1]
+		if key.Kind == yaml.ScalarNode && val.Kind == yaml.MappingNode {
+			targets = append(targets, key.Value)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return targets, nil
 }
 
 func GetChainNameByChainSelector(chainSelector uint64) (string, error) {

internal/settings/settings_get_test.go

@@ -56,9 +56,10 @@ func TestGetTarget_EnvWhenNoFlag(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, "envOnly", got)
 }
 
-func TestGetTarget_ErrorWhenNeither(t *testing.T) {
+func TestGetTarget_EmptyWhenNeither(t *testing.T) {
 	v := viper.New()
 
-	_, err := settings.GetTarget(v)
-	assert.Error(t, err)
+	got, err := settings.GetTarget(v)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "", got)
 }

internal/settings/settings_test.go

@@ -84,9 +84,17 @@ func TestLoadEnvAndSettingsEmptyTarget(t *testing.T) {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{Use: "login"}
 	s, err := settings.New(logger, v, cmd, "")
 
-	assert.Error(t, err, "Expected error due to empty target")
-	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "target not set", "Expected missing target error")
-	assert.Nil(t, s, "Settings object should be nil on error")
+	// With no target set, settings.New() tries to prompt for a target.
+	// In a non-TTY test environment, this will either auto-select (single target)
+	// or fail with a prompt error (multiple targets).
+	if err != nil {
+		// Expected in non-TTY when multiple targets exist
+		assert.Nil(t, s, "Settings object should be nil on error")
+	} else {
+		// Auto-selected the only available target
+		assert.NotNil(t, s)
+		assert.NotEmpty(t, s.User.TargetName)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestLoadEnvAndSettings(t *testing.T) {

internal/settings/template/.env.tpl

@@ -5,5 +5,3 @@
 ###############################################################################
 # Ethereum private key or 1Password reference (e.g. op://vault/item/field)
 CRE_ETH_PRIVATE_KEY={{EthPrivateKey}}
-# Default target used when --target flag is not specified (e.g. staging-settings, production-settings, my-target)
-CRE_TARGET=staging-settings