I have a new Vercel project with the following configuration:

• Production Branch: main
• Preview Branch Tracking: All unassigned branches
• Branch: homolog/vercel-offline
• First deployment ID: 6SdJSVZbRtHZPSi9JytqqCVWW2VW
• First deployment branch: homolog/vercel-offline
• First deployment environment: Production
• First deployment status: Error
• Commit: df8653a

I understand from the Vercel documentation that the first deployment of a new project is classified as Production, even when it comes from a non-production branch.

My question is specifically about a failed first deployment:

Does this Production deployment in Error state already satisfy Vercel's “first deployment” rule, so that the next deployment created from homolog/vercel-offline will follow the normal branch rules and be classified as Preview?

If not, what is the officially supported way to guarantee a Preview deployment for this branch without first creating a successful Production deployment?

Is there any read-only project/deployment metadata that can confirm this before creating the next deployment?

I don't want to create another deployment merely to test the classification, because the application intentionally fails closed when VERCEL_ENV !== preview.