Environments Overview

Environments let you maintain separate configurations for different stages of your development workflow. Each environment has its own set of variables, allowing you to use different values for Development, Staging, and Production.

Understanding Environments

An environment is a container for variables within a project. Common environments include:

Why Use Multiple Environments?

Different environments serve different purposes and require different configurations:

Development

• Safe for experimentation
• Uses test/sandbox API credentials
• Debug mode enabled
• Connects to local or development databases
• Verbose logging for debugging

Staging

• Mirrors production setup as closely as possible
• Uses test data (not real customer data)
• Final testing before deployment
• Catches configuration issues before they reach production

Production

• Live, customer-facing environment
• Real credentials and production databases
• Optimized for performance
• Strict access controls
• Minimal logging

Environment-Specific Variables

Many variables will have different values per environment:

Environment tabs at the top of your project let you switch between different environments. Each environment has its own set of variables.

Default Environments

When you create a project, EnvManager offers three default environments:

• Development - Pre-selected by default
• Staging - Optional during onboarding
• Production - Pre-selected by default

You can customize these during onboarding or add/remove environments later.

Managing Environments

The Environments section in Project Settings lets you add, clone, rename, and delete environments. Each environment shows its variable count and configuration options.

Adding an Environment

Renaming an Environment

Cloning an Environment

Clone an environment to create a copy with all its variables. This is useful for:

• Creating a new environment based on an existing one
• Setting up a feature branch environment
• Testing configuration changes without affecting the original

Deleting an Environment

Copying Variables Between Environments

To copy variables from one environment to another without cloning:

1. Go to the source environment
2. Click Export to download the variables
3. Switch to the target environment
4. Click Import to upload the exported file
5. Review and import

See Importing Variables for details on handling conflicts.

Best Practices

Keep Structure Consistent

All environments should have the same variable keys. This prevents "variable not found" errors when deploying:

• When you add a variable to Development, add it to all environments
• Use placeholder values if the real value isn't known yet
• Review environments periodically to ensure they're in sync

Use Different Credentials

Never share sensitive credentials between environments:

• Development should use test/sandbox API keys
• Production should have its own unique credentials
• Rotate production credentials separately from other environments

Test in Staging First

Always deploy configuration changes to Staging before Production:

1. Update variables in Development
2. Test locally
3. Push the same changes to Staging
4. Verify in Staging
5. Only then update Production

Restrict Production Access

Limit who can view and edit Production variables:

• Use environment-level access control
• Only senior team members should have Production access
• All Production changes should be logged and reviewed

Document Environment Differences

Note why certain values differ between environments:

• Add descriptions to variables explaining environment-specific choices
• Document any special configuration requirements
• Keep a changelog of environment configuration changes

Next Steps