envprod

Envprod is a term used in software development to describe the configuration and environment variables associated with a production deployment. It typically refers to the set of settings that distinguish a live, user-facing system from development or staging environments.

In practice, envprod configurations aim to ensure stable, secure operation in production. They commonly include sensitive values such as database connection strings, API endpoints, authentication keys, and feature flags that should differ from non-production environments. To minimize risk, these values are usually kept out of source code and managed through environment variables, secret stores, or dedicated production configuration files.

Methods for managing envprod data vary by stack. Applications may load production variables at startup from environment variables, Docker or container specs, or orchestration tools like Kubernetes ConfigMaps and Secrets. Secret management systems, such as vaults or cloud-based secret managers, are frequently used to securely supply envprod values and support rotation and access controls. Deployment pipelines typically inject envprod values during CD/CI to ensure the live system receives appropriate configuration without manual steps.

Common challenges include secure storage and rotation of secrets, avoiding accidental leakage through logs, and keeping production and non-production configurations synchronized. Best practices emphasize principle of least privilege, automated secret delivery, and clear separation between environments.

See also: production environment, environment variable, secrets management, configuration management, continuous deployment.