# Environment Strategy Template

Save as `_docs/04_deploy/environment_strategy.md`.

---

```markdown
# [System Name] — Environment Strategy

## Environments

| Environment | Purpose | Infrastructure | Data Source |
|-------------|---------|---------------|-------------|
| Development | Local developer workflow | docker-compose | Seed data, mocked externals |
| Staging | Pre-production validation | [mirrors production] | Anonymized production-like data |
| Production | Live system | [full infrastructure] | Real data |

## Environment Variables

### Required Variables

| Variable | Purpose | Dev Default | Staging/Prod Source |
|----------|---------|-------------|-------------------|
| `DATABASE_URL` | Postgres connection | `postgres://dev:dev@db:5432/app` | Secret manager |
| [add all required variables] | | | |

### `.env.example`

```env
# Copy to .env and fill in values
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/dbname
# [all required variables with placeholder values]
```

### Variable Validation

All services validate required environment variables at startup and fail fast with a clear error message if any are missing.

## Secrets Management

| Environment | Method | Tool |
|-------------|--------|------|
| Development | `.env` file (git-ignored) | dotenv |
| Staging | Secret manager | [AWS Secrets Manager / Azure Key Vault / Vault] |
| Production | Secret manager | [AWS Secrets Manager / Azure Key Vault / Vault] |

Rotation policy: [frequency and procedure]

## Database Management

| Environment | Type | Migrations | Data |
|-------------|------|-----------|------|
| Development | Docker Postgres, named volume | Applied on container start | Seed data via init script |
| Staging | Managed Postgres | Applied via CI/CD pipeline | Anonymized production snapshot |
| Production | Managed Postgres | Applied via CI/CD with approval | Live data |

Migration rules:
- All migrations must be backward-compatible (support old and new code simultaneously)
- Reversible migrations required (DOWN/rollback script)
- Production migrations require review before apply
```