Task 04: Create Environments

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook Step
SCOPE: Deployment environment creation
PURPOSE: Create deployment environments for infrastructure automation MASTER REFERENCE: Azure Pipelines Environments

Status: Active

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Objective

Create deployment environments to manage infrastructure using IaC and automation. Environments provide deployment targets with optional protection rules and approval gates.

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Prerequisites

• Project settings configured (Task 03)
• Admin / Maintainer role on the project

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Environment Naming Convention

Use consistent naming across all platforms:

Cloud/Service	Example Names
Azure Production	azr-prod-us, azr-prod-eu
Azure Development	azr-dev-us
Azure Staging	azr-staging

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Procedure

GitHub

Create Environments

1. Navigate to Settings → Environments
2. Click New environment
3. Enter the environment name (e.g., azr-prod-us)
4. Click Configure environment

Configure Protection Rules

For production environments, add protection rules:

Setting	Value
Required reviewers	✅ Add 1–2 required reviewers
Wait timer	Optional — add delay before deployment (minutes)
Deployment branches	main only (select Selected branches → add main)

Repeat for each environment in the naming convention table above.

tip

GitHub Environments integrate with GitHub Actions via the environment: key in workflow YAML. Protection rules automatically gate deployments.

References: GitHub — Using environments for deployment

GitLab

Create Environments

1. Navigate to the project in GitLab
2. Select Operate → Environments
3. Click New Environment
4. Enter the environment name (e.g., azr-prod-us)
5. Leave External URL blank
6. Click Save

Repeat for each environment in the naming convention table above.

Configure Protection (Optional)

For production environments:

1. Navigate to Settings → CI/CD → Protected Environments
2. Select the environment
3. Set Allowed to deploy to the appropriate role or group

tip

GitLab Environments are referenced in .gitlab-ci.yml via the environment: keyword. Protected environments require approval before deployment jobs run.

References: GitLab — Environments and deployments

Azure DevOps

Create Environments

1. Navigate to Pipelines → Environments
2. Click New environment
3. Enter the environment name (e.g., azr-prod-us)
4. Select None for Resource (environments are used as deployment targets)
5. Click Create

Repeat for each environment in the naming convention table above.

Configure Approvals and Checks

For production environments:

1. Open the environment → click ⋮ (more options) → Approvals and checks
2. Add Approvals:
   • Add 1–2 required approvers
   • Set timeout (e.g., 72 hours)
3. Optionally add Branch control:
   • Allowed branches: refs/heads/main

tip

Azure DevOps Environments are referenced in YAML pipelines via the environment: key in deployment jobs. Approvals and checks automatically gate deployments.

References: Azure DevOps — Create and target an environment

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Verification

• Environment created for each deployment target
• Environment names follow naming convention
• Production environments have protection rules / approval gates configured

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Next Steps

Configure Environment Variables

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References

• GitHub — Using environments for deployment
• GitLab — Environments and deployments
• Azure DevOps — Create and target an environment

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Variables from variables.yml

Variable	Config Path	Example
Environment Names	cicd.environments[].name	dev, staging, production
Approval Required	cicd.environments[].approval_required	true
Approvers	cicd.environments[].approvers	platform-team@contoso.com

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Toolkit Reference

Scripts for this task are located in the azurelocal-toolkit repository under scripts/deploy/ in the appropriate task folder.

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Alternatives

The procedures in this task use the scripted methods shown in the tabs above. Additional deployment methods including Azure CLI and Bash scripts are available in the azurelocal-toolkit repository under scripts/deploy/.

Method	Description
Azure CLI	PowerShell-based Azure CLI scripts for Azure resource operations
Bash	Linux/macOS compatible shell scripts for pipeline environments

Navigation

Previous	Up	Next
← Task 03: Configure Project Settings	Phase 01: CI/CD Setup	Task 05: Configure Environment Variables ->

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Resolution
Environment creation fails	Insufficient permissions	Verify user has environment creation rights
Approval gates not configuring	Environment policy restrictions	Check organization-level environment policies

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Version Control

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0.0	2025-03-25	Azure Local Cloud	Initial release