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ENVIRONMENT_CONFIGURATION.md
CeloHT operates across multiple technical environments to separate development, testing, staging, and production workloads.
A properly controlled environment architecture reduces the risk of:
Accidental production changes
Credential exposure
Data contamination
Incorrect blockchain deployments
Configuration drift
Unauthorized access
Service interruption
CeloHT follows an environment-separation model in which each environment has its own configuration, credentials, infrastructure, and operational boundaries.
CeloHT environment management follows these principles:
Production must remain isolated from development.
Secrets must never be committed to source control.
Each environment should have independent credentials where practical.
Configuration must be reproducible.
Environment changes must be auditable.
Production credentials must never be used casually in development.
Blockchain networks must be explicitly identified.
Configuration should follow least privilege.
Environment variables should contain configuration, not application logic.
Sensitive configuration must be centrally controlled.
CeloHT should use clearly separated environments.
Development
|
v
Testing
|
v
Staging
|
v
Production
Not every deployment needs every environment, but production must remain clearly separated from non-production environments.
The development environment is intended for local engineering work.
Typical characteristics:
Local development server
Test accounts
Mock services where appropriate
Test blockchain network
Development databases
Debug logging
Development environments must not depend unnecessarily on production infrastructure.
The testing environment is used for automated and integration testing.
It may include:
Automated test runners
Temporary databases
Test blockchain accounts
Contract testing
API testing
Security testing
End-to-end testing
Test environments should be disposable or reproducible whenever practical.
Staging provides a production-like environment for final validation.
It may include:
Production-like application configuration
Production-like infrastructure
Test blockchain network
Release candidates
Integration testing
Performance testing
Final acceptance testing
Staging must not accidentally use production credentials or production financial assets.
Production contains live CeloHT services.
Production systems may include:
Public website
APIs
Databases
Blockchain integrations
Agent services
Monitoring
Authentication systems
Administrative systems
Production access must be strictly controlled.
The following resources should be separated where practical:
Resource | Development | Testing | Staging | Production -- | -- | -- | -- | -- Database | Dev | Test | Staging | Production Credentials | Dev | Test | Staging | Production API keys | Dev | Test | Staging | Production Blockchain | Test network | Test network | Test network | Mainnet Logging | Debug | Test | Info | Controlled User data | Synthetic | Synthetic | Test | Real Deployment | Local/CI | CI | CI | Controlled CI/CDExact access should be determined by operational requirements.
Production access should be restricted to personnel who require it.
Where possible:
Use MFA
Use individual accounts
Avoid shared credentials
Log privileged actions
Review access periodically
Revoke inactive access
Environment names should be consistent across:
GitHub
CI/CD
Hosting
Databases
Monitoring
Documentation
Recommended terminology:
development
test
staging
production
Each environment should have documented:
Purpose
URL
Infrastructure
Database
Blockchain network
Deployment process
Access requirements
Monitoring
Owner
Recovery procedure
Sensitive credentials must not be documented publicly.
Recovery environments should be considered part of the environment architecture.
Important considerations include:
Database backups
Infrastructure recovery
Secret recovery
DNS recovery
Application redeployment
Blockchain configuration
Contract address registry
See:
DISASTER_RECOVERY.md
Backup systems should be environment-aware.
Production backups should be isolated from development systems.
Backups should have:
Access controls
Retention policies
Encryption where appropriate
Recovery testing
Each environment should be treated as a separate security boundary.
Development
|
X
Production
A developer account having access to development systems should not automatically grant production access.
Before creating or modifying an environment:
[ ] Environment purpose defined
[ ] Environment name defined
[ ] Separate credentials created
[ ] Database configured
[ ] Blockchain network verified
[ ] API endpoints verified
[ ] Authentication configured
[ ] CORS configured
[ ] Secrets protected
[ ] Logging configured
[ ] Monitoring configured
[ ] Deployment configured
[ ] Backup strategy defined
[ ] Access controls applied
Before promoting a system to production:
[ ] Tests passing
[ ] Security checks passing
[ ] Dependencies reviewed
[ ] Environment variables validated
[ ] Production secrets configured
[ ] Database migrations reviewed
[ ] Blockchain network verified
[ ] Contract addresses verified
[ ] Monitoring active
[ ] Error handling verified
[ ] Backup confirmed
[ ] Rollback plan available
[ ] Authorized approval obtained
If an environment is compromised:
Identify the affected environment.
Isolate affected services.
Revoke compromised credentials.
Rotate secrets.
Review logs.
Determine affected resources.
Restore from trusted configuration where necessary.
Validate the environment.
Document the incident.
Review preventive controls.
The environment lifecycle is:
Design
|
v
Provision
|
v
Configure
|
v
Validate
|
v
Operate
|
v
Monitor
|
v
Update
|
v
Retire
Configuration ownership should be explicit.
Maintain application-level configuration.
Maintain deployment and infrastructure configuration.
Review sensitive security configuration.
Control production access and privileged configuration.
Provides oversight for configuration changes that have governance implications.
Every production configuration should have sufficient documentation for another authorized operator to understand:
What the configuration does
Why it exists
Which system uses it
What dependencies exist
How it can be safely changed
How it can be restored
This reduces operational dependency on a single individual.
CeloHT considers configuration management part of the security boundary.
A secure application with insecure configuration can still be compromised.
Therefore:
Secure Code
+
Secure Infrastructure
+
Secure Configuration
+
Secure Credentials
=
Secure Environment
AUTHENTICATION_ARCHITECTURE.mdAUTHORIZATION_MODEL.mdSMART_CONTRACT_SECURITY.mdDATA_PRIVACY.mdAPI_ARCHITECTURE.mdBLOCKCHAIN_INTEGRATION.mdDISASTER_RECOVERY.mdRELEASE_MANAGEMENT.mdSECURITY.md
Document: Environment Configuration
Project: CeloHT
Classification: Infrastructure / Security Documentation
Status: Configuration Architecture Reference
© 2026 CeloHT - Open Source. Global Impact. Licensed under Apache.