managing-environment-configurations

name	managing-environment-configurations
description	Implement environment and configuration management with comprehensive guidance and automation. Use when you need to work with environment configuration. Trigger with phrases like "manage environments", "configure environments", or "sync configurations".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(cmd:*)
version	1.23.0
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
license	MIT
tags	["devops","environment-configurations"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

Managing Environment Configurations

Overview

Manage application configurations across development, staging, and production environments using .env files, Kubernetes ConfigMaps/Secrets, SSM Parameter Store, and cloud-native configuration services. Enforce consistency, prevent configuration drift, and implement safe promotion workflows between environments.

Prerequisites

• Access to all target environments (dev, staging, production)
• Configuration management tool or pattern identified (dotenv, ConfigMaps, SSM, Consul)
• Version control for configuration files (separate repo or encrypted in application repo)
• Encryption tool for sensitive values (sops, age, sealed-secrets, or cloud KMS)
• Understanding of which values differ between environments vs. which are shared

Instructions

1. Audit existing configuration: scan for .env files, config/ directories, Kubernetes ConfigMaps, and hardcoded values in source code
2. Classify each configuration value: public (non-sensitive, varies per env), secret (credentials, API keys), and static (same across all envs)
3. Extract hardcoded values into externalized configuration with a clear naming convention (APP_DATABASE_HOST, APP_REDIS_URL)
4. Create environment-specific configuration files: .env.development, .env.staging, .env.production
5. Encrypt sensitive values using sops with cloud KMS or sealed-secrets for Kubernetes
6. Generate Kubernetes ConfigMaps and Secrets from environment files for cluster-based deployments
7. Set up configuration validation: schema checks to ensure all required variables are present before deployment
8. Implement promotion workflow: changes go to dev first, then promote to staging after testing, then to production with approval
9. Add configuration drift detection: compare running environment against source-of-truth on a schedule

Output

• Environment-specific configuration files (.env.*, config/*.yaml)
• Kubernetes ConfigMap and Secret manifests per environment
• Configuration schema/validation script to catch missing variables
• SOPS-encrypted secret files with .sops.yaml rules
• CI/CD pipeline steps for configuration validation and deployment