Add Environment

Add a new Environment inside an existing Application when you need another stage (for example staging next to production). The flow is titled Add Environment in the dashboard and has three steps: Environment, Compute, and Activation.

Conceptual background: Environments under Core Concepts in the sidebar and Applications under Core Concepts in the sidebar.

Prerequisites

• An Application where you can open the Environments tab. If the Application is still draft from Create New Application, finish or continue that wizard when the UI requires it. See Application lifecycle under Applications in the sidebar.
• At least one Worker Node or eligible managed compute path before you finish the Compute step. If you have none, add a node first. See Add a self-hosted server under Worker Nodes and Compute in the sidebar, Worker Nodes overview under Worker Nodes and Compute in the sidebar, and Choose compute / managed infrastructure under dFlow Cloud in the sidebar (dFlow Cloud).

1. Open Add Environment

1. Sign in at app.dflow.sh (or your self-hosted dashboard URL).
2. Open your Application (organisation → Applications → select the app).
3. Open the Environments tab.
4. Click Add Environment (header button) or Add environment in the empty state.

Expected outcome: You see the Add Environment header, a short description, and the step indicator (Environment, Compute, Activation).

2. Step: Environment

The first card is Environment Setup (“Choose the type of environment you want to set up first.”).

1. Under Environment Tier, pick Production, Staging, Development, or Custom. Tiers that already exist for this Application are disabled and show “Already exists for this application.”
2. If you chose Custom, enter a Custom Name (for example testing-alpha) and fix any validation messages shown.
3. Use Default Environment when you want this Environment to be the primary one for the Application dashboard. On the first Environment in an Application, this preference is applied by default and the control behaves as locked; for additional Environments you can toggle it. See also Default environment under Applications in the sidebar.
4. Click Continue.

Expected outcome: The Environment record is created (or updated if you resumed; see below) and the wizard advances to Compute.

3. Step: Compute

The Compute step asks you to choose where this Environment’s workloads run.

1. Pick a Worker Node (or managed option if shown for your tenant). The UI lists Worker nodes and may separate dFlow workers from other linked servers; unavailable or in-use nodes show messaging from the product.
2. Use Re-check / refresh actions if SSH reachability was fixed on the host.
3. If you need a new node, follow links to add or onboard a server, then return to this step.
4. Confirm and continue per the on-screen primary action.

Expected outcome: Compute is saved on the Environment. See Attach compute to an environment for changing compute later and for deeper links to Worker Nodes.

4. Step: Activation

The Activation step completes the Environment flow (similar in purpose to finishing the Create New Application wizard). The product may run activation automatically once prerequisites are met.

Expected outcome: You land on the new Environment (often Services tab) with status moving toward active as the flow completes. See Draft vs active environments.

Resume: Complete Environment Setup

If you partially completed the flow, reopening Add Environment with an existing draft Environment may show Complete Environment Setup and resume from Compute or Activation depending on what is already set.

Expected outcome: You finish Compute and Activation without recreating the Environment from scratch.

After creation

• Add Services from the Environment’s Services tab or deploy from a template.
• Change compute from the Compute tab when the product allows it.
• Edit name or default under Settings. See Environment settings.

Next steps

• Attach compute to an environment
• Environment settings
• Deploy your first app

If something fails

• Compute and worker node issues under Troubleshooting in the sidebar
• Getting started issues under Troubleshooting in the sidebar