# Multi Enviorment

Nected natively provides two runtime environments: **Staging** and **Production**.\
Git-based Source Control extends this model by allowing teams to maintain and manage **any number of development environments** using **Git branches**.

With this combined approach:

* Git branches represent **development environments**
* Nected Staging represents the **testing environment** for those branches
* Nected Production represents the **live execution environment** once branches are merged

This lets teams work on multiple features, QA cycles, experiments, and releases in parallel—each isolated within its own Git branch.

## **How Git Branches Become Separate Environments**

Each branch in your Git repository acts as its own “environment” during development.\
For example:

* `dev/payment-service` → Payment team’s development environment
* `qa/rule-updates` → QA testing environment
* `uat/feature-x` → UAT environment for business reviewers
* `release-candidate` → Pre-production environment

When you switch to a branch inside Nected:

* All Rules, Workflows, Datasets, and Variables load from that branch
* All changes you make belong **only** to that branch
* You can test them in Nected **Staging** without affecting other branches or Production
* Merging the branch in GitHub promotes those changes toward Production

Git branches allow unlimited environment parallelism; Staging/Production allow runtime isolation.

[Learn more about Branches](https://docs.nected.ai/nected-docs/development-lifecycle/git-based-source-control/branches)

**Typical setup using Git branches could be look like this:**

| Environment Type         | Purpose                                                                 | Example Branch Names                                                                           |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Feature Environments** | Independent development for new functionality; isolated experimentation | <p><code>feature/discount-rule</code></p><p><br><code>feature/new-eligibility-check</code></p> |
| **QA Environments**      | Regression, performance, and functional testing by QA teams             | <p><code>qa/regression-suite</code>        <br></p>                                            |
| **UAT Environments**     | User acceptance testing by product/business teams before approval       | `uat/invoice-logic`                                                                            |
| **Release Environments** | Preparing release candidates, stabilizing logic before production merge | `release/2025-q1`                                                                              |
| **Production**           | Live production branch used for real execution and published logic      | `main / master`                                                                                |

Each of these branches is a separate environment inside Nected until merged.