> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orvlin.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environments and sandbox

> Keep test and live billing separate, and promote changes safely

Billing mistakes are expensive, so keep environments apart. Orvlin workspaces start in **sandbox**, where payments never reach a real processor and test clocks are available.

## Recommended setup

| Environment | Workspace | Keys | Used for |
| - | - | - | - |
| Development | Sandbox | `developer` key per developer | Building and experimenting. |
| Staging | Sandbox | One `developer` key, used by staging | Integration tests and load tests. |
| Production | Live | Separate `developer` and `viewer` keys | Real customers. |

Give each environment its own keys. A revoked staging key then can't affect production.

## What sandbox does

* Payments never reach a real payment processor, even if one is connected.
* Test clocks can move customers' time forward to test renewals and retries.
* Data is kept apart from live customers.

## Promote a change

Change the catalog in sandbox first, then apply the same change to live:

1. Make the change in sandbox, for example a new price or a plan version.
2. Run through it with a test clock: see [Test billing with test clocks](/tutorials/test-billing-with-test-clocks).
3. If you manage the catalog as code, deploy the same [pricing manifest](/pricing-manifest) to live with `orvlin deploy --dry-run` first, then without it.
4. Check the live plan and price in the dashboard before you route customers to it.

<Warning>
  Never point a test script at a live key. Keep live keys in production secret storage only, and don't check them into source control.
</Warning>

## Checking which environment you're in

Use the health endpoint and your own configuration to show the environment in your logs, so an engineer can tell at a glance which workspace a request went to.


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