Promoting Resources

Promotion is the process of moving resources from one environment level to the next in the promotion pipeline. Resources begin in Staging and progress through testing environments before reaching Production.

The standard promotion is: Staging → Quality Assurance (QA) → User Acceptance Testing (UAT) → Production. An optional Pre-Production level might exist between UAT and Production. See Environment Levels for a description of each level.

For most resource types, promoting overwrites the existing version in the target environment. Application promotion behavior depends on the options selected during promotion.

What Promotion Does

Promotion copies resource data from the source environment to the target environment and overwrites any existing version of that resource in the target.

Two additional behaviors apply to application promotion:

• First promotion also promotes the parent workspace. When an application is promoted for the first time, its parent workspace is created in the target environment. On subsequent promotions, the application updates in place in the existing workspace.
• Shared elements become regular elements in the target. A module or data collection marked as shared in the source environment becomes a regular (unshared) element after promotion. Shared status does not transfer.

Promotion Sequence

The platform does not enforce a fixed promotion sequence. Creators with the appropriate permissions can promote a resource to any available environment, including from Staging directly to Production. The standard pipeline (Staging → QA → UAT → Production) is a best practice, not a platform constraint.

To reduce the risk of accidental Production promotions, limit which Creators have promote access to Production. Most Creators should have promote access up to UAT only. Reserve Production promote permissions for a small group: release managers or senior administrators. Permissions are configured in Creator Role Administration.

Dependency Ordering

Promoting a resource does not automatically promote its dependencies. If a module depends on a service, style, or another module, those dependencies must be promoted separately before promoting the module. Promoting a module without its dependencies can cause failures in the target environment.

Promote resources in this order:

1. Services
2. Global Variables
3. Styles and themes
4. Express roles and groups
5. Modules and workflows
6. Applications

Promoting in this sequence ensures each resource exists in the target environment before the resources that depend on it are promoted.

What Does Not Transfer

Environment-level configuration does not transfer when resources are promoted. Each environment has its own independent settings for authentication, session management, security policies, and integrations. After promoting a resource, verify that the target environment's configuration is correct for the promoted resource.

Configuration is managed in Environment Administration.

Environment-Specific Values

Avoid hard-coding environment-specific values in modules: API endpoints, credentials, or URLs that differ between Staging and Production. A module promoted with hard-coded values arrives in the target environment still pointing at the source environment's resources, which causes failures.

Use Global Variables instead. Global Variables are defined per environment, so the same module reads the correct value in each environment automatically. Global Variables can be promoted between environments from Global Variables Administration, or configured independently per environment.

Promoting Services

Services are promoted from Services Administration using the Promote action in the service list. Services must be promoted before the modules that call them.

Promoting Global Variables

Global Variables are promoted from Global Variables Administration using the Promote action. Alternatively, Global Variables can be configured independently in each environment without promoting.

Promoting Applications

Application promotion (modules, workflows, and their structure) is available from the Application Promotions view in a workspace. See Application Promotions for details on selecting items, reviewing dependencies, and completing a promotion.

Promoting Styles and Themes

Styles are promoted from Style Administration using the Promote action in the style list. Styles are promoted independently of application promotion. The Promote action includes an option to promote the associated theme alongside the style.

To set a promoted style as the default, open Style Administration in the target environment, find the promoted style, and select Set as default.

Promoting Express Groups

Express groups are promoted from Express Group Administration using the Promote action in the group list.

Promote Express Groups Dialog

Select Promote N Group(s) to begin the promotion.

Promoting Express Roles

Express roles are promoted from Express Role Administration using the Promote action in the role list.

Only Express roles are promotable. Creator roles are environment-specific and cannot be promoted. Creator roles must be configured separately in each environment through Creator Role Administration.

Promote Express Roles Dialog

Select Promote N Role(s) to begin the promotion.

Promoting Translations

Translation data is stored in a system module called the Locale module, not in the module itself. Promoting a module to a new environment does not include its translations. The Locale module must be promoted separately after the module is promoted.

For details, see Translations.