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In this guide, you’ll learn how to configure a production environment in your GitHub repository settings, enforce deployment protection rules, restrict deployments to the main branch, and add the necessary secrets and variables. By the end, your production workflow will be locked down and ready for automated deployments.

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Prerequisites

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Step 1: Create the Production Environment

  1. Go to your repository, then click Settings > Environments.
  2. Hit New environment and enter production as the name.
You now have a blank production environment ready for configuration.

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Step 2: Configure Deployment Protection Rules

Under Deployment protection rules, set up the controls that gate your production deployments:
The image shows a GitHub settings page for configuring deployment protection rules in a production environment, including options for required reviewers and a wait timer.
  • Wait timer: e.g., 1 minute – enforces a delay before a workflow can proceed.
  • Required reviewers: add up to six team members; at least one approval is mandatory.
  • Allow self-review: toggle off to prevent the person who triggered the workflow from approving their own deployment.
Disabling self-review is critical for maintaining an audit trail and ensuring someone else verifies each production deployment.
Click Save protection rules to apply.

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Step 3: Restrict Deployments to Your Main Branch

In the same production environment settings:
  1. Find Restrict deployments.
  2. Select Only allow deployments from specific branches.
  3. Choose main from the dropdown.
Now, only commits merged into main can trigger the production workflow.

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Step 4: Add Secrets and Variables

Scroll down to Secrets and variables to store environment-specific data:
The image shows a GitHub settings page for configuring environment protection rules, deployment branches, environment secrets, and variables. It includes options to add secrets and variables, and to manage branch rules.
Use the table below as your reference for what to add:
TypeNameValue
SecretKUBECONFIGYour Kubernetes config content
Variablenamespacelocus-production
Variablereplicas5
  1. Under Secrets, click New secret, enter KUBECONFIG, paste your kubeconfig, and save.
  2. Under Variables, add namespace and replicas one at a time, then click Save.

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Step 5: Verify Your Environment Configuration

After saving, your Environments page should list both development and production, displaying their protection rules, secrets, and variables:
The image shows a GitHub repository settings page focused on configuring environments, with sections for "production" and "development" that include protection rules, secrets, and variables.

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Summary

  • Production environment created under Settings > Environments
  • Protection rules: wait timer + required reviewers + no self-approval
  • Branch restriction: only main can deploy
  • Secrets: KUBECONFIG
  • Variables: namespace, replicas
In the next tutorial, we’ll trigger a GitHub Actions workflow against this production environment to validate the setup.

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