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This guide walks you through creating environments, configuring CloudLink connections, and deploying apps between environments. Use environments to safely develop and test changes before promoting them to production.

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Prerequisites

Before setting up environments, ensure you have:
  • Admin access to your Elementum organization
  • Snowflake credentials for the new environment (if using Snowflake-connected apps)
  • CloudLink configured in your production environment
Each environment requires its own CloudLink configuration. Have your Snowflake connection details ready before creating a new environment.

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Part 1: Creating an Environment

Create a new environment from your production organization to start developing and testing in isolation.
1

Navigate to Environments

Go to Organization Settings > Platform > Environments.You’ll see a list of all environments in your organization, with Production marked as the default.
2

Create New Environment

Click the + Create Environment button in the top right corner.A modal appears with the message: “Create an environment that allows you to safely build, test, and release changes without affecting your live app.”
3

Enter Environment Details

Fill in the required fields:
FieldDescriptionExample
Environment nameA descriptive name for the environmentDevelopment, Testing, Staging
SubdomainThe URL prefix for this environmentdev, test, staging
DescriptionOptional description of the environment’s purposeFor testing new features before production
The subdomain creates the environment’s URL: [subdomain]-[yourorg].elementum.io
4

Complete Creation

Click Create Environment to create the new environment.The environment appears in your environments list with its own card showing the name, description, and domain.
After creating an environment, configure CloudLink to connect the environment to your data warehouse.
CloudLink must be configured before you can deploy apps that use Snowflake-connected Tables or Elements. Apps deployed without a valid CloudLink connection will not be able to access data.

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Environment Isolation Requirements

Before configuring CloudLink for a new environment, create dedicated Snowflake resources:
ResourceExample Naming Convention
UserELEMENTUM_DEV, ELEMENTUM_STAGING, ELEMENTUM_PROD
RoleELEMENTUM_DEV, ELEMENTUM_STAGING, ELEMENTUM_PROD
DatabaseELEMENTUM_DEV, ELEMENTUM_STAGING, ELEMENTUM_PROD
SchemaELEMENTUM_PLATFORM (within each environment’s database)
Important Rules:
  1. No Cross-Access: Users from one environment should never have access to another environment’s database or platform schema
  2. Platform Data Isolation: The database and schema where Elementum stores platform data must be unique per environment
  3. Shared External Data (Optional): If you want environments to access the same business data tables (non-platform data), you can grant those permissions—but understand that data changes will be visible across all environments with access
Example: You might grant both ELEMENTUM_DEV and ELEMENTUM_PROD users read access to SALES_DB.PUBLIC.CUSTOMERS for testing with real data structures. However, each user must write platform data to their own isolated database (ELEMENTUM_DEV or ELEMENTUM_PROD).
1

Open Environment Configuration

From the Environments list, find your new environment and click the Configure button on its card.This opens the environment configuration page showing the environment name, status, and domain configuration.
2

Access CloudLink Settings

Click the Manage CloudLink Credentials button.This opens the new environment in a new tab/window, navigating directly to the CloudLinks settings page.
3

Edit CloudLink Connection

On the CloudLinks page, click the Edit button on the CloudLink entry.The Edit CloudLink modal appears with the following fields:Connection Settings:
  • Name - Identifier for this CloudLink connection
  • Username - Snowflake service account username
  • URL - Your Snowflake account URL (e.g., your-account.snowflakecomputing.com)
  • Authentication Method - Select Password or Key-pair authentication
  • Password - Service account password (if using password authentication)
Resource Scheduler:
  • Interval - Sync frequency (default: 20 minutes)
  • Time unit - Minutes, Hours, or Days
The default sync interval is 20 minutes. Shorter intervals provide faster data updates but increase Snowflake credit consumption.
4

Configure Data Connection

After entering valid credentials, additional fields become available:
  • Role - Select the Snowflake role for this connection
  • Warehouse - Select the Snowflake warehouse to use
  • Database - Select the database where Elementum stores platform data
The Database field is where Elementum creates its platform tables. Select or create a dedicated schema for Elementum - do not use your business data schema here.
5

Save Configuration

Click Save to apply the CloudLink configuration.The connection is tested automatically. Once successful, the environment is ready for app deployments.
For detailed Snowflake configuration including IP whitelisting and permissions, see the Connecting Snowflake to Elementum guide.

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Part 3: Deploying Apps Between Environments

Once your environment has CloudLink configured, you can deploy apps to and from it.
1

Navigate to the App

Open the app you want to deploy in its source environment (the environment where the app currently exists).For example, to deploy an app from Development to Production, open the app in the Development environment.
2

Open Deployments

In the app’s left navigation, under the Configuration section, click Deployments.The Deployments page shows all available environments with their deployment status.
3

View Environment Status

Each environment is displayed as a card showing:
  • Environment name and description
  • Status indicator: Deployed (green), Deploying (yellow), Failed (red), or Not Deployed (gray)
  • Deploy button to initiate deployment
The right panel shows Deployment History with recent activity.
4

Initiate Deployment

Find the target environment (where you want to deploy the app) and click the Deploy button on its card.A confirmation modal appears:
  • Title: “Deploy App To Environment”
  • Message: “Deployment will copy all app configurations and associated objects to the target environment.”
  • Visual showing the deployment flow from source to target
  • Summary: “Deploy App from [Source] to [Target]”
5

Confirm and Deploy

Review the deployment details and click Deploy to proceed.The deployment process begins:
  • Status changes to “Deploying” (yellow)
  • Progress bar shows deployment progress
  • Upon completion, status changes to “Deployed” (green)
6

Monitor Deployment

Track deployment progress:
StatusDescription
DeployingDeployment is in progress
DeployedDeployment completed successfully
FailedDeployment encountered an error
Not DeployedApp has not been deployed to this environment
View the Deployment History panel for a log of all deployment activity.

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Part 4: Post-Deployment Configuration

Apps with Tables or Elements linked to Snowflake require additional configuration after deployment. Simple apps without external data dependencies complete immediately.

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Apps Without External Dependencies

For apps that don’t connect to Snowflake data:
  • Deployment completes immediately
  • Environment card shows green “Deployed” status
  • No additional configuration required
  • App is ready to use in the target environment

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Apps With Snowflake Dependencies

For apps with Tables or Elements linked to Snowflake, you must configure the data connections in the new environment.
1

Access Post-Deployment Configuration

After deployment completes, the Deploy button changes to Configure.The card shows:
  • Green “Deployed” status pill
  • “Complete” progress indicator
  • Configure button
Click Configure to open the target environment.
2

Review Items Needing Configuration

The Resolve Issues modal appears with the message: “Review and resolve configuration issues before proceeding with deployment.”The left panel lists all Datasets (Tables and Elements) that need configuration, each showing:
  • Dataset name
  • Configuration status (“Not configured”)
  • Error count indicating fields needing mapping
3

Select a Dataset

Click on a Dataset in the left panel to configure it.The right panel shows:
  • Dataset name and error count
  • “Configure data source connection and field mappings”
  • Valid fields count and errors count
4

Configure Data Connection

The CloudLink is pre-selected. Configure the data source:
  1. Database - Select the database from the dropdown
  2. Schema - Select the schema containing your data
  3. Table - Select the table that corresponds to this dataset
5

Map Fields

After selecting the table, map each field:
Target FieldAction
Field from the deployed appSelect the corresponding Source Field from the new environment’s table
For each Target Field listed:
  • Use the dropdown to select the matching Source Field
  • Ensure data types align (TEXT to TEXT, NUMBER to NUMBER, etc.)
  • Repeat for all fields in the dataset
6

Save Configuration

After mapping all fields for all datasets:
  1. Click Configure Dataset to save the configurations
  2. Configured items are removed from the list
  3. Continue until all items are configured
  4. When the list is empty, the modal closes
The app is now fully configured and ready to use in the target environment.

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Troubleshooting

Possible Causes:
  • CloudLink not configured in target environment
  • CloudLink credentials invalid or expired
  • Network connectivity issues
Solutions:
  1. Verify CloudLink is configured in the target environment
  2. Test CloudLink connection in Organization Settings
  3. Check Snowflake service account permissions
Possible Causes:
  • Environment not yet created
  • Insufficient permissions to view environments
Solutions:
  1. Verify the environment exists in Organization Settings > Environments
  2. Contact your administrator to check access permissions
Possible Causes:
  • Table structure differs between environments
  • Missing columns in target environment’s table
  • Data type mismatches
Solutions:
  1. Verify the target table exists and has the expected columns
  2. Check that column names match or can be mapped correctly
  3. Ensure data types are compatible between source and target
Possible Causes:
  • Deployment still in progress
  • App has no external dependencies (no configuration needed)
Solutions:
  1. Wait for deployment to complete (status shows “Deployed”)
  2. If no Configure button appears after deployment, the app has no Snowflake dependencies and is ready to use
Scenario: You need to use the same Snowflake user account with key-pair authentication for CloudLinks in environments that belong to different organizations.Solution: Snowflake supports key-pair rotation, which allows you to configure a second public key for the same user account. This enables environments in both organizations to authenticate simultaneously without disrupting existing connections.
Important: Key-pair rotation is only required when using the same Snowflake user across environments in different organizations. If you are using the same Snowflake user across multiple environments within the same organization, key-pair rotation is not necessary because they share the same public key.
Steps:
  1. Obtain the Public Key from the Organization You Are Adding the CloudLink To:
    • Navigate to Organization Settings > CloudLinks in the organization where you want to add the CloudLink
    • Start creating a new Snowflake CloudLink
    • Select Key-pair authentication as the authentication method
    • Copy the public key displayed
  2. Configure Key-Pair Rotation in Snowflake:
    • Contact your Snowflake administrator to set the RSA_PUBLIC_KEY_2 property for the Snowflake user
    • Provide the public key copied from the organization where you’re adding the CloudLink
    • The Snowflake admin should run: 
      ALTER USER <username> SET RSA_PUBLIC_KEY_2='<public_key>';
  3. Complete CloudLink Setup:
    • After the second public key is configured in Snowflake, complete the CloudLink setup in the organization
    • Both organizations will now be able to authenticate with the same Snowflake user
    • The existing CloudLink in the other organization continues to work without interruption
For detailed information on configuring key-pair rotation in Snowflake, see Snowflake’s key-pair authentication documentation.

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Best Practices

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Environment Strategy

Use Descriptive Names

Name environments clearly: Development, Testing, Staging, Training. This helps team members understand each environment’s purpose.

Document Configurations

Keep records of which CloudLink credentials and databases each environment uses for easier troubleshooting.

Test Before Production

Always deploy to a non-production environment first. Verify functionality before promoting to Production.

One App at a Time

Deploy apps individually to isolate issues. If a deployment fails, you’ll know exactly which app caused the problem.
Required: Each environment must have its own dedicated Snowflake user, role, database, and schema for platform data. This is not optional—sharing these resources between environments creates security risks and can cause data corruption.
  • Create separate Snowflake credentials for each environment (user, role, database, schema)
  • Never share platform databases/schemas between environments
  • Document which external data is shared between environments (if any)
  • Verify IP whitelisting includes Elementum’s IP addresses
  • Monitor CloudLink connection health regularly

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Deployment Workflow

  1. Develop - Make changes in a Development environment
  2. Test - Deploy to Testing/QA environment for validation
  3. Stage - Deploy to Staging for final verification (optional)
  4. Release - Deploy to Production when ready

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Next Steps

Environments Overview

Learn about environment concepts and use cases

CloudLink Setup

Detailed CloudLink configuration options

Snowflake Connection

Complete Snowflake setup guide with scripts

Apps Overview

Understanding apps and their components