Platforms CI/CD & Environments Environment Cloning
Core 02 · CI/CD & Environments

Clone a full Kubernetes environment — services, data, and config.

Pick a source environment and Atmosly duplicates the entire thing — its cluster, namespace, every application service with its build and deploy config, env vars and secrets, and every database — into a brand-new copy. Names, namespaces and passwords are regenerated so nothing collides.

  • Apps + databases
  • Secrets re-fetched
  • Collision-free
Source environment
checkout-prod
ns: checkout-prod · prod-eu-west
Application services7
DatabasesPostgres · Redis
Env vars42
Secretsfrom Secret Mgr
Clone
New environment
checkout-prod-copy
ns: checkout-prod-copy · prod-eu-west
Services copied7 · same cfg
Databases recreatednew passwords
Env vars copied42
Parent linkedcheckout-prod
What gets cloned

The whole environment — not just the manifests

A clone carries everything that makes the source environment real: the workloads, the data layer, the config, and the wiring between them. It lands on a cluster you choose, in its own namespace.

Every application service

Each service comes with its source type — a container image or a Git-based CD config — plus its env vars, CD values (form or YAML), container registry, and the workflow it's wired to. The clone is deployable, not a shell.

image & Git-CD servicescopied
env vars · CD values · registry

Every datastore

Managed and self-managed databases come along — PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Aurora, or a third-party source — with their full config: replicas, resource limits, and backup settings. Credentials are regenerated for the copy.

db config · replicas · backupscopied
passwordsregenerated

Secrets, re-fetched

Secret-backed values are pulled fresh from AWS or GCP Secret Manager at clone time — masked if you lack view-secret permission.

Cluster, namespace & labels

Choose the target cluster; the clone gets its own namespace and carries the source's labels so it's organized from the start.

Parent lineage

Each clone records the environment it came from, so you always know what a copy was based on.

Collision-free by construction

Everything that has to be unique is regenerated for the copy — environment name and namespace, database passwords, record prefixes, and container-registry bindings — so a clone never clashes with its source or another clone.

How cloning works

From source to running copy

Cloning is a guided flow, not a YAML copy-paste. You review what's carried over, rename the few things that must be unique, and choose how much of the pipeline to run.

1
Pick source

Choose the environment to clone

Atmosly reads its full definition — every service, datastore, env var, and the secret references behind them — and assembles a clone payload you can review before anything is created.

source · checkout-prodloaded
services · 7 · datastores · 2
2
Review & rename

Set the fields that must be unique

Name the new environment and namespace; database passwords, record prefixes, and registry bindings are regenerated automatically. Target cluster is yours to pick.

name · checkout-prod-copyset
passwords · prefixesregenerated
3
Choose scope

Full pipeline, or deploy only

Clone with CI+CD to rebuild from source, or CD-only to redeploy the existing artifacts straight into the new environment when you just need a running copy fast.

mode · CD-onlyselected
artifacts · reused
4
Deploy

The copy comes up isolated

Services and datastores deploy into the new namespace on your chosen cluster. When you're done with it, pair a Guardrail to scale it down or destroy it on a schedule.

ns · checkout-prod-copycreated
services · running
teardown · via Guardrailscheduled
What teams clone for

One environment, copied for whatever you need next

Stand up a new tier

Clone prod into a staging or QA environment that matches it exactly — same services, same data layer, new credentials.

A copy per team or tenant

Give a team — or a customer tenant — its own isolated copy of a known-good environment without rebuilding it by hand.

Reproduce to debug

Spin up an exact replica to chase down a bug or test a risky change against a realistic copy — then throw it away.

Throwaway preview

Clone an environment to review a change in isolation, then let a scheduled Guardrail tear it down so nothing lingers.

The payoff

A real copy in minutes — not a day of YAML

Whole env
services, datastores, config & secrets — copied
Collision-free
names, namespaces & passwords regenerated
CI+CD or CD
rebuild from source, or redeploy artifacts
Any cluster
land the clone wherever you choose
Questions

What teams ask about cloning

What exactly gets copied?
The full environment definition: cluster placement, namespace, labels, every application service (its source type, env vars, CD values, registry, and workflow), and every datastore with its config — replicas, resource limits, and backup settings. The clone is a deployable copy, not just a set of manifests.
How are secrets and passwords handled?
Secret-backed env vars are re-fetched from your AWS or GCP Secret Manager at clone time rather than copied around — and masked if you don't have view-secret permission. Database passwords and other unique credentials are regenerated for the new copy, so the clone never shares secrets with its source.
Will a clone collide with the environment it came from?
No. Everything that must be unique — environment name, namespace, database passwords, record prefixes, and container-registry bindings — is regenerated for the copy. You review and name the new environment before it's created, and the clone records its parent for lineage.
Can I clone without rebuilding from source?
Yes. Clone CD-only to redeploy the existing artifacts straight into the new environment when you just need a running copy fast, or clone with the full CI+CD pipeline to rebuild from source. And since a clone is a normal environment, you can pair it with a Guardrail to scale it down or destroy it on a schedule.

Copy a real environment in minutes.

Connect a cluster, read-only to start. Pick an environment, clone it — services, datastores, config and all — into an isolated copy, and watch it come up. Free, no sales call.

Clone an environment → Book a 15-min walkthrough