# Environment readiness

Diagnose an environment from initial setup through traffic and configuration review.

Environment readiness is lifecycle-first. It identifies the next useful action instead of reducing
configuration to a generic health score.

Use it while activating a project or diagnosing why an environment cannot serve a meaningful hosted
request.

## Readiness sequence

| State              | Meaning                                                    | Next action                 |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| No flags           | The project has no active decision to serve                | Create a flag               |
| Defaults missing   | No active flag is configured here                          | Configure a typed fallback  |
| Create runtime key | Configuration exists but no active server key does         | Create a minimum-scope key  |
| Send first request | Key and configuration exist without hosted traffic         | Run the generated request   |
| Review defaults    | Real traffic makes all-off or incomplete defaults relevant | Review configuration        |
| Ready              | No higher-priority setup action remains                    | Operate and review normally |

The sequence is derived from real resources and hosted usage. There is no persisted onboarding step
that can drift from project state.

## No flags

Create the first flag after confirming the environment model. An empty project must add at least one
environment before flag creation becomes available.

Choose a safe type, lifecycle, and key. The first flag does not need a production rollout yet; it needs
a deliberate configuration contract.

## Defaults missing

A flag definition alone is not evaluable. Initialize at least one flag configuration and choose a
typed fallback.

A configured boolean `false` counts as a valid default. Missing configuration does not. Review the
difference before attempting to fix readiness by changing values.

## Create a runtime key

Choose `runtime:evaluate` for direct hosted evaluation and `runtime:snapshot` for snapshot clients.
Store the one-time secret immediately.

A browser client key does not satisfy the server runtime activation step. It uses a different trust
boundary, origin policy, and exposure model.

## Send the first request

Use a hosted `/v1/evaluate` request to prove authentication, key binding, configuration, and API
reachability. The console-generated command is designed for this activation boundary.

A local Node.js getter does not create hosted evaluation usage. Snapshot fetching creates hosted API
traffic but local evaluations remain unobserved.

## Review defaults after traffic

A fresh environment whose boolean flags default off is not automatically a review problem. Before
traffic, proving integration is the useful action.

After hosted traffic begins, the same all-off or incomplete configuration may affect a real runtime.
Readiness can then direct the operator to review defaults.

## Diagnose a stuck environment

1. Confirm the environment is active rather than archived.
2. Confirm the flag is configured, not merely defined.
3. Confirm the key belongs to this project environment.
4. Confirm its scope matches the requested endpoint.
5. Run a hosted request and inspect status and response environment.
6. Check organisation lifecycle when every valid key returns `403`.

Archived environments cannot create keys or receive normal changes. Restore before continuing setup.
Organisation offboarding blocks existing keys even when the environment itself remains active.

## What readiness does not prove

Ready does not prove every application process refreshed, every rule is correct, every code path ran,
or business outcomes are healthy.

Use application observability, controlled rollout procedures, and periodic lifecycle review after
activation.

Related pages: [Environments](/docs/platform/environments),
[Quickstart](/docs/quickstart), and
[Troubleshooting and limits](/docs/operate/troubleshooting-and-limits).