> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.heeler.com/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.heeler.com/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization/environments.md). # Environments Assign cloud accounts, projects, and clusters to environment boundaries so Heeler prioritizes findings by real business impact. Environment boundaries tell Heeler which resources are Production versus Sandbox — the single biggest lever on **risk prioritization**. Once set, environments are maintained automatically and drive both prioritization and Heeler's lifecycle tracking of a fix across every environment. ## Before you start Environments map from your [connected clouds](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/cloud-and-runtime.md) — connect AWS, Azure, GCP, or Kubernetes first, then assign their accounts and clusters here. Without a connected cloud there are no accounts, OUs, or clusters to assign. ## The environments Heeler recognizes

Environment	What it is	Impact
Production	Runs apps that serve end users and customers.	High
Disaster Recovery	Mitigates disruption or loss of primary environments.	High
Corporate	Internal/company-facing apps (HR, corporate sites).	High
Unassigned	Catch-all for resources not yet curated — treated as High since they could be Production.	High
Staging	Pre-production validation on production-equivalent infra.	Low
Development	Where developers integrate code.	Low
Test	QA / acceptance / performance testing.	Low
Sandbox	Proof-of-concept and experimentation.	Low

Heeler groups these into **High** and **Low** impact, which flows directly into how findings are prioritized.

Connection Mapping → Environments, showing environment boundaries with impact badges and organizational-unit, account, and tag assignments per cloud provider. — Environment boundaries per cloud provider, each with its business-impact weighting and assigned accounts.

## Ways to assign environments Choose the method that matches how your cloud is organized (**Administration → Connection Mapping → Environments**, then pick a method under an environment such as Production):

Method	When to use it
Organizational Units / Folders (recommended)	Simplest to maintain — assign OUs (AWS) or folders (GCP) and every account/resource beneath inherits the environment. Scales as accounts are added.
Accounts	Assign whole accounts/projects when they're stable, manageable in number, and consistent in purpose. An account setting takes precedence over its OU.
Account-Level Tags	Map existing account/project tags to environments — good when your structure doesn't reflect environments but your tagging does.
Resource-Level Tags	Finest control — tag individual compute resources when different environments share an account.
Kubernetes Clusters	Assign an environment to each cluster individually.

The Environments assignment interface for selecting Organizational Units, Accounts, or Tags per environment. — Assign OUs, accounts, or tags to each environment.

{% hint style="info" %} When you pick **Tags**, the **Allow Resource Override** checkbox decides the precedence: unchecked applies account tags to all their resources; checked lets a [resource-level tag](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization/environments/using-resource-level-tags.md) override its account's environment. The Tags modal, with Allow Resource Override.

The Tags modal, with Allow Resource Override.

{% endhint %} ## Verify 1. On **Connection Mapping → Environments**, each assigned account, project, or cluster shows the **environment badge** you gave it (e.g. Production, Staging). 2. Nothing you intend to curate is left **Unassigned** — anything still Unassigned is treated as High impact until you assign it. 3. Spot-check a repository or service in the [Catalog](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/catalog.md): its business impact reflects the environment you assigned. ## Related * [Using Account-Level Tags](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization/environments/using-account-level-tags.md) — map account/OU tags to environments. * [Using Resource-Level Tags](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization/environments/using-resource-level-tags.md) — override at the individual-resource level. * [Map Your Organization](/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization.md) — teams, applications, and ticketing. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.heeler.com/mrecEO40m5D6bt7Pq5pE/get-started/map-your-organization/environments.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.