> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.poweredbybackstage.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.poweredbybackstage.com/fundamentals/environments.md).

# Environments

**Environments** allow you to have the same Site in multiple states.

Each Environment has its own values for **Show Variables**. Setting a Show Variable will only affect that specific Environment.

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For example, let's say we have a Site, and we use a Show Variable `Event Status` to control the page the users are currently on. When the doors are closed and the event has not started yet, we can set this variable to `Countdown` and all users see a Countdown page. When the doors open and the event begins, we'll set this to `Started` and send our users to a Theater page. Then, when the event is over, we'll set this to `Ended` and send our users to an End page.

Now let's say we want to test our run of show for this event but we also want the site to be live with the countdown. We can use a pre-production environment for our testing and change the `Event Status` freely while still having guests visit the production environment which has an `Event Status` of `Countdown`.

Rather than creating a separate site for testing and live, we can create a single Site with multiple Environments. Each Environment will have it's own set of variables to control the Site.