Cloning apps
Cloning copies an app into another environment of its project, or the same one under another name: a staging copy of production, a copy to try an upgrade on.
Clone an app
In the app's App Clone:
- Name the copy, under Target Name, and choose its Target Environment.
- Choose what to copy.
- Click Save and Clone.
The settings are kept, so the next clone of the app is one click.
What it copies
| Setting | Copies |
|---|---|
| Clone Deployment Configuration | The app's source and how it is built and run. |
| Clone Routing Configuration | Its routing, with a Domain for the copy in place of each of the app's. |
| Clone Env Variables | Its env vars. |
| Clone Secrets | Its secrets. |
| Clone Config Files | Its config files, and the setting mounts that read them. |
| Clone Periodic Jobs | Its health checks. |
| Clone Scheduled Jobs | Its scheduled jobs. |
| Clone Volumes | Its storage mounts, and with Clone Volume Data, the data on them. |
A Domain is the app's with clone- in front until it is changed:
clone-shop.example.com for shop.example.com. Without Clone Routing
Configuration, the copy has no domain; it is not reachable from outside until
it is given one.
With Clone Volumes, each of the copy's mounts is a directory of its own, named after the copy, on the same volume: empty, or a copy of the app's with Clone Volume Data. Without it, the copy has no storage: it never reads or writes the app's.
Target Status and Target Replicas say whether the copy starts, and with how many instances.
Copying data
Two ways, for two kinds of data:
- Clone Volume Data copies the storage's files. It suits files, such as uploads. For a database, tick Stop Source App Before Clone: copying the files of a database while it writes can leave a copy that is broken.
- Post-Clone Commands run Command Pipes once the copy exists, such as a
pg_dumpof the app into apg_restoreof the copy. A database's own tools give a consistent copy without stopping the app.
When a clone ends
A clone runs as a task, listed in the app's tasks with its log. One that fails leaves no app behind, and its task says why.
To be told how it ended, choose a notification target under Notification Configuration, for success, for failure, or both. The message names the copy and, for a failure, the reason. Nobody is told until a target is chosen.
Clones for previews
The database apps a pull request preview clones use their App Clone settings: set them up before adding the databases to the preview's DB Apps to Clone.