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Properly configuring environments helps you organize issues, filter noise, and apply environment-specific settings.

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Setting the Environment

The environment option identifies where your code is running: 
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/browser';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: 'production',
});

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Using Environment Variables

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development',
});
Common environment names: production, staging, development, qa, test

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Environment-Specific Configuration

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Conditional Initialization

Only initialize Sentry in certain environments: 
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  Sentry.init({
    dsn: '__DSN__',
    environment: 'production',
  });
}

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Different Settings Per Environment

const sentryConfig = {
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV,
};

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  sentryConfig.tracesSampleRate = 0.1; // 10% in production
  sentryConfig.debug = false;
} else if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'staging') {
  sentryConfig.tracesSampleRate = 0.5; // 50% in staging
  sentryConfig.debug = false;
} else {
  sentryConfig.tracesSampleRate = 1.0; // 100% in development
  sentryConfig.debug = true;
}

Sentry.init(sentryConfig);

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Environment Variables

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Node.js

import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN,
  environment: process.env.SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT,
  release: process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE,
});

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Browser (with Build Tools)

Using Webpack DefinePlugin or similar: 
// webpack.config.js
const webpack = require('webpack');

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    new webpack.DefinePlugin({
      'process.env.SENTRY_DSN': JSON.stringify(process.env.SENTRY_DSN),
      'process.env.NODE_ENV': JSON.stringify(process.env.NODE_ENV),
    }),
  ],
};
Then in your code: 
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/browser';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN,
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV,
});

​
Vite

Vite automatically exposes environment variables prefixed with VITE_: 
// .env.production
VITE_SENTRY_DSN=https://your-dsn@sentry.io/project-id
VITE_SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=production

import * as Sentry from '@sentry/browser';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: import.meta.env.VITE_SENTRY_DSN,
  environment: import.meta.env.VITE_SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT,
});

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Development vs Production

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Disabling in Development

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV,
  enabled: process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'development',
});
Disabling Sentry in development means you won’t catch development-only bugs. Consider using filtering instead.

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Development-Specific Settings

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.NODE_ENV,
  debug: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development',
  tracesSampleRate: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? 1.0 : 0.1,
});

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Browser Extension Detection

The Browser SDK automatically detects browser extensions and disables itself by default: 
Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  // Default: skipBrowserExtensionCheck: false
  // Set to true to allow Sentry in browser extensions
  skipBrowserExtensionCheck: true,
});

​
Multiple Environments in the Same Project

Use environments to segment data in your Sentry project: 
// Production deployment
Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: 'production',
  release: 'my-app@1.0.0',
});

// Staging deployment
Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: 'staging',
  release: 'my-app@1.0.0-staging',
});
Then in Sentry’s UI, filter by environment to see only relevant issues.

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Server-Side Environment Detection

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Express.js

import express from 'express';
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';

const app = express();

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: app.get('env'), // 'development' or 'production'
});

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Cloud Platforms

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Vercel

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.VERCEL_ENV, // 'production', 'preview', or 'development'
});

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AWS Lambda

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.AWS_EXECUTION_ENV ? 'production' : 'development',
});

​
Netlify

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: process.env.CONTEXT, // 'production', 'deploy-preview', or 'branch-deploy'
});

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Framework-Specific Configuration

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Next.js

Next.js supports .env.local, .env.production, etc.: 
# .env.production
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN=https://your-dsn@sentry.io/project-id
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=production

// sentry.client.config.ts
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/nextjs';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN,
  environment: process.env.SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT,
});

​
SvelteKit

// hooks.server.ts
import * as Sentry from '@sentry/sveltekit';
import { dev } from '$app/environment';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  environment: dev ? 'development' : 'production',
});

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Best Practices

Choose a standard set of environment names and use them consistently across all your projects. Common choices:
  • production
  • staging
  • development
  • qa / test
Never commit DSN or other sensitive configuration to source control. Use environment variables:
// ❌ Bad
Sentry.init({ dsn: 'https://abc123@sentry.io/123' });

// ✅ Good
Sentry.init({ dsn: process.env.SENTRY_DSN });
Production environments may need lower sampling rates to control volume:
const isProduction = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  tracesSampleRate: isProduction ? 0.1 : 1.0,
  replaysSessionSampleRate: isProduction ? 0.01 : 0.1,
});
Debug mode helps troubleshoot SDK issues during development:
Sentry.init({
  dsn: '__DSN__',
  debug: process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production',
});

​
Next Steps

Sampling Configuration

Control data volume with sampling rates

Filtering Events

Filter events before sending to Sentry