Test server

A test server runs the next version (the develop branch) on a copy of your production data, so you can try it with your real clients before it's released. Staging mode makes that copy safe: it can read from ITFlow, NinjaOne and Veeam like production, but nothing it does reaches a real system or a real person.

What staging mode does

On the test server
Reads from the PSA, RMMs and backup products	Work as normal (sync keeps the copy fresh)
Writes to the PSA (two-way sync, new assets, warranty write-back, contact changes and archiving, tickets)	Off; screens show them as off, and any write that gets through is refused
Email (notifications, digests, invitations, welcome emails, reports)	Sent only to the test mailbox, marked [TEST], with who it was meant for. No test mailbox: nothing is sent
Meeting invitations	Created only in the sending mailbox, with the test mailbox as the only guest. Real meetings from the copied data are never changed or cancelled
Client portal and onboarding links	Off
REST API	Off (503 `test_server`)
Every page and printed report	Marked "Test server"

Staging mode is set in config.php on the server, so it can't be turned off from the web pages, and a restore from a production backup keeps it.

Setting one up

A VM like production (Debian 13, 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM), reachable only on your LAN or VPN. It holds real client data, so treat it like production: 2FA, backups, updates.
Install from the develop branch:

bash curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MSP-ALIGN/MSP-ALIGN/develop/install.sh | sudo -E ALIGN_BRANCH=develop bash

Turn on staging mode before restoring anything. Edit /etc/msp-align/config.php and uncomment (or add) these lines:

php 'staging' => true, 'staging_mail_to' => 'align-test@yourcompany.example', // a mailbox you read

Check that the yellow "Test server" banner shows on every page. 4. Copy production in: on production, Settings → Updates & backups → Download backup. On the test server, Restore it with your backup key. Staff sign in with their production passwords and 2FA. 5. Updates: Settings → Updates & backups shows "Updates from: Test channel (develop)". Update from there whenever a new test version is ready. Restore a fresh backup whenever you want newer data.

update_branch in config.php sets the channel (develop here, main or absent on production).

In Docker images are published for releases only, so a Docker test server runs a release (handy for trying a copy of production safely, not for testing develop). The container rewrites config.php on every start, so set ALIGN_STAGING=1 and ALIGN_STAGING_MAIL_TO=align-test@yourcompany.example in .env, leave ALIGN_UPDATE_BRANCH on main, and run docker compose up -d. Check for the yellow banner before restoring.