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+# Ephemeral environments with GraphOS
+
+> Spin up a fully composed supergraph per PR (and tear it down on merge or close), without manual GraphOS plumbing. Tracks [AS-222](https://apollographql.atlassian.net/browse/AS-222).
+
+Ephemeral envs let a reviewer hit a real Router + subgraph URL that reflects exactly the change in a PR. The Apollo-native primitive that makes this work is the [GraphOS variant](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/graphs#variants) — each variant has its own composed supergraph schema, its own Router config, and its own usage stats.
+
+## Topology
+
+```
+                  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
+                  │ GraphOS                          │
+PR #142 push ──►  │ variant: pr-142   ◄──┐           │
+                  │ variant: main         │ rover    │
+                  │ variant: prod         │ publish  │
+                  └────────────────┬──────┘          │
+                                   │                 │
+   CI                              ▼                 │
+   ──► spin up Router pointed at variant pr-142      │
+       deploy subgraph services on pr-142.example    │
+       comment PR with the env URL                   │
+                                                     │
+PR merged / closed ──► tear down namespace ──► rover graph delete my-graph@pr-142
+```
+
+One variant per PR, one short-lived Router + subgraph deployment per PR, automatic cleanup on PR close.
+
+## Step 1 — Variant lifecycle in CI
+
+On `pull_request: [opened, synchronize, reopened]`:
+
+```bash
+# Create the variant by publishing one subgraph against it. The variant is
+# implicitly created on first publish; no separate "create variant" call.
+rover subgraph publish my-graph@pr-${PR_NUMBER} \
+  --name products \
+  --schema ./subgraphs/products/schema.graphql \
+  --routing-url https://pr-${PR_NUMBER}.products.example.com
+```
+
+On `pull_request: [closed]`:
+
+```bash
+# Delete the variant and all its subgraphs — wipes the composed supergraph,
+# usage data, checks history, and any contracts. `rover graph delete` exits
+# non-zero if the variant doesn't exist, so guard the step with `|| true`
+# (or skip it if the variant was never created on this PR).
+rover graph delete my-graph@pr-${PR_NUMBER} --confirm || true
+```
+
+The variant key (`pr-<number>`) is the contract between CI and infrastructure. Use the GitHub-provided `PR_NUMBER`, not a sha or branch name, so re-pushes still target the same variant.
+
+## Step 2 — Subgraph deployment
+
+Same pattern as your prod deploy, parameterized by PR number. On Kubernetes, that's a per-PR namespace; on Fly.io / Render, it's per-PR apps named `pr-<n>-products`, `pr-<n>-reviews`, etc.
+
+The only Apollo-specific config: each subgraph's `routing-url` published to GraphOS must resolve from the Router pod. For Kubernetes, that's the in-cluster service DNS; for Fly.io/Cloud Run, the public HTTPS URL.
+
+## Step 3 — Router pointing at the variant
+
+The Router fetches its supergraph schema and config from Apollo Uplink based on `APOLLO_GRAPH_REF`. Set it to the per-PR variant:
+
+```yaml
+env:
+  - name: APOLLO_GRAPH_REF
+    value: my-graph@pr-142
+  - name: APOLLO_KEY
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef: { name: apollo-key, key: APOLLO_KEY }
+```
+
+Router automatically refetches when the variant's supergraph schema changes (every re-push during the PR's life). No restart needed.
+
+## Step 4 — PR comment with the URL
+
+After the deploy completes, post a comment with the ephemeral URL. Use a deduped marker so re-pushes update the comment instead of creating new ones — the pattern in [`apollosolutions/proposal-pr-bot`](https://github.com/apollosolutions/proposal-pr-bot) works here.
+
+## Permissions
+
+Use a [GraphOS service account API key](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/api-keys/) scoped to one graph. The key needs:
+
+- `graph admin` or `graph contributor` to publish subgraphs to new variants
+- `graph admin` to delete variants
+
+Store it as a GitHub Actions secret. Rotate quarterly.
+
+## Cost / quota awareness
+
+- **Variants are unlimited** on enterprise plans but each one counts as an active variant on usage-based plans. Tear them down promptly on PR close.
+- **Usage reporting** from PR Routers is real usage data. Filter it out of dashboards by `graph.variant_id` to avoid polluting prod metrics.
+- **Checks** against ephemeral variants don't carry forward to prod — the validity of a `pr-142` check expires when the variant is deleted.
+
+## See also
+
+- [Apollo Connectors and Router on each variant](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/graphs/federated-graphs)
+- [Service accounts and API keys](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/api-keys/)
+- [`apollosolutions/proposal-pr-bot`](https://github.com/apollosolutions/proposal-pr-bot) — companion tooling for keeping PR ↔ proposal in sync (AS-89)