Detected Sails environment of `production`, but Node environ

Error message

Detected Sails environment of `production`, but Node environment is `${process.env.NODE_ENV}`.
It is recommended that in production mode, both the Sails and Node environments be set to `production`.

What it means

A warning raised in ready__ during app load: Sails' own environment (sails.config.environment) is set to 'production' but the Node process environment variable NODE_ENV is not 'production'. Sails warns because many libraries (Express middleware, ORM drivers, caching) key their behavior off NODE_ENV, and a mismatch can silently disable production optimizations or enable development behavior.

Source

Thrown at lib/app/load.js:275

   */
  function ready__(cb) {
    return function(err) {
      if (err) {
        return cb && cb(err);
      }

      sails.log.silly('The router & all hooks were loaded successfully.');

      // If userconfig hook is turned off, still load globals.
      if (sails.config.hooks && sails.config.hooks.userconfig === false ||
           (sails.config.loadHooks && sails.config.loadHooks.indexOf('userconfig') === -1)) {
        sails.exposeGlobals();
      }

      // If the Sails environment is set to "production" but the Node environment isn't,
      // log a warning.
      if (sails.config.environment === 'production' && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
        sails.log.warn('Detected Sails environment of `production`, but Node environment is `' + process.env.NODE_ENV + '`.\n' +
                       'It is recommended that in production mode, both the Sails and Node environments be set to `production`.');
      }

      cb && cb(null, sails);
    };
  }

  //    ██╗    ██╗    ██╗███╗   ██╗██╗     ██╗███╗   ██╗███████╗    ███████╗███╗   ██╗    ██████╗ ███████╗███████╗███████╗    ██╗
  //   ██╔╝   ██╔╝    ██║████╗  ██║██║     ██║████╗  ██║██╔════╝    ██╔════╝████╗  ██║    ██╔══██╗██╔════╝██╔════╝██╔════╝    ╚██╗
  //  ██╔╝   ██╔╝     ██║██╔██╗ ██║██║     ██║██╔██╗ ██║█████╗      █████╗  ██╔██╗ ██║    ██║  ██║█████╗  █████╗  ███████╗     ╚██╗
  //  ╚██╗  ██╔╝      ██║██║╚██╗██║██║     ██║██║╚██╗██║██╔══╝      ██╔══╝  ██║╚██╗██║    ██║  ██║██╔══╝  ██╔══╝  ╚════██║     ██╔╝
  //   ╚██╗██╔╝       ██║██║ ╚████║███████╗██║██║ ╚████║███████╗    ██║     ██║ ╚████║    ██████╔╝███████╗██║     ███████║    ██╔╝
  //    ╚═╝╚═╝        ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═══╝╚══════╝╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═══╝╚══════╝    ╚═╝     ╚═╝  ╚═══╝    ╚═════╝ ╚══════╝╚═╝     ╚══════╝    ╚═╝
  //
  // </ inline function declarations (see note above) >
  // ==============================================================================

View on GitHub (pinned to 7b76422cc2)

Solutions

Set NODE_ENV=production in the environment before lifting (export NODE_ENV=production or configure it in pm2/systemd/Dockerfile).
Start the app with NODE_ENV=production node app.js --prod.
If you actually want a non-production Sails environment, change sails.config.environment accordingly so the two match.

Example fix

// before (package.json)
"start": "node app.js"
// after
"start": "NODE_ENV=production node app.js --prod"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
  console.warn('NODE_ENV is not "production"; production lifts will warn. Set NODE_ENV=production.');
}

Prevention

Set NODE_ENV=production in pm2/systemd/Docker env config for every prod deployment.
Add a preflight check or startup assertion comparing NODE_ENV with sails.config.environment.
Document the required env vars in your deployment runbook.

When it happens

Trigger: Lifting with NODE_ENV unset or set to something other than 'production' while config/environment (or the --prod flag / NODE_ENV mapping) resolves sails.config.environment to 'production'.

Common situations: Deploying to a server where the process manager (pm2, systemd, docker) was not configured to pass NODE_ENV=production; running 'sails lift --prod' locally without exporting NODE_ENV; Docker images that set SAILS environment in config but not the OS env var.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of balderdashy/sails@7b76422cc2 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dbaf564b5b9d37fb. Report an issue: GitHub.