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Feature Flags
Control feature releases and enable progressive rollout with feature flag systems.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when:
- Implementing gradual feature rollouts
- Enabling trunk-based development
- Running A/B tests and experiments
- Managing feature lifecycles
- Implementing kill switches for production
Prerequisites
- Application code access
- Feature flag service or self-hosted solution
- Basic understanding of deployment patterns
Feature Flag Types
| Type | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Control feature visibility | New checkout flow |
| Experiment | A/B testing | Button color test |
| Ops | Runtime configuration | Rate limiting |
| Permission | User access control | Premium features |
| Kill Switch | Emergency disable | Third-party integration |
LaunchDarkly
SDK Setup (Node.js)
const LaunchDarkly = require('launchdarkly-node-server-sdk');
const client = LaunchDarkly.init(process.env.LAUNCHDARKLY_SDK_KEY);
await client.waitForInitialization();
// Evaluate flag
const user = {
key: 'user-123',
email: 'user@example.com',
custom: {
plan: 'premium',
company: 'acme'
}
};
const showNewFeature = await client.variation('new-checkout', user, false);
if (showNewFeature) {
// New feature code
} else {
// Existing code
}React SDK
import { withLDProvider, useFlags, useLDClient } from 'launchdarkly-react-client-sdk';
// Provider setup
export default withLDProvider({
clientSideID: 'your-client-side-id',
user: {
key: 'user-123',
email: 'user@example.com'
}
})(App);
// Using flags in component
function FeatureComponent() {
const { newCheckout, experimentVariant } = useFlags();
const ldClient = useLDClient();
// Track events
const handleClick = () => {
ldClient.track('checkout-started');
};
if (newCheckout) {
return <NewCheckout onClick={handleClick} />;
}
return <OldCheckout onClick={handleClick} />;
}Targeting Rules
# LaunchDarkly targeting configuration
flag: new-checkout
targeting:
# Individual users
targets:
- variation: true
values: ['user-123', 'user-456']
# Rules
rules:
# Beta users
- variation: true
clauses:
- attribute: email
op: endsWith
values: ['@company.com']
# Premium plan
- variation: true
clauses:
- attribute: plan
op: in
values: ['premium', 'enterprise']
# Percentage rollout
- variation: true
rollout:
variations:
- variation: true
weight: 20000 # 20%
- variation: false
weight: 80000 # 80%
# Default
fallthrough:
variation: falseUnleash
Server Setup
# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
unleash:
image: unleashorg/unleash-server:latest
ports:
- "4242:4242"
environment:
- DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@db/unleash
- DATABASE_SSL=false
depends_on:
- db
db:
image: postgres:15
environment:
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
- POSTGRES_DB=unleash
volumes:
- postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
postgres-data:SDK Setup (Node.js)
const { initialize } = require('unleash-client');
const unleash = initialize({
url: 'http://localhost:4242/api',
appName: 'my-app',
customHeaders: {
Authorization: 'your-api-token'
}
});
unleash.on('ready', () => {
// Check feature
const isEnabled = unleash.isEnabled('new-checkout');
// With context
const context = {
userId: 'user-123',
properties: {
plan: 'premium'
}
};
const isEnabledForUser = unleash.isEnabled('new-checkout', context);
// Get variant
const variant = unleash.getVariant('experiment-flag', context);
console.log(variant.name); // 'control' or 'treatment'
});Activation Strategies
# Standard strategies
strategies:
- name: default
# On/off for everyone
- name: userWithId
parameters:
userIds: 'user-1,user-2,user-3'
- name: gradualRolloutUserId
parameters:
percentage: 25
groupId: 'new-feature'
- name: gradualRolloutRandom
parameters:
percentage: 50
- name: flexibleRollout
parameters:
rollout: 30
stickiness: userId
groupId: 'checkout-exp'Custom Implementation
Database-Backed Flags
# models.py
from django.db import models
class FeatureFlag(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=100, unique=True)
enabled = models.BooleanField(default=False)
rollout_percentage = models.IntegerField(default=0)
allowed_users = models.JSONField(default=list)
rules = models.JSONField(default=dict)
created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)
# service.py
import hashlib
class FeatureFlagService:
def __init__(self):
self._cache = {}
def is_enabled(self, flag_name, user_id=None, context=None):
flag = self._get_flag(flag_name)
if not flag or not flag.enabled:
return False
# Check user allowlist
if user_id and user_id in flag.allowed_users:
return True
# Check rules
if context and self._evaluate_rules(flag.rules, context):
return True
# Check percentage rollout
if flag.rollout_percentage > 0 and user_id:
return self._is_in_rollout(flag_name, user_id, flag.rollout_percentage)
return flag.rollout_percentage == 100
def _is_in_rollout(self, flag_name, user_id, percentage):
hash_input = f"{flag_name}:{user_id}"
hash_value = int(hashlib.md5(hash_input.encode()).hexdigest(), 16)
return (hash_value % 100) < percentage
def _evaluate_rules(self, rules, context):
for rule in rules.get('rules', []):
if self._evaluate_rule(rule, context):
return True
return FalseRedis-Backed Flags
import redis
import json
class RedisFeatureFlags:
def __init__(self, redis_url):
self.redis = redis.from_url(redis_url)
self.prefix = 'feature_flag:'
def set_flag(self, name, config):
key = f"{self.prefix}{name}"
self.redis.set(key, json.dumps(config))
def is_enabled(self, name, user_id=None):
key = f"{self.prefix}{name}"
data = self.redis.get(key)
if not data:
return False
config = json.loads(data)
if not config.get('enabled', False):
return False
# User allowlist
if user_id in config.get('users', []):
return True
# Percentage rollout
percentage = config.get('percentage', 0)
if percentage == 100:
return True
if percentage > 0 and user_id:
return self._hash_user(name, user_id) < percentage
return False
def _hash_user(self, flag, user_id):
import hashlib
hash_input = f"{flag}:{user_id}"
return int(hashlib.sha256(hash_input.encode()).hexdigest(), 16) % 100Testing with Feature Flags
Unit Testing
// Jest mocking
jest.mock('launchdarkly-node-server-sdk', () => ({
init: jest.fn(() => ({
waitForInitialization: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
variation: jest.fn()
}))
}));
describe('Checkout', () => {
it('shows new checkout when flag enabled', async () => {
const ldClient = require('launchdarkly-node-server-sdk').init();
ldClient.variation.mockResolvedValue(true);
const result = await renderCheckout(user);
expect(result).toContain('NewCheckout');
});
it('shows old checkout when flag disabled', async () => {
const ldClient = require('launchdarkly-node-server-sdk').init();
ldClient.variation.mockResolvedValue(false);
const result = await renderCheckout(user);
expect(result).toContain('OldCheckout');
});
});Integration Testing
# pytest fixtures
import pytest
@pytest.fixture
def feature_flags():
"""Provide controllable feature flags for testing."""
flags = {}
class TestFlags:
def set(self, name, value):
flags[name] = value
def is_enabled(self, name, **kwargs):
return flags.get(name, False)
return TestFlags()
def test_new_checkout(feature_flags):
feature_flags.set('new-checkout', True)
response = client.get('/checkout')
assert 'new-checkout-form' in response.contentMonitoring and Analytics
Flag Usage Tracking
// Track flag evaluations
const flagMetrics = {
evaluations: new Map(),
track(flagName, variation, user) {
const key = `${flagName}:${variation}`;
const count = this.evaluations.get(key) || 0;
this.evaluations.set(key, count + 1);
// Send to analytics
analytics.track('feature_flag_evaluated', {
flag: flagName,
variation: variation,
userId: user.key
});
}
};Stale Flag Detection
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def detect_stale_flags():
"""Find flags that haven't been evaluated recently."""
stale_threshold = timedelta(days=30)
now = datetime.utcnow()
stale_flags = []
for flag in FeatureFlag.objects.all():
if flag.last_evaluated:
age = now - flag.last_evaluated
if age > stale_threshold:
stale_flags.append({
'name': flag.name,
'last_evaluated': flag.last_evaluated,
'age_days': age.days
})
return stale_flagsCommon Issues
Issue: Inconsistent Flag Evaluation
Problem: Same user sees different variations Solution: Use consistent hashing, check caching strategy
Issue: Flag Debt Accumulation
Problem: Too many old flags in codebase Solution: Implement flag lifecycle, regular cleanup sprints
Issue: Performance Impact
Problem: Flag evaluation slowing requests Solution: Use local caching, batch evaluations
Best Practices
- Use consistent naming conventions
- Document flag purpose and owner
- Set expiration dates for temporary flags
- Implement flag lifecycle management
- Use gradual rollouts (not 0→100)
- Monitor flag evaluation metrics
- Clean up old flags regularly
- Test both variations in CI
Related Skills
- blue-green-deploy - Deployment strategies
- git-workflow - Trunk-based development
- alerting-oncall - Monitoring rollouts

