What is Feature Flag?
A configuration mechanism to enable or disable features without redeploying code.
Feature flags (also called feature toggles) let you enable or disable features in production without deploying new code. This enables trunk-based development (merge to main frequently) and separates deployment from release. Flags can gate features by user percentage (canary rollout), user segment, or environment. Tools like LaunchDarkly, Unleash, and GrowthBook manage feature flags at scale. Kill switches are a critical type: instantly disable broken features.
Related Terms
More CI/CD Terms
Blue-Green Deployment
A release strategy using two identical environments to achieve zero-downtime deploys.
Canary Deployment
Gradually rolling out a new version to a small percentage of users before full release.
CI/CD
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery — automating build, test, and deploy pipelines.
Flagger
A Kubernetes operator automating canary deployments, A/B tests, and blue-green releases.
GitHub Actions
GitHub's built-in CI/CD platform for automating workflows triggered by repository events.
GitLab CI
GitLab's integrated CI/CD system defined in a .gitlab-ci.yml file.
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