# Devops Feature Flags

> Design feature flag systems — gradual rollouts, A/B experiments, kill switches, targeting rules — with lifecycle management and operational runbooks.

- Skill: `quantumquirkxyz/devops-feature-flags` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add quantumquirkxyz/devops-feature-flags`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/quantumquirkxyz/devops-feature-flags/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: quantumquirkxyz (https://skillmd.com/u/quantumquirkxyz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/quantumquirkxyz/devops-feature-flags

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## Contract

- **Input:** features to control, rollout requirements, environments.
- **Output:** flag lifecycle + targeting rules + inventory.
- **Side effects:** none (design only; execution requires flag platform).
- **Dependencies:** feature flag platform (LaunchDarkly / Split / Unleash / Flagsmith / in-house).
- **Stop condition:** lifecycle and targeting rules documented.
- **Risk:** medium — flag mishandling can expose unready features or cause outages.
- **Boundary:** designs flag system; does not deploy flags unless explicitly instructed.

# Feature Flag System Design

Design a **feature flag system** — rollouts, targeting, kill switches — with lifecycle management and operational runbooks.

## Process

### 1. Flag types
- **Release flag:** hide unfinished features from users; enable in dev/staging.
- **Experiment flag:** A/B test; percentage split; metric tracking.
- **Ops flag:** kill switch / circuit breaker (e.g. disable expensive recommendation engine).
- **Permission flag:** gradual rollout to user segments (beta users, tiers, regions).

**Completion criterion:** flag types mapped to features.

### 2. Lifecycle design
Every flag goes through:
1. **Created:** default off.
2. **Gradual rollout:** 1% → 10% → 50% → 100%.
3. **Full release:** flag kept for quick rollback or removed if not needed.
4. **Retired:** removed from code within N sprints.

**Completion criterion:** lifecycle documented per flag type.

### 3. Targeting rules
- Percentage-based (random or deterministic).
- User segment (tier, region, language, plan type).
- Environment (dev / staging / prod).
- Custom rules (date-based, device type, account age).

**Completion criterion:** targeting rules template saved.

### 4. Kill switches and emergency rollback
- Ops flags: what to do if the flag causes an outage? (disable immediately; have runbook)
- Rollback time: must be < 5 minutes for critical paths.
- Alert: flag change should trigger an alert to on-call.

**Completion criterion:** kill switch runbook saved.

### 5. Flag inventory
Per flag: name, owner, purpose, type, created date, retirement date, dependencies.

**Completion criterion:** inventory saved and reviewed quarterly.

### 6. Deliver
Flag lifecycle document + targeting rules template + flag inventory.