Strategically release new features and functionality.

Never give a second thought to coordinating deployments that involve feature releases. With feature flags, the development team can deploy whenever the code is finished, and the product/marketing team can enable and announce new features to whoever they want, whenever they want.

Since feature flags aren't just on for everybody or off for everybody, you decide which launch strategy works best for the new features or functionality and your customers. You can manage the state of a flag from Flipper UI, Flipper Cloud, or using Ruby and the API.

Enable for individual actors

With Flipper, you can enable features in any environment for any user. Let internal team members review new functionality in production before enabling it for customers. Or let key customers get early access to new features. Or enable a feature for a single user to help troubleshoot an issue.

With feature flags, releasing new stuff is no longer an all-or-nothing proposition—it's more scalpel than sledgehammer.

Screenshot of a form with an auto-suggest input field for adding an actor to a feature. — Select individual actors to enable features on a one-off basis.

Flipper.enable_actor :new_design, current_user

Flipper.enabled?(:new_design, current_user) # => true

Enable for specific groups of actors

If you're comfortable expanding access to new functionality even further, you can set up a group for early access for those customers that always help troubleshoot and provide detailed feedback. Or you can create a dedicated group to let customers opt-in to new stuff early and on their timeline.

Screenshot of a form with an auto-suggest input field for adding a group to a feature. — Create groups to enable features for batches of people.

Flipper.enable_group :new_design, :paying_customers

Flipper.enabled?(:new_design, paying_customer) # => true

Enable for a percentage of actors

Ready to let more customers in but not quite ready for the full wave of performance implications or customer support questions? Enable the new feature for a percentage of users to get a feel for how it's going to go, and expand the percentage as your confidence increases.

Screenshot of a slider input adjacent to a numeric input with the slider about halfway across and the numeric value at 50% — You can gradually increase a percentage of actors to expand access to a new feature cautiously.

Flipper.enable_percentage_of_actors(:new_design, 25)

# Returns true or false consistently for the
#   same enabled percentage and actor
Flipper.enabled?(:new_design, user)

Enable for a percentage of time

Swapping out caching strategies or background job infrastructure? Split the percentage of traffic sent to the old and new systems to ensure the new system is ready to go before you flip the switch for everybody. And since you can gradually increase the percentage of traffic, it's no longer a cross-your-fingers-all-or-nothing proposition.

Screenshot of a slider input adjacent to a numeric input with the slider about one-fifth of the way across and the numeric value at 20% — Try out new functionality in production without immediately throwing 100% of requests at it.

Flipper.enable_percentage_of_time(:new_design, 25)

# Returns true for ~25% of the enabled? calls
#   regardless of the actor provided.
Flipper.enabled?(:new_design)
Flipper.enabled?(:new_design, user)