Manage flags

13 min

Optimizely Feature Experimentation

Flags are the foundation of Optimizely Feature Experimentation. They give your team full control over how and when features reach your users, without requiring a code deployment. Whether you are gradually rolling out a new capability, running an A/B test, or targeting a specific audience segment, flags let you manage every step of the feature lifecycle.

Flag rulesets and states

A ruleset is the collection of rules associated with a flag. See New flag and rule lifecycle management FAQs for information.

Rulesets can be in one of the following states:

Draft – The flag is created and not yet enabled.

Running – The flag is enabled and running.

Paused – The flag was previously turned on and now paused, with any rules not running or delivered to new users.

Each ruleset starts in Draft status and includes the flag's environment and rules

When you create a flag, Feature Experimentation assigns you the Admin role for that flag through granular permissions, so you can immediately manage the flag and share access with other collaborators. This prevents workflow disruptions where someone creates a flag but cannot update it or assign permissions afterward.

Feature flags, also called feature toggles or permission toggles, let you turn certain functionality on and off without deploying code. They give you full control over the lifecycle of a feature. With feature flags, you can:

Release code without exposing it to users by keeping the flag off.

Gradually roll out a feature to a portion of your user base.

Validate functionality and performance before a full release.

Create a flag

Go to Flags > Create New Flag.

Enter a unique name in the Name field. Feature Experimentation generates a flag Key from this name. Keys can contain alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores; they are limited to 64 characters and cannot contain spaces. You cannot change a flag key after you create it.

(Optional) Enter a Description.

Select an Owner from the drop-down list.

(Optional) Select Teams from the drop-down list. To select multiple teams, first select a team then click on the drop-down list again to select another team. To remove a team, select it again. Select None to reset. See Configure teams in Feature Experimentation.

(Conditional) Enter values for any custom fields your organization added in the Feature Experimentation settings. See Custom fields in Feature Experimentation.

Click Create Flag to save your flag. Feature Experimentation automatically creates

A read-only flag_off variation to use as the control in experiments.

Two environments, Production and Development.

Permissions required to create a flag

To create a flag in Feature Experimentation, you must have access to an environment in the project. When you create a flag, Feature Experimentation automatically assigns you the Admin role for that flag. To create a flag or audience, you must have Editor or above access in at least one environment.

If your project does not use granular permissions, the collaborator must have an Editor or above project role.

Get test ideas with Optimizely Opal

You can get potential test ideas with Optimizely Opal. Opal incorporates best practices developed within Optimizely to provide potential experiment ideas. Before generating test ideas, Configure Feature Experimentation for Opal.

Click Flags.

Click Get Test Ideas. The Optimizely Opal chat displays with the following message: Please provide a website URL or image and I'll start my analysis!

Enter the URL or upload an image, and then click Submit or press Enter.

Optimizely Opal analyzes a screenshot of the provided URL or image and then provides some test ideas for improvement. Improvements can include clarity of the value proposition, call-to-action, readability, and so on.

Note

If you use Opti ID, administrators can turn off generative AI in the Opti ID Admin Center. See Turn generative AI off across Optimizely applicationsTurn generative AI off across Optimizely applications.

Start flag

Go to Flags and select your flag with a paused ruleset.

Select your environment.

Click Run on the Ruleset.

Pause flag

Go to Flags and select your flag with a running ruleset.

Select your environment.

Click Pause on the Ruleset.

Archive flag

You can archive a flag to remove it from the list of flags. Archiving a flag also removes it from the datafile.

Note

Optimizely Feature Experimentation keeps your flag and rule data so you can unarchive the flag later.

Go to Flags.

Click More (...) for the flag.

Click Archive.

Unarchive flag

Go to Flags.

Click the Archived drop-down list and select Yes.

Click More (...) for the flag you want to unarchive.

Click Unarchive.

Duplicate flag

You can duplicate a flag to reuse its configuration when creating a similar flag. Duplication copies variables, targeting rules, environment default values, audiences, rollout settings, and the description from the source flag.

Duplication does not copy the flag key, experiment results, or change history.

You need create flag permissions to duplicate a flag.

Go to Flags.

Click More options (...) for the flag you want to duplicate and click Duplicate flag.

In the Duplicate flag dialog, review and edit the following fields:

Source Flag key – Prefilled from the source flag. This is a read only field.

Name – Enter a unique name.

Key – Feature Experimentation generates a flag key from the name. You can edit it as needed. You cannot change a flag key after you create it.

Description – Prefilled from the source flag. Edit as needed.

Click Duplicate flag.

Delete flag

Go to Flags.

Click More options (...) for the flag.

Click Delete.

Implement flag

See Implement a feature flag section in the developer documentation for information on implementing the Feature Experimentation decide method to enable or disable a flag for a user in your application code.

Update custom fields

Go to Flags and select your flag.

Go to Settings.

Update the Custom Fields for the flag.

Click Save.

See Custom fields in Feature Experimentation.

Update owner and teams

Go to Flags and select your flag.

Go to Settings.

Select the Owner.

Search and add one or more Teams for the flag. See Configure Teams in Feature Experimentation.

Click Save.