FTF at a glance

FTF-101

Deploy, release, undo — with one switch

A feature toggle separates deploying code from releasing a feature. Switch new features on and off without redeploying, and move them safely from testing to production.

01

Deploy

The code for a new feature goes to production with everything else, switched off. Customers see nothing new.

02

Release

When the business says go, switch the feature on — for everyone, or for some customers first. No deployment, no release weekend.

03

Stop

Something wrong? Switch the feature off in seconds while you fix the problem, with no emergency deployment. Switching off stops new work from using it. Records already created with it, such as a policy, a claim or an exposure, stay, and the toggle decides how they are processed from then on.

That switch is a feature toggle

Your code asks a question — is this feature on? — and the answer changes the code's behaviour at run-time (without code changes or redeployment).

A toggle carries its own switch, the release it belongs to, and attributes that decide who gets the feature. Change any of them in FTF — the code stays the same.

acme.web.new_checkoutOne-page checkout
Switch
On
Status
Implemented — the code is in place
Release
q1_rollout — on only while the release is on
Attributes
  • brands is one of brandA, brandB
  • claimAmount is greater than 10,000
  • accountId — 20% of accounts, always the same ones

On for a customer only when all of these hold. Change any of them in FTF — the code stays the same.

Topics

A switch is simple. Hundreds of them, across teams and environments, aren't. Each topic covers one part of what FTF adds. Where toggles are stored is covered under BYO provider.

  1. 01TogglesA switch in your code, decided while it runs
  2. 02ReleasesGroup the toggles of one release, across applications, and switch them together
  3. 03Business scenariosCanary releases, A/B tests, pilots and business rules — set by toggle attributes
  4. 04PromotionTested, then promoted — the preview shows exactly what changes
  5. 05Local developmentToggles live with your code and work on a laptop exactly as in production
  6. 06A toggle's lifeOff until its code is ready; removed everywhere once no longer needed — never before