Product Introduction
- Flipt v2 is a Git-native feature flag platform that enables safe deployment of software features through automated synchronization with version control systems. It provides an intuitive UI for managing feature toggles while maintaining full auditability via Git commits for every configuration change. The platform supports both self-hosted deployments and cloud-native workflows, offering flexibility across development environments.
- The core value lies in eliminating deployment risks by decoupling feature releases from code deployments, allowing teams to control feature visibility without redeploying applications. It combines developer-friendly Git workflows with operational simplicity, ensuring flag changes follow existing code review processes while maintaining sub-second update propagation across distributed systems.
Main Features
- Flipt v2 automatically converts UI-based feature flag modifications into Git commits, creating audit trails compatible with GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, and Azure DevOps. This Git-native approach enables code review workflows for configuration changes while maintaining real-time synchronization between the administrative interface and version control repositories. Changes made through the UI trigger atomic commits with full diff visibility in pull requests.
- The platform provides sub-second flag updates through streaming connections rather than polling, ensuring immediate rollout/rollback capabilities without service restarts. This is achieved through persistent gRPC connections and efficient state synchronization mechanisms that maintain low latency even at scale. The architecture supports evaluation of 100,000+ requests per second on modest hardware when self-hosted.
- Deployment requires only a single binary with zero external dependencies, offering instant setup through a curl-installable package (curl -fsSL https://get.flipt.io/v2 | sh). The embedded storage engine supports SQLite for lightweight deployments and PostgreSQL for clustered environments, requiring no separate database administration. All runtime configurations are managed through environment variables or YAML files stored with application code.
Problems Solved
- Flipt v2 addresses the critical challenge of production incidents caused by feature deployments by enabling granular control over feature visibility. It prevents system-wide outages through phased rollouts and kill switches that can bypass normal deployment pipelines. The platform specifically mitigates risks associated with microservices architectures where multiple teams deploy independently.
- The target user group includes engineering organizations ranging from startups to enterprises that require safe deployment practices without operational overhead. DevOps teams managing continuous delivery pipelines and product managers coordinating feature launches benefit equally from its unified interface. Platform engineers responsible for maintaining deployment infrastructure will appreciate the Git-integrated audit capabilities.
- Typical use cases include canary releases where features are gradually enabled for user segments, emergency rollbacks of faulty deployments through instant flag toggling, and A/B testing configurations managed alongside feature development. Multi-environment synchronization ensures consistent flag states across development, staging, and production clusters through Git branch-based management.
Unique Advantages
- Unlike SaaS competitors, Flipt v2 eliminates vendor lock-in through its MIT-licensed open core model and self-hosting capabilities. While commercial alternatives store configuration data in proprietary clouds, Flipt maintains all flag states in the customer's infrastructure and version control system. This architecture meets strict compliance requirements for industries like finance and healthcare.
- The platform innovates with GitOps integration that automatically generates pull requests from UI actions, bridging the gap between operational tools and development workflows. Unique capabilities like GPG-signed commits for configuration changes and secrets management integration (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) provide enterprise-grade security missing in open-source alternatives.
- Competitive advantages include zero per-seat pricing, unlimited flags, and throughput-based licensing that scales with application needs rather than team size. Performance benchmarks show 10x faster evaluation times compared to interpreted language-based alternatives due to Go-optimized evaluation engines. The single-binary deployment model reduces attack surface compared to Java/Python-based solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How does Flipt ensure immediate flag updates across distributed systems? The platform uses bidirectional gRPC streams to push configuration changes to SDKs in real time, eliminating polling delays. Client libraries maintain local caches with versioned snapshots, enabling sub-millisecond evaluations while ensuring consistency through optimistic locking mechanisms.
- Can existing LaunchDarkly configurations be migrated to Flipt? Yes, Flipt provides import tools that convert JSON-based feature flag exports from major vendors into Git-managed YAML configurations. The evaluation APIs are compatible with OpenFeature standards, allowing gradual migration through parallel run modes during transition periods.
- What happens to feature flags during Git repository outages? Flipt maintains a last-known-good configuration in its embedded database, ensuring uninterrupted operation during source control downtime. The system automatically reconches repository changes upon restored connectivity through atomic transactions that prevent configuration drift.
