What is Flagsmith?
Flagsmith is an open source feature flag service that lets teams create, manage, and deploy feature toggles across web, mobile, and server-side applications. Flagsmith combines feature flags with remote config, granular user segmentation, and A/B and multivariate testing, and can be hosted in the cloud, self-hosted, or run in a private cloud.
Key Features
- Feature Flags and Remote Config: Every flag in Flagsmith can also carry a remote config value, so teams can toggle a feature and customize its values to deploy functional and visual changes without changing code or pushing updates.
- Cross-Platform Flag Management: Flagsmith manages feature toggles across web, mobile, and server-side applications. A section of code is wrapped with a flag, and the feature is then controlled from Flagsmith.
- Granular Segmentation: Flags are managed per development environment and can target individual users, a segment of users, or a percentage of users, which supports practices such as canary deployments.
- A/B and Multivariate Testing: Multivariate flags apply a percentage split across two or more variations for A/B/n testing and experimentation, and flag data can be sent to an analytics platform.
- Role-Based Access, Change Control and Security: Flagsmith provides role-based access, change control, and security controls, and supports on-premise and private cloud hosting for teams with strict data requirements.
- Edge API and Real-Time Flags: Flagsmith offers an Edge API and real-time flags for delivering flag states to applications.
- SDKs and Integrations: Flagsmith provides SDKs and integrations, including a REST API, React, and React Native, with support for additional popular languages and frameworks.
- Deployment Flexibility: Flagsmith is available as a cloud service, as self-hosted software, and in a private cloud deployment, and its source code is published on GitHub.
Use Cases
- Canary deployments: Engineering teams can roll a feature out to a percentage of users or a specific segment first, then expand exposure once the change is validated.
- A/B/n experimentation: Product and growth teams can define user segments by traits or behaviors, split traffic across multiple variations with multivariate flags, and send flag data to their analytics platform.
- Remote application management: Teams can alter an application in real time, such as changing checkout payment options or a button color, without waiting for a deployment or app store approval.
- Migrating off an in-house solution: Teams moving from a homegrown flag system, or using feature toggles for the first time, can adopt Flagsmith to develop, implement, and manage their flags in one tool.
- Regulated or security-sensitive environments: Organizations such as enterprise banking and insurance teams can use self-hosted or private cloud deployment to keep flag management on their own infrastructure.
Who It Is For
Flagsmith is built for developers, engineering leadership, and software architects who need to control feature releases across web, mobile, and server-side applications. It solves the problem of coordinating rollouts, targeting specific users or segments, running experiments, and changing application behavior without new deployments, while offering self-hosted and private cloud options for teams with security or compliance constraints.
Pricing
Flagsmith offers a free start option and paid plans; the source material lists Cloud, Self-hosted and Private Cloud deployment options alongside a Pricing page but does not publish specific plan prices or tier details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Flagsmith used for?
Flagsmith is used to create and manage feature flags across web, mobile, and server-side applications. It also supports remote config, granular segmentation by user or percentage, and A/B and multivariate testing.
Is Flagsmith open source?
Yes. Flagsmith is an open source feature flag service, and its source code is available on GitHub. Teams can use the hosted cloud service or deploy Flagsmith as self-hosted software or in a private cloud.
Does Flagsmith support self-hosting?
Yes. Flagsmith offers Cloud, Self-hosted, and Private Cloud deployment options, which allows organizations to keep feature flag management on their own infrastructure.
What platforms and languages does Flagsmith support?
Flagsmith manages flags across web, mobile, and server-side applications and provides a REST API plus SDKs, including React and React Native, along with support for other popular languages and frameworks. Flagsmith also offers an Edge API and real-time flags.
How does Flagsmith handle A/B testing?
Flagsmith uses multivariate flags to apply a percentage split across two or more variations for A/B/n testing. Segments can be built from user traits or behaviors, and flag data can be sent to an analytics platform.
