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Move steps around, add some links
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melindafekete committed Nov 8, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ a. Limit PII (personally identifiable information) leakage from the end-user dev

b. Avoid leakage of configuration information from the central feature flag control service to end-user devices.

Solving both means you need to avoid evaluating feature flags on the user's machine due to security risks like exposing API keys and flag data. Instead, send application context (e.g. username, location, etc) to your feature flag evaluation service to evaluate the results. These results (and only these results) should be stored in the client-side application memory. By keeping the evaluated results for a specific context in memory, you avoid network roundtrips every time your application needs to check the status of a feature flag. This method prevents unauthorized access and data breaches by [keeping configurations and PII secure](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#2-protect-pii-by-evaluating-flags-server-side).
Solving both means you need to avoid evaluating feature flags on the user's machine due to security risks like exposing API keys and flag data. Instead, send application context (e.g. username, location, etc) to your feature flag evaluation service to evaluate the results. These results (and only these results) should be stored in the client-side application memory. By keeping the evaluated results for a specific context in memory, you avoid network roundtrips every time your application needs to check the status of a feature flag. This method prevents unauthorized access and data breaches by [keeping configurations and PII secure](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#6-protect-pii-by-evaluating-flags-server-side).

![Keep configurations and PII secure image](/img/react-tutorial-pii-diagram.png)

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Expand Up @@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ a. Limit PII (personally identifiable information) leakage from the end-user dev

b. Avoid leakage of configuration information from the central feature flag control service to end-user devices.

Solving both means you need to avoid evaluating feature flags on the user's machine due to security risks like exposing API keys and flag data. Instead, send application context (e.g. username, location, etc) to your feature flag evaluation service to evaluate the results. These results (and only these results) should be stored in the client-side application memory. By keeping the evaluated results for a specific context in memory, you avoid network roundtrips every time your application needs to check the status of a feature flag. This method prevents unauthorized access and data breaches by [keeping configurations and PII secure](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#2-protect-pii-by-evaluating-flags-server-side).
Solving both means you need to avoid evaluating feature flags on the user's machine due to security risks like exposing API keys and flag data. Instead, send application context (e.g. username, location, etc) to your feature flag evaluation service to evaluate the results. These results (and only these results) should be stored in the client-side application memory. By keeping the evaluated results for a specific context in memory, you avoid network roundtrips every time your application needs to check the status of a feature flag. This method prevents unauthorized access and data breaches by [keeping configurations and PII secure](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#6-protect-pii-by-evaluating-flags-server-side).

![Keep configurations and PII secure image](/img/react-tutorial-pii-diagram.png)

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion website/docs/reference/terraform.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ description: "Set up and configure your Unleash instance using infastructure as

The [Unleash Terraform provider](https://github.com/Unleash/terraform-provider-unleash) enables you to manage and configure Unleash programmatically, leveraging infrastructure as code (IaC) for automated and scalable configuration.

This provider is designed to help you with the **initial setup and configuration** of an instance. The provider does not support managing feature flags through Terraform. Since most [feature flags are short-lived](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#7-make-flags-short-lived), we recommend managing them through the Unleash Admin UI.
This provider is designed to help you with the **initial setup and configuration** of an instance. The provider does not support managing feature flags through Terraform. Since most [feature flags are short-lived](/topics/feature-flags/feature-flag-best-practices#3-make-flags-short-lived), we recommend managing them through the Unleash Admin UI.

For a detailed video tutorial, check out [Managing Unleash through Terraform](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OIBC1u1ns).
For more examples of specific resources and data sources, visit the [Terraform registry](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/Unleash/unleash/latest/docs/data-sources/permission).
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Expand Up @@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Modern applications are composed of multiple services with many complex dependen

Just because a user might need to interact with a flag does not mean you should display it by default when it is outside your main organizational parameters. However, all flags should be easily searchable. When a user finds one, they should be able to inspect its configuration and ownership so that they might request additional permissions or [submit change requests for approval](#6-implement-flag-approval-workflows-early).

This is why feature flag systems should be [open by default](./feature-flag-best-practices#9-choose-open-by-default). There are valid use cases for excluding flags from global search. For example, a public company in the middle of an acquisition where exposing flags related to the website or app changes might breach regulatory guidelines. Your feature flag system should accommodate these private projects; however, they should be the exception, not the rule.
This is why feature flag systems should be [open by default](./feature-flag-best-practices#4-choose-open-by-default). There are valid use cases for excluding flags from global search. For example, a public company in the middle of an acquisition where exposing flags related to the website or app changes might breach regulatory guidelines. Your feature flag system should accommodate these private projects; however, they should be the exception, not the rule.

### 3. Design for flag permissions to change over time.

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When building new (often complex) features for users, systems require changes across multiple parts – modules within an application or services in a microservices architecture. While it's tempting to use a single feature flag to control all these changes and evaluate it locally in each module, we recommend against it for a few reasons:

- Unpredictable Timing: User requests flow through the system and touch different parts as they progress. Between each invocation, time passes. Even with perfectly synchronized feature flags, requests will hit different system parts at slightly different times. This means the flag state could change between evaluations, leading to inconsistent behavior for the user.
- Laws of distributed computing: Particularly in distributed systems, we cannot assume all parts of the system are perfectly synchronized, as networks are unreliable and can experience transient errors at any time. Feature flag systems generally [prefer availability over consistency](./feature-flag-best-practices#6-prioritize-availability-over-consistency). By only evaluating a feature flag once, we guarantee a consistent experience for our users.
- Laws of distributed computing: Particularly in distributed systems, we cannot assume all parts of the system are perfectly synchronized, as networks are unreliable and can experience transient errors at any time. Feature flag systems generally [prefer availability over consistency](./feature-flag-best-practices#2-prioritize-availability-over-consistency). By only evaluating a feature flag once, we guarantee a consistent experience for our users.
- Violates Single Responsibility: Using the same flag in multiple locations spreads feature control logic throughout your codebase, violating the single-responsibility principle.

We find that companies are usually more successful when using feature flags when they can protect new complex features with a single flag evaluated only once per user request. This approach ensures consistent behavior and simplifies long-term code maintainability.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ To keep complexity down, we generally advise not to have complex targeting rules

Both feature flags and configuration settings control an application’s behavior. However, it's crucial to distinguish between feature flagging systems and configuration management systems and use each for its intended purpose. Otherwise, you risk management nightmares and security vulnerabilities

Feature flags are intended for dynamic and temporary use, giving you [runtime control](./feature-flag-best-practices#1-enable-runtime-control) to enable or disable functionality in a live environment. This flexibility supports [short-lived experiments](./feature-flag-best-practices#7-make-flags-short-lived), such as A/B testing or gradual rollouts, instead of relying on configuration settings that require an application redeploy to take effect. Despite the ease of turning off and on features or functionality with feature flags, they should not be repurposed for managing configuration.
Feature flags are intended for dynamic and temporary use, giving you [runtime control](./feature-flag-best-practices#1-enable-runtime-control) to enable or disable functionality in a live environment. This flexibility supports [short-lived experiments](./feature-flag-best-practices#3-make-flags-short-lived), such as A/B testing or gradual rollouts, instead of relying on configuration settings that require an application redeploy to take effect. Despite the ease of turning off and on features or functionality with feature flags, they should not be repurposed for managing configuration.

A dedicated config management system should manage long-term configuration settings. These systems are designed to handle sensitive information such as API keys and access credentials securely, unlike feature flag systems, which typically do not encrypt flag states. Misusing feature flags for configuration can lead to security risks and management complexities.

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