Feature Flags Let Developers Toggle Features Without Redeploying Code

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Feature flags, also known as feature toggles, allow software teams to enable or disable specific features in production without pushing a new deployment. The technique lets developers ship code safely by keeping new or unstable functionality hidden until it is ready to be revealed. Teams can use flags for gradual rollouts, A/B testing, and instant rollbacks by simply flipping a switch rather than triggering a full release cycle. Software engineer Martin Fowler and developer Scott Hanselman both advocate for the approach, noting it separates deployment from release and allows faster experimentation. Flags can be stored in code, a database, or a dedicated management platform, but experts caution that accumulating too many unmanaged flags can make a codebase difficult to maintain.

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