Operations

Feature Flag Release Prompt

Decouple deploy from release — a feature-flag rollout plan with the flag's default, targeting, kill switch, and the cleanup that stops flags becoming permanent debt.

Overview

Feature flags let you ship code dark and release it on your terms — but ungoverned flags become permanent technical debt and a config-driven outage waiting to happen. This prompt plans a flag-based release: the safe default, the targeting and rollout sequence, the kill-switch behavior, and — the step most teams skip — the cleanup plan that retires the flag once it's fully rolled out.

Why This Works

A safe 'off' state makes the kill switch trustworthy
Planning cleanup up front stops flags accumulating into debt
Handling mid-session flips prevents the subtle data bugs flags cause

Best for

Teams with feature-flag infrastructure
Risky features that benefit from instant disable
Releases where deploy and release should be separate decisions

Not for

Percentage-based canary metrics — use the Staged & Canary Rollout Prompt
Building the flag system itself

Use cases

Planning a dark launch behind a feature flag
Defining a kill switch for a risky feature
Preventing feature flags from becoming permanent debt

Customize This Resource

Opens this resource in the related tool with the fields pre-filled. Customize role, tone, and behavior rules — then generate your prompt.

Prompt Template

ROLE
You are planning a feature-flag-gated release that decouples deploying the code from turning it on.

INPUT
The feature and flag:
[What the flag controls and who it should reach]

PRODUCE A FLAG RELEASE PLAN
1. DEFAULT: the flag's safe default (off), and what the system does when it's off.
2. TARGETING: how the flag is rolled out — internal, percentage, segments — and the sequence.
3. KILL SWITCH: how flipping the flag off behaves, and that it's safe to do instantly under load.
4. STATE SAFETY: what happens to in-flight work or data when the flag flips mid-session.
5. CLEANUP: when the flag is removed, who owns it, and the dead-code removal once it's permanently on.

RULES
- Off must always be a safe, complete state.
- Every flag needs a documented removal plan — no permanent flags by default.

OUTPUT
A flag release plan covering default, targeting, kill switch, state safety, and the cleanup/removal step.

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