Add Feature Flags
Use this skill when the user asks to add feature flags, feature toggles, gradual rollouts, or A/B testing.
Option A: PostHog Feature Flags (Recommended)
- Install PostHog if not already present:
npm install posthog-js - Use feature flags in code:
import {useFeatureFlagEnabled} from "posthog-js/react"; function MyComponent() {const showNewFeature = useFeatureFlagEnabled("new-checkout-flow"); if (showNewFeature) return <NewCheckout />; return <OldCheckout />;} - Server-side evaluation — for server components or API routes:
import {PostHog} from "posthog-node"; const posthog = new PostHog(process.env.POSTHOG_API_KEY!); const isEnabled = await posthog.isFeatureEnabled("new-checkout-flow", userId); - Create flags in the PostHog dashboard — set up targeting rules based on user properties, percentage rollouts, or cohorts.
Option B: Simple Local Feature Flags
For projects that don't need a third-party service:
- Create a flags config —
lib/feature-flags.ts:export const FLAGS = {NEW_CHECKOUT: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FF_NEW_CHECKOUT === "true", DARK_MODE: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FF_DARK_MODE === "true",} as const; - Use in components:
import {FLAGS} from "@/lib/feature-flags"; function App() {return FLAGS.NEW_CHECKOUT? <NewCheckout />: <OldCheckout />;} - Add env vars — add flags to
.envand.env.example:NEXT_PUBLIC_FF_NEW_CHECKOUT=false NEXT_PUBLIC_FF_DARK_MODE=true
Notes
- Use feature flags for all user-facing changes during rollout, not just experiments.
- Clean up stale flags — remove the flag and the old code path once a feature is fully rolled out.
- For server-side flags, cache the evaluation result to avoid per-request API calls.
- Name flags descriptively:
new-checkout-flownotflag-1.