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How Should Feature Flags Fail When Their Service Is Unavailable?

Feature flags should not block startup or require a live service on every request. Set an explicit fallback for each flag and plan for stale caches and cold starts.
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Feature flags should not make application startup or every request depend on a live control service. Give each flag an explicit code-level fallback, evaluate locally where possible, and choose whether the fallback should preserve normal behavior or restrict it based on what the flag controls. A single global “fail open” or “fail closed” rule is rarely appropriate.

Choose a fallback for each flag

Write down what should happen if a flag cannot be evaluated, then set that value explicitly in application code. For ordinary release flags, the safest fallback is often the stable behavior the application already supports. For flags governing access, security, or compliance, a restrictive fallback may be safer. The consequence of using the fallback—not the flag’s name—should drive the decision.

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LaunchDarkly documents that evaluation returns the supplied fallback when an error occurs, including when a flag is unavailable or the service cannot be reached. The fallback is therefore part of application behavior, not merely an SDK detail. See LaunchDarkly’s flag evaluation documentation.

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Avoid relying on an SDK’s initialization state to choose a policy implicitly. A permissive value might keep a routine feature available, but could be inappropriate for an access-control decision. Review the fallback for each flag with its intended user or system consequence in mind.

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Keep startup and requests independent of the control service

Do not make successful SDK initialization a hard prerequisite for application startup unless a specific product requirement justifies it. LaunchDarkly advises applications not to block startup while waiting for initialization and says evaluation before initialization completes uses supplied defaults. It recommends initialization timeouts of 100–500 ms for client-side SDKs and 1–5 seconds for server-side SDKs; these are LaunchDarkly recommendations, not universal standards, so validate them against your latency budget and user experience. Its guidance states: “We strongly recommend that you implement this in your SDK, as it is the most effective method for increasing resilience.” The statement refers to avoiding application startup blockage. Read the initialization guidance.

Likewise, avoid a remote flag-service call on every application request when the SDK can evaluate from local state. Unleash recommends local caches and local evaluation so applications can continue if the flag system fails. Its SDK documentation describes SDK usage and configuration; check the documentation for the specific SDK and version you deploy.

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Understand what happens on warm and cold starts

An already connected instance

An SDK instance that has connected successfully may retain locally cached, last-known flag data during an outage. That can let it keep evaluating without a live service connection. The values may be stale, however: a flag changed while the instance was disconnected may not be reflected yet.

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A new instance with no cached data

A newly started instance that cannot connect may have no last-known values. In that case, the code-level fallback becomes especially important. LaunchDarkly describes using the evaluation method’s supplied fallback when a new SDK instance cannot connect. A fallback protects this cold-start case; a cache alone may not.

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For client-side applications, LaunchDarkly documents bootstrapping initial flag values and using local storage to reduce dependence on an initial connection. Local storage is not guaranteed to solve cold starts: it can be empty on a first visit, stale after a long absence or a remote flag change, and unavailable under some browser privacy settings. See LaunchDarkly’s bootstrapping documentation.

Use persistence or a proxy when cold-start resilience warrants it

If server-side instances must have last-known values after a restart, a persistent feature store can preserve flag data beyond an SDK instance’s in-memory cache. A Relay Proxy can also serve last-known values. LaunchDarkly describes pairing the proxy with durable storage to improve cold-start resilience when the service is unreachable and local cached values have been lost. See its Relay Proxy guidance and persistent feature store documentation.

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These options have operational costs. A Relay Proxy becomes a critical infrastructure node, so LaunchDarkly recommends running multiple instances behind a load balancer. Persistent-store cache TTL also affects freshness: SDK instances may remain out of sync for up to the configured duration. Add these components only when the cold-start risk justifies the added infrastructure, configuration, and recovery work.

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Compare resilience options against your requirements

Approach What it helps with Key trade-off
Code-level fallback Evaluation errors and cold starts without flag data Behavior may differ from the latest remote configuration; choose the value per flag.
Local SDK cache or evaluation Continued evaluation during a service outage after data has been received Cached values can be stale; availability and behavior depend on the SDK and configuration.
Bootstrapped or browser-stored values Initial client-side values before a live connection is established Storage may be absent, stale, or unavailable in some privacy settings.
Persistent feature store Retaining server-side flag data across SDK restarts Requires operating storage; cache TTL affects how long instances can diverge.
Relay Proxy with durable storage Serving last-known values, including for cold starts when direct service access is unavailable Adds a critical infrastructure dependency that needs availability planning and operations.

Choose by failure consequence, acceptable staleness, whether cold instances need data before their first connection, whether evaluation is local or remote, and the burden of operating any added components. For browser clients, include the privacy and platform limits of local storage in that decision.

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Test outage and recovery behavior

Test the actual SDK and application paths rather than assuming that the service outage behaves like an ordinary evaluation error. For each flag, verify the expected consequence when a fallback or stale value is used.

  1. Evaluate before SDK initialization completes and verify the code-level fallback.
  2. Start the application when the first service connection fails; confirm startup continues and behavior remains intentional.
  3. Disconnect the service after a successful connection; check whether the instance evaluates from cached values and how staleness is handled.
  4. Test a client with absent or stale local storage, including the first-visit case and applicable privacy restrictions.
  5. Restore connectivity and confirm that the SDK receives current values and the application transitions safely.

SDK behavior, caching, bootstrapping, and defaults vary by vendor, platform, version, and configuration. LaunchDarkly and Unleash documentation reviewed on 2026-10-04 supports these patterns for their documented products; consult the current documentation for the SDK you use before implementation.

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