Agent WranglersENG-48Recommended
Log every flag change in production
Record every change to a production flag with who made it, when, the old and new value, and a reason. Show the changes next to deploys in the timeline used for incidents.
How to do it
A flag flipped by hand changes production as much as a deploy, but leaves no commit. During an incident the first question is what changed, and a silent flag flip is the hardest answer to find. Flag services keep an audit log, so send it to the same place as deploy events. For flags in a file, the commit is the log, as Roll out settings and data files like code says.
How to check
Flip a flag on staging. The audit log shows the person, the time, both values and the reason, and the change appears in the incident timeline. The flag tool refuses a production change without a reason.
Sources
Related rules
- ENG-12 Roll out settings and data files like code in Engineering
For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/engineering/feature-flags/flag-change-log">Agent Wranglers engineering playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.