# Unleash — Open-Source Feature Management Platform

> Unleash is a self-hosted feature flag and toggle system that gives teams full control over feature rollouts, A/B testing, and gradual releases with a clean UI and flexible SDK support.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Unleash — Open-Source Feature Management Platform

## Quick Use
```bash
git clone https://github.com/Unleash/unleash.git
cd unleash
docker compose up -d
# Open http://localhost:4242 — default login: admin / unleash4all
```

## Introduction
Unleash is an open-source feature management platform that lets development teams toggle features on and off without redeploying code. It provides a structured way to manage feature flags across environments, enabling gradual rollouts, A/B experiments, and kill switches for production incidents.

## What Unleash Does
- Manages feature toggles through a web dashboard with environment-aware configurations
- Supports activation strategies like gradual rollout, user ID targeting, and IP-based rules
- Provides 15+ official SDKs (Node, Python, Go, Java, .NET, Ruby, Rust, and more)
- Tracks feature flag usage metrics and lifecycle from creation to retirement
- Offers project-based organization with role-based access control for teams

## Architecture Overview
Unleash follows a client-server architecture where the Unleash API server stores flag configurations in PostgreSQL and exposes them via a RESTful API. Client SDKs poll the server at regular intervals and cache evaluations locally, so flag checks are near-instant with no network latency. The Unleash Edge proxy can be deployed close to end users for high-throughput, low-latency evaluation without hitting the core API directly.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Runs via Docker Compose with PostgreSQL as the backing store
- Configure via environment variables: DATABASE_URL, UNLEASH_URL, and AUTH settings
- Supports SSO with OpenID Connect, SAML, and LDAP for enterprise deployments
- Helm chart available for Kubernetes with configurable replicas and resource limits
- Backup and restore through standard PostgreSQL pg_dump workflows

## Key Features
- Activation strategies: percentage rollout, user attributes, constraints, and custom strategies
- Feature lifecycle tracking from initial creation through to archival
- Built-in metrics showing how often each flag is evaluated as enabled vs. disabled
- Unleash Edge for sub-millisecond evaluations at the network edge
- Change request workflows with approval gates before flags go live

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **LaunchDarkly** — SaaS-only with more enterprise integrations but no self-host option
- **Flipt** — Lightweight Go-based flag server; smaller ecosystem and fewer SDKs
- **Flagsmith** — Similar open-source approach with remote config bundled in
- **PostHog Feature Flags** — Tied to the PostHog analytics platform
- **Split.io** — Enterprise SaaS focused on experimentation rather than pure toggles

## FAQ
**Q: Does Unleash work offline if the server goes down?**
A: Yes. SDKs cache the last known flag state locally, so your application continues to function with the most recent configuration even during an outage.

**Q: How does Unleash handle multiple environments?**
A: Each feature toggle can have independent configurations per environment (dev, staging, production), and activation strategies are scoped to each environment separately.

**Q: Can I run Unleash without Docker?**
A: Yes. Unleash is a Node.js application that can run directly with npm or yarn, as long as a PostgreSQL 14+ instance is available.

**Q: What is the difference between Unleash OSS and Unleash Enterprise?**
A: The open-source edition includes core flag management, SDKs, and the web UI. Enterprise adds change requests, SSO, audit logs, banners, and advanced segmentation.

## Sources
- https://github.com/Unleash/unleash
- https://docs.getunleash.io/

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/7b2a30ea-3f0f-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot