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Release Strategies

Choose the right release strategy for your features.

Canary Releases​

Gradually roll out to a small percentage of users first.

Process:

  1. Enable for 1% of users
  2. Monitor for 24-48 hours
  3. Increase to 5% if no issues
  4. Continue increasing gradually

Best For:

  • High-risk features
  • Critical user-facing changes
  • Features with potential performance impact

Blue-Green Deployments​

Run two identical production environments.

Process:

  1. Deploy new version to green environment
  2. Route small percentage of traffic to green
  3. Monitor metrics
  4. Gradually shift all traffic to green
  5. Keep blue as backup

Best For:

  • Zero-downtime deployments
  • Complete environment switches
  • Database migrations

Feature Flags​

Use feature flags to control feature visibility.

Process:

  1. Deploy code with feature flag disabled
  2. Enable flag for internal testing
  3. Gradually enable for more users
  4. Monitor and adjust
  5. Enable for all users when ready

Best For:

  • All features (recommended)
  • A/B testing
  • Gradual rollouts
  • Kill switches

Dark Launches​

Launch features to production but keep them hidden.

Process:

  1. Deploy feature to production
  2. Keep feature flag disabled
  3. Test in production environment
  4. Enable when ready

Best For:

  • Testing in production environment
  • Validating infrastructure
  • Performance testing

Best Practices​

  1. Always Use Feature Flags: Use flags for all new features
  2. Start Small: Begin with small percentages
  3. Monitor Closely: Watch metrics throughout
  4. Have Rollback Plan: Know how to disable quickly
  5. Document Strategy: Record which strategy you're using and why

Next Steps​