Overview

Use Workflow Automation with Feature Flags to automate flag changes and respond to flag events.

• A trigger determines when a workflow starts. Feature flag triggers respond to events such as a flag being enabled, a rollout being paused, or an approval being requested.

• An action is a step the workflow performs. Feature flag actions can retrieve flag details or update flag configuration. For example, when a monitor alerts, a workflow can disable a flag in the affected environment.

Workflow executions are subject to Workflow Automation pricing.

Set up a workflow

To view automations, you need the Feature Flag Config Read and Workflows Read permissions. To create and manage automations, you also need Feature Flag Config Write and Workflows Write. Editing, enabling, disabling, or deleting an existing automation requires edit access to its workflow.

For details, see Feature Flags permissions and Workflow permissions. Configure the connections required by your actions, such as a Slack connection for sending messages.

Where you create a workflow depends on what triggers it:

• Feature flag triggers: Navigate to Feature Flags > Settings > Automations to configure events, filters, and workflow steps.
• Other triggers: Create a workflow in Workflow Automation and add a feature flag action.

Configure the workflow to run as its owner or a service account with access to the required resources and connections. See Workflow identity and Feature Flags permissions. Use the automation’s access settings to control who can view or edit the workflow. By default, the creator has edit access and the organization has view access.

Feature flag triggers

Select one or more of the following events. Each matching event can start a workflow run.

Configure a trigger

You can configure a trigger from Feature Flags settings or add a Feature Flags trigger in Workflow Automation. To configure one from Feature Flags settings:

1. Navigate to Feature Flags > Settings > Automations.
2. Click Create Automation and enter an Automation name.
3. Under Event, select one or more events.
4. Configure the flag and environment conditions that apply to the selected events.
5. Select Choose an action to configure workflow steps, or Clone existing workflow to copy an existing workflow’s configuration.
6. Complete the action inputs, review the workflow’s access settings, and click Create.
7. When you are ready for the automation to run, click the toggle at the top of the page to enable it.

New automations start disabled. For changes made in the workflow editor, publish any unpublished changes before enabling the automation.

Select at least one trigger event before choosing an action from the Action Catalog. Use Edit in the workflow preview to configure action inputs, add more steps, and connect logic branches.

To clone a workflow, click Clone existing workflow, select a workflow, and click Copy into form. Review the copied events, conditions, actions, and execution identity before creating the automation.

Use View in Workflow Editor to open the saved automation in Workflow Automation for additional actions and logic.

Conditions

For events that support flag filters, choose All flags or Specific flags. When choosing specific flags, select at least one flag. For events associated with an environment, select Environments or leave the field empty to match all environments.

• Multiple selected flags use OR logic: any selected flag can match.
• Multiple selected environments use OR logic: any selected environment can match.
• Flag and environment filters use AND logic: the event must match both fields when both are configured.

For example, select Feature Flag Disabled, two specific flags, and the production environment. The workflow runs when either flag is disabled in production.

Some events support only a subset of filters, including when you select multiple event types:

If individual events have different filters, edit them in the workflow editor. The Automations form preserves those filters and directs you to the editor.

Use feature flag data

Use source object variables in action inputs to access the triggering flag:

For approval requests, changedBy identifies the requester. Unavailable user identity fields contain empty strings.

Some events include additional context. For example, the Feature Flag Approval Reviewed event provides {{Source.approvalReview.decision}}, with a value of approved or rejected. The workflow editor provides autocomplete for available variables.

Example: Notify your team when a rollout pauses

Select the Feature Flag Rollout Paused event and choose the flags and environments to monitor. Add a Slack Send message action, then configure the message, channel, and workspace.

Use source variables in the message, for example:

Feature flag {{Source.featureFlag.key}} rollout paused in {{Source.featureFlag.environmentName}}.

When a rollout pauses for a selected flag and environment, the workflow sends a Slack notification. The workflow responds to the pause; it does not pause the rollout itself.

Example: Notify reviewers of an approval request

• Event: Feature Flag Approvals Requested.
• Conditions: Select the flags and environments that require review.
• Action: Send a message with the flag name and {{Source.featureFlag.changedBy.name}} so reviewers know who requested the change.

Example: Report approval decisions

• Event: Feature Flag Approval Reviewed.
• Conditions: Select the flags and environments to monitor.
• Actions: Branch on {{Source.approvalReview.decision}} and send an approval or rejection notification.

Feature flag actions

Add actions from the Datadog Feature Flags integration to read or update flag configuration:

In the workflow builder, add a step, search for the action, and configure its inputs. When using variables for flag or environment inputs, supply their IDs rather than their keys or names.

Note: Set feature flag targeting rules replaces the complete targeting configuration for the selected environment. Existing allocations omitted from the input are removed.

Example: Disable a flag when a monitor alerts

Use a monitor to automatically disable a flag when a service metric crosses a threshold. For example, disable the flag for a new checkout feature when the checkout service’s error rate exceeds the monitor’s alert threshold.

1. Create a workflow in Workflow Automation.

2. Add a Monitor trigger and keep Automatic triggering enabled.

3. Add the Disable feature flag action and connect it to the trigger.

4. Select a Feature flag and Environment to use for testing.

5. Test the workflow, then verify the result in Run History. Testing runs the disable action, so use a flag in a test environment.

6. Change the Feature flag and Environment to the ones the workflow should disable, save the workflow, and click Publish.

7. Edit the monitor. Under Configure notifications & automations, click + Add Workflow and select the workflow.

8. Place the generated workflow mention inside an alert condition, then save the monitor:

   {{#is_alert}}
   @workflow-<WORKFLOW_HANDLE>
   {{/is_alert}}
   

See Monitor triggers for configuration details.

Confirm that your application behaves as intended when the flag is disabled. The resulting behavior depends on the default value configured in your application code. See Flag Evaluation Results.

Add a notification action after the disable action to notify the team when the flag is disabled. Other workflows can notify reviewers when approval is requested or notify the team when a flag is enabled.

Test automations and view executions

1. Create an automation for a test flag and environment. Use an event that supports both flag and environment filters, such as Feature Flag Enabled.
2. Enable the automation.
3. Perform the selected operation on the test flag, such as enabling or disabling it.
4. Open the automation and click View in Workflow Editor.
5. Open Run History to inspect the triggering context, step inputs and outputs, and any errors.

For more information, see Test and Debug Workflows.

Manage automations

The Automations page lists workflows with Feature Flags triggers. Search by name, open an automation to edit it, or use its toggle to enable or disable it.

Edit, enable, or disable

Open an automation from the list to change its name, events, conditions, or workflow. Changes to the saved automation’s name, events, and filters save automatically. Wait for All changes saved before leaving the page.

Use the toggle on the automation page or in the list to enable or disable it. Publish or discard any unpublished draft in the workflow editor before editing events or filters from the Automations page.

Delete an automation

Click the delete icon on the automation’s list entry and confirm with Delete Workflow. This permanently deletes the entire workflow from both Feature Flags automations and Workflow Automation, including its triggers and actions.

Further reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Build workflowsDOCUMENTATION Test and debug workflowsDOCUMENTATION Feature Flags ApprovalsDOCUMENTATION Progressive Rollouts and CanariesDOCUMENTATION Kill SwitchesDOCUMENTATION