Feature Flags in Primer React

Feature flags provide a way to incrementally build and deliver changes in Primer alongside the feature flag system at GitHub. They help build confidence in changes and improve the reliability of releases.

Architecture

Feature flags are implemented in packages/react/src/FeatureFlags/ with these core pieces:

Exports

Feature flags are exported from @primer/react/experimental:

import {FeatureFlags, useFeatureFlag, DefaultFeatureFlags} from '@primer/react/experimental'

They are NOT exported from the main @primer/react entry point.

How to Use a Feature Flag in a Component

1. Add the flag to DefaultFeatureFlags

Register your flag in packages/react/src/FeatureFlags/DefaultFeatureFlags.ts with a default value of false:

export const DefaultFeatureFlags = FeatureFlagScope.create({
  // ...existing flags...
  primer_react_my_new_feature: false,
})

2. Use useFeatureFlag in your component

import {useFeatureFlag} from '../FeatureFlags'

function MyComponent() {
  const enabled = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_my_new_feature')

  if (enabled) {
    return <NewBehavior />
  }
  return <CurrentBehavior />
}

3. Naming conventions

• Prefix with primer_react_ for flags in the @primer/react package
• Use snake_case: primer_react_my_feature_name

Patterns

Change behavior conditionally

function ExampleComponent({children}) {
  const enabled = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_my_feature')

  return (
    <button
      onClick={() => {
        if (enabled) {
          // new behavior
        } else {
          // current behavior
        }
      }}
    >
      {children}
    </button>
  )
}

Toggle between two component versions

function ExampleComponent(props) {
  const enabled = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_my_feature')
  if (enabled) {
    return <ExampleComponentNext {...props} />
  }
  return <ExampleComponentClassic {...props} />
}

Data attributes on DOM elements

function MyOverlay() {
  const enabled = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_my_feature')
  return <div data-my-feature={enabled ? '' : undefined} />
}

Real Codebase Examples

CSS anchor positioning (packages/react/src/AnchoredOverlay/AnchoredOverlay.tsx)

const cssAnchorPositioning = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_css_anchor_positioning')
useEffect(() => {
  if (cssAnchorPositioning && !hasLoadedAnchorPositioningPolyfill.current) {
    applyAnchorPositioningPolyfill()
    hasLoadedAnchorPositioningPolyfill.current = true
  }
}, [open, overlayRef, updateOverlayRef, cssAnchorPositioning])

Breadcrumbs overflow (packages/react/src/Breadcrumbs/Breadcrumbs.tsx)

const overflowMenuEnabled = useFeatureFlag('primer_react_breadcrumbs_overflow_menu')

Testing with Feature Flags

Wrap your component with the FeatureFlags provider to set flag values in tests:

import {FeatureFlags} from '../../FeatureFlags'

// Test with flag enabled
render(
  <FeatureFlags flags={{primer_react_my_feature: true}}>
    <MyComponent />
  </FeatureFlags>,
)

// Test with flag disabled (or omit the wrapper to use default values from DefaultFeatureFlags)
render(
  <FeatureFlags flags={{primer_react_my_feature: false}}>
    <MyComponent />
  </FeatureFlags>,
)

Key testing behaviors

• Unknown flags default to false
• Nested FeatureFlags providers merge flags — inner values override outer values
• You should test both enabled and disabled states

Storybook Integration

Enable flag in a specific story

import {FeatureFlags} from '../../FeatureFlags'

export const WithFeatureEnabled = () => (
  <FeatureFlags flags={{primer_react_my_feature: true}}>
    <MyComponent />
  </FeatureFlags>
)

export const WithFeatureDisabled = () => <MyComponent />

Enable flag in all stories

Storybook's global preview (packages/react/.storybook/preview.jsx) already wraps all stories in a FeatureFlags provider, using DefaultFeatureFlags as the source of default values and toolbar options. In most cases you only need to register your flag in DefaultFeatureFlags.ts; you do not need to manually add it to the FeatureFlags wrapper.

To enable a flag globally via environment, add its exact flag name (for example, primer_react_my_feature) to the featureFlagEnvList set in preview.jsx, and set the corresponding env var to 1 (for example, VITE_primer_react_my_feature=1). The preview code reads import.meta.env[\VITE*${flag}`], so the part after VITE*` must match the flag string exactly.

Feature Flag Lifecycle

1. Create — Register the flag in DefaultFeatureFlags.ts with value false
2. Implement — Use useFeatureFlag() in components, write tests for both states
3. Test in Storybook — Create stories with the flag enabled/disabled
4. Ship — Merge to main; the flag remains off by default
5. Enable at GitHub — Use DevPortal to enable for specific actors, then staffship, then GA
6. Remove — Once fully rolled out, remove the flag from code and DefaultFeatureFlags.ts

Temporarily testing in Dotcom CI

Set your flag to true in DefaultFeatureFlags.ts to enable it by default for CI testing. Set it back to false before merging.

FeatureFlags Provider Internals

• FeatureFlagScope.create(flags) — Creates a scope from a plain object {[key: string]: boolean}
• FeatureFlagScope.merge(a, b) — Merges two scopes; b values override a
• The FeatureFlags component merges parent context flags with the provided flags prop
• DefaultFeatureFlags is the initial context value — it defines all known flags

Current Feature Flags

Check packages/react/src/FeatureFlags/DefaultFeatureFlags.ts for the current list of all registered feature flags and their default values.