Datadog Feature Flags for server-side applications allow you to remotely control feature availability, run experiments, and roll out new functionality with confidence. Server-side SDKs integrate with the Datadog APM tracer and use Remote Configuration to receive flag updates in real time.
This guide covers the common setup required for all server-side SDKs, including Agent configuration and application environment variables. Select your language or framework to view SDK-specific setup instructions:
Prerequisites
Before setting up server-side feature flags, ensure you have:
Datadog Agent 7.55 or later installed and running
Datadog API key configured
APM tracing enabled in your application
Agent configuration
Server-side feature flags use Remote Configuration to deliver flag configurations to your application. Enable Remote Configuration in your Datadog Agent by setting DD_REMOTE_CONFIGURATION_ENABLED=true or adding remote_configuration.enabled: true to your datadog.yaml.
The Agent polls Datadog for configuration updates at a configurable interval. This interval determines the average time between making a flag change in the UI and the change becoming available to your application.
Configure your application with the standard Datadog environment variables. These are common across all server-side SDKs:
# Required: Service identificationDD_SERVICE=<YOUR_SERVICE_NAME>
DD_ENV=<YOUR_ENVIRONMENT>
DD_VERSION=<YOUR_APP_VERSION>
# Agent connection (if not using default localhost:8126)DD_AGENT_HOST=localhost
DD_TRACE_AGENT_PORT=8126# Enable Remote Configuration in the tracerDD_REMOTE_CONFIG_ENABLED=true
Some SDKs require additional experimental flags to enable feature flagging. See the SDK-specific documentation for details.
