Laravel Pennant: Feature Flags

Feature flags enable gradual rollouts and A/B testing without deployments. Laravel Pennant provides first-party feature flag management. At ZIRA Software, feature flags reduce deployment risk and enable data-driven decisions.

Installation

composer require laravel/pennant

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Pennant\PennantServiceProvider"

php artisan migrate

Defining Features

// app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
use Laravel\Pennant\Feature;
use App\Models\User;

public function boot(): void
{
    // Simple boolean feature
    Feature::define('new-dashboard', fn () => true);

    // User-based feature
    Feature::define('beta-features', fn (User $user) => $user->is_beta_tester);

    // Percentage rollout
    Feature::define('new-checkout', fn (User $user) => match (true) {
        $user->is_internal => true,
        $user->created_at->isAfter('2022-01-01') => true,
        default => false,
    });

    // Lottery-based (10% of users)
    Feature::define('experiment-a', fn () => Lottery::odds(1, 10)->choose());
}

Feature Class Definition

// app/Features/NewOnboarding.php
namespace App\Features;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Support\Lottery;

class NewOnboarding
{
    public function resolve(User $user): bool
    {
        // Internal users always get new features
        if ($user->hasRole('internal')) {
            return true;
        }

        // Beta testers
        if ($user->is_beta_tester) {
            return true;
        }

        // 25% rollout to remaining users
        return Lottery::odds(1, 4)->choose();
    }
}

// Register in AppServiceProvider
Feature::define('new-onboarding', NewOnboarding::class);

Checking Features

// In controllers
use Laravel\Pennant\Feature;

class DashboardController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        if (Feature::active('new-dashboard')) {
            return view('dashboard.new');
        }

        return view('dashboard.classic');
    }
}

// For specific user
if (Feature::for($user)->active('beta-features')) {
    // Show beta features
}

// Check multiple features
if (Feature::allAreActive(['feature-a', 'feature-b'])) {
    // Both features active
}

if (Feature::someAreActive(['feature-a', 'feature-b'])) {
    // At least one active
}

Blade Directives

@feature('new-dashboard')
    <x-new-dashboard-component />
@else
    <x-classic-dashboard-component />
@endfeature

@feature('premium-features')
    <div class="premium-badge">Premium</div>
@endfeature

Feature Values (A/B Testing)

// Define feature with values
Feature::define('checkout-button-color', fn () => Arr::random([
    'blue',
    'green',
    'orange',
]));

// In controller
$buttonColor = Feature::value('checkout-button-color');

return view('checkout', [
    'buttonColor' => $buttonColor,
]);

<!-- In view -->
<button class="btn btn-{{ Feature::value('checkout-button-color') }}">
    Complete Purchase
</button>

Storing Feature Decisions

// Features are stored per-scope (user) by default
// Force activate for user
Feature::for($user)->activate('new-dashboard');

// Force deactivate
Feature::for($user)->deactivate('new-dashboard');

// Forget stored value (re-evaluate)
Feature::for($user)->forget('new-dashboard');

// Activate with value
Feature::for($user)->activate('button-color', 'green');

Middleware for Feature Gates

// routes/web.php
Route::middleware('feature:new-dashboard')->group(function () {
    Route::get('/dashboard/v2', [DashboardController::class, 'newDashboard']);
});

// Custom response for inactive feature
Route::get('/beta', [BetaController::class, 'index'])
    ->middleware('feature:beta-features,redirect:/waitlist');

Rich Feature Configuration

// app/Features/PricingExperiment.php
class PricingExperiment
{
    public function resolve(User $user): array
    {
        $variant = $this->determineVariant($user);

        return [
            'variant' => $variant,
            'prices' => $this->getPricesForVariant($variant),
            'layout' => $this->getLayoutForVariant($variant),
        ];
    }

    private function determineVariant(User $user): string
    {
        // Consistent variant per user
        $hash = crc32($user->id . 'pricing-experiment');
        $bucket = $hash % 100;

        return match (true) {
            $bucket < 33 => 'control',
            $bucket < 66 => 'variant-a',
            default => 'variant-b',
        };
    }
}

Event Tracking

// Track feature exposure for analytics
Feature::when('new-checkout',
    fn () => $this->trackExperimentExposure('new-checkout', 'treatment'),
    fn () => $this->trackExperimentExposure('new-checkout', 'control'),
);

// Custom tracking service
class FeatureTrackingService
{
    public function trackExposure(User $user, string $feature, mixed $value): void
    {
        FeatureExposure::create([
            'user_id' => $user->id,
            'feature' => $feature,
            'value' => $value,
            'exposed_at' => now(),
        ]);
    }
}

Purging Old Features

# Remove stored values for removed features
php artisan pennant:purge new-dashboard

# Remove all stored values
php artisan pennant:clear

Conclusion

Laravel Pennant provides robust feature flag management for gradual rollouts and experimentation. First-party integration ensures seamless Laravel development experience.

Need feature flag implementation? Contact ZIRA Software for controlled deployments.