Using Feature Flags

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This topic describes how Cloud Foundry (CF) administrators can set feature flags using the Cloud Foundry Command Line Interface (cf CLI) to enable or disable the features available to users.

View and Edit Feature Flags

To perform the following procedures, you must be logged in to your deployment as an administrator using the cf CLI.

  1. Use the cf feature-flags command to list the feature flags:

    $ cf feature-flags

Features                                      State
user_org_creation                             disabled
private_domain_creation                       enabled
app_bits_upload                               enabled
app_scaling                                   enabled
route_creation                                enabled
service_instance_creation                     enabled
diego_docker                                  disabled
set_roles_by_username                         enabled
unset_roles_by_username                       enabled
task_creation                                 enabled
env_var_visibility                            enabled
space_scoped_private_broker_creation          enabled
space_developer_env_var_visibility            enabled
service_instance_sharing                      disabled
hide_marketplace_from_unauthenticated_users   disabled


    For descriptions of the features enabled by each feature flag, see the Feature Flags section below.

  2. To view the status of a feature flag, use the cf feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME command:

    $ cf feature-flag user_org_creation

Retrieving status of user_org_creation as admin...
OK

Features            State
user_org_creation   disabled

  3. To enable a feature flag, use the cf enable-feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME command:

    $ cf enable-feature-flag user_org_creation

  4. To disable a feature flag, use the cf disable-feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME command:

    $ cf disable-feature-flag user_org_creation

Feature Flags

Only administrators can set feature flags. All flags are enabled by default except user_org_creation and diego_docker. When disabled, these features are only available to administrators.

The following list provides descriptions of the features enabled or disabled by each flag, and the minimum Cloud Controller API (CC API) version necessary to use the feature. To determine your CC API version, follow the instructions in Identifying the API Endpoint for your PAS Instance.:

  • user_org_creation: Any user can create an organization. If enabled, this flag activates the Create a New Org link in the dropdown menu of the left navigation menu in Apps Manager. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • private_domain_creation: An Org Manager can create private domains for that organization. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • app_bits_upload: Space Developers can upload app bits. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • app_scaling: Space Developers can perform scaling operations (i.e. change memory, disk, or instances). Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • route_creation: Space Developers can create routes in a space. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • service_instance_creation: Space Developers can create service instances in a space. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
  • diego_docker: Space Developers can push Docker apps. Minimum CC API version 2.33.
  • set_roles_by_username: Org Managers and Space Managers can add roles by username. Minimum CC API version: 2.37.
  • unset_roles_by_username: Org Managers and Space Managers can remove roles by username. Minimum CC API version: 2.37.
  • task_creation: Space Developers can create tasks on their application. Minimum CC API version: 2.47.
  • env_var_visibility: All users can view environment variables. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
  • space_scoped_private_broker_creation: Space Developers can create space-scoped private service brokers. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
  • space_developer_env_var_visibility: Space Developers can view their v2 environment variables. Org Managers and Space Managers can view their v3 environment variables. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
  • service_instance_sharing: Space Developers can share service instances between two spaces (across orgs) in which they have the Space Developer role.
  • hide_marketplace_from_unauthenticated_users: Do not allow unauthenticated users to see the service offerings available in the marketplace.

For more information about feature flag commands, see the Feature Flags section of the Cloud Foundry API documentation.

Disabling Custom Buildpacks

You can disable custom buildpacks using your Ops Manager PAS tile. From the Cloud Controller tab, check the Disable Custom Buildpacks checkbox, as shown in the image below.

By default, the cf CLI gives developers the option of using a custom buildpack when they deploy apps to PAS. To do so, they use the -b option to provide a custom buildpack URL with the cf push command. The Disable Custom Buildpacks checkbox prevents the -b option from being used with external buildpack URLs.

For more information about custom buildpacks, refer to the buildpacks section of the PCF documentation.