---
type: "Talk"
title: "Open Feature: Beyond Swapping Feature Flag Providers"
description: "Open Feature: Beyond Swapping Feature Flag Providers"
resource: "https://aurelijus.banelis.lt/en/talks/open-feature-beyond-providers/"
timestamp: "2026-01-18"
tags:
  - "feature-flags"
  - "devex"
  - "openfeature"
  - "architecture"
  - "NoTrollsAllowed"
lang: "en"
date: "2026-01-18"
---


Originally prepared for FOSDEM, but also shared in the NTA community.

The feature flag ecosystem has matured into many competing platforms and SDKs—and now
includes the [OpenFeature](https://openfeature.dev/docs/reference/intro) specification.

The trap: feature flags quickly become **provider-specific custom logic** instead of
reusable hooks/extensions.

### This talk has three parts:

 * What are feature flags
 * What is OpenFeature
 * 2 examples of **advanced use cases**: OpenFeature SDK extension points (e.g., for user
   privacy tiers, dynamic test environments)

### So, What Are Feature Toggles?

You hit deploy—and your checkout is down.

* **In web systems**, we ship code with features off by default and enable them via
  cookies, percentage rollouts, or lightweight A/B tests.

* **In offline or embedded systems**, the same idea appears as debug modes, experimental
  features, or configuration-driven behavior switches.

Different environments, same core idea: **deploy now, decide later**.