/launchdarkly-flag-discovery

Removal Readiness Checklist

A systematic safety check to determine whether a feature flag can be safely removed. Run through this checklist before recommending flag removal to a user.

The Checklist

1. Cross-Environment Status

Check: Use get-flag-status-across-envs to verify the flag's state in all environments.

Pass criteria:

• Flag is inactive or launched in ALL critical environments (production, staging, etc.)
• No environment shows new or active state

Fail criteria:

• Flag is active in any critical environment
• Flag is new anywhere (still being rolled out)
• Critical environments show different states (e.g., production ON, staging OFF)

2. Configuration Consistency

Check: Use get-flag for each critical environment and compare configurations.

Pass criteria:

• All critical environments serve the same variation (same fallthrough.variation or same offVariation)
• No targeting rules or individual targets exist in critical environments

Caution criteria:

• Environments serve the same variation but through different mechanisms (one via fallthrough, another via rules)
• Simple rules exist but all resolve to the same variation

Fail criteria:

• Critical environments serve different variations
• Complex targeting rules exist that serve multiple variations
• Individual targets override the default behavior

3. Dependency Check

Check: Look for prerequisites in the flag configuration. Also check if this flag appears as a prerequisite in other flags.

Pass criteria:

• No other flags list this flag as a prerequisite
• This flag has no prerequisites of its own (simpler removal)

Fail criteria (hard blocker):

• Other flags depend on this flag as a prerequisite: removing it would break their targeting logic

4. Code References

Check: If available, use check-removal-readiness which includes code reference statistics. Otherwise, use get-code-references to find repositories that reference this flag.

Pass criteria:

• No code references found, or references only exist in the current repository (about to be cleaned up)

Caution criteria:

• Code references exist in multiple repositories: flag removal in code needs to be coordinated

Note: Code reference scanning has limitations. It tracks static string matches and may miss dynamic flag key construction (flag-${name}) or have false positives from comments/documentation.

5. Expiring Targets

Check: Look for scheduled expiring targets on the flag.

Pass criteria:

• No expiring targets scheduled

Caution criteria:

• Expiring targets exist: someone actively set a future removal date. Coordinate with them.

6. Flag Type

Check: The temporary field on the flag.

Pass criteria:

• Flag is marked as temporary: it was intended to be removed

Caution criteria:

• Flag is marked as permanent: it may be intentionally long-lived. Confirm with the user before recommending removal.

Readiness Levels

After running the checklist, categorize the result:

Safe

All checks pass. No blockers or warnings.

• Recommend proceeding with code removal using the flag cleanup skill
• Suggest archival in LaunchDarkly after code changes are deployed

Caution

No hard blockers, but warnings exist.

• Present each warning with context
• Recommend archive (reversible) over delete (permanent)
• Suggest addressing warnings first (e.g., remove code references, then re-check)

Blocked

Hard blockers prevent safe removal.

• Present each blocker with specifics
• For prerequisite dependencies: user must update dependent flags first
• For active targeting: user should toggle off and wait for a cool-down period
• For active status: flag is still being used: don't remove

Presenting Results

Structure the assessment as:

1. Verdict: Lead with safe / caution / blocked
2. Blockers (if any): Each with type and actionable detail
3. Warnings (if any): Each with type and context
4. Forward value: What variation should replace the flag in code (only if safe or caution)
5. Next steps: What to do now (proceed with cleanup, address warnings, resolve blockers)