OpenFeature is an open specification that provides a vendor-agnostic, community-driven API for feature flagging that works with your favorite feature flag management tool.
This library targets PHP version 8.0 and newer. As long as you have any compatible version of PHP on your system you should be able to utilize the OpenFeature SDK.
This package also has a .tool-versions file for use with PHP version managers like asdf.
composer require open-feature/sdk
use OpenFeature\OpenFeatureAPI;
use OpenFeature\Providers\Flagd\FlagdProvider;
function example()
{
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
// configure a provider
$api->setProvider(new FlagdProvider());
// create a client
$client = $api->getClient();
// get a bool flag value
$client->getBooleanValue('v2_enabled', false);
}
use OpenFeature\OpenFeatureAPI;
use OpenFeature\OpenFeatureClient;
class MyClass
{
private OpenFeatureClient $client;
public function __construct()
{
$this->client = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance()->getClient('MyClass');
}
public function booleanExample(): UI
{
// Should we render the redesign? Or the default webpage?
if ($this->client->getBooleanValue('redesign_enabled', false)) {
return render_redesign();
}
return render_normal();
}
public function stringExample(): Template
{
// Get the template to load for the custom new homepage
$template = $this->client->getStringValue('homepage_template', 'default-homepage.html');
return render_template($template);
}
public function numberExample(): array
{
// How many modules should we be fetching?
$count = $this->client->getIntegerValue('module-fetch-count', 4);
return fetch_modules($count);
}
public function structureExample(): HomepageModule
{
$obj = $this->client->getObjectValue('hero-module', $previouslyDefinedDefaultStructure);
return HomepageModuleBuilder::new()
->title($obj->getValue('title'))
->body($obj->getValue('description'))
->build();
}
}
| Status | Features | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ | Providers | Integrate with a commercial, open source, or in-house feature management tool. |
| ✅ | Targeting | Contextually-aware flag evaluation using evaluation context. |
| ✅ | Hooks | Add functionality to various stages of the flag evaluation life-cycle. |
| ✅ | Logging | Integrate with popular logging packages. |
| ✅ | MultiProvider | Combine multiple providers with configurable evaluation strategies for fallback and aggregation. |
| ❌ | Named clients | Utilize multiple providers in a single application. |
| ⚠️ | Eventing | React to state changes in the provider or flag management system. |
| ❌ | Shutdown | Gracefully clean up a provider during application shutdown. |
| ✅ | Extending | Extend OpenFeature with custom providers and hooks. |
Implemented: ✅ | In-progress: ⚠️ | Not implemented yet: ❌
Providers are an abstraction between a flag management system and the OpenFeature SDK. Look here for a complete list of available providers. If the provider you're looking for hasn't been created yet, see the develop a provider section to learn how to build it yourself.
Once you've added a provider as a dependency, it can be registered with OpenFeature like this:
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$api->setProvider(new MyProvider());
The Multi-Provider allows you to use multiple underlying providers as sources of flag data for the OpenFeature SDK. When a flag is being evaluated, the Multi-Provider will consult each underlying provider it is managing in order to determine the final result. Different evaluation strategies can be defined to control which providers get evaluated and which result is used.
The Multi-Provider is a powerful tool for performing migrations between flag providers, or combining multiple providers into a single feature flagging interface. For example:
Basic Usage
The Multi-Provider is initialized with an array of providers it should evaluate:
use OpenFeature\OpenFeatureAPI;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\MultiProvider;
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['provider' => new ProviderA()],
['provider' => new ProviderB()],
]);
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$api->setProvider($multiProvider);
$client = $api->getClient();
echo $client->getBooleanValue('my-flag', false);
By default, the Multi-Provider will evaluate all underlying providers in order and return the first successful result. If a provider indicates it does not have a flag (FLAG_NOT_FOUND error code), then it will be skipped and the next provider will be evaluated. If any provider throws or returns an error result, the operation will fail and the error will be returned. If no provider returns a successful result, the operation will fail with a FLAG_NOT_FOUND error code.
To change this behaviour, a different "strategy" can be provided:
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\FirstSuccessfulStrategy;
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['provider' => new ProviderA()],
['provider' => new ProviderB()],
], new FirstSuccessfulStrategy());
The Multi-Provider comes with three strategies out of the box:
FLAG_NOT_FOUND error will be skipped and the next provider will be evaluated. Any other error will cause the operation to fail and the error to be returned.Provider Naming
Providers can be named explicitly or have names auto-generated:
// Explicit naming (recommended for clarity)
new MultiProvider([
['name' => 'LaunchDarkly', 'provider' => $ldProvider],
['name' => 'FlagSmith', 'provider' => $fsProvider],
]);
// Auto-generated naming (provider class name is used)
new MultiProvider([
['provider' => $ldProvider], // Named "launchdarkly" (lowercase)
['provider' => $fsProvider], // Named "flagsmith" (lowercase)
['provider' => $fsProvider], // Named "flagsmith_2" (auto-incremented, lowercase)
]);
Note: Provider names are case-insensitive and stored in lowercase. "MyProvider", "myprovider", and "MYPROVIDER" are all treated as the same provider name. Auto-generated names from provider metadata are also normalized to lowercase.
Strategies
Evaluates providers sequentially and returns the first successful result. Continues to the next provider only if the current one throws a FLAG_NOT_FOUND error.
Use cases:
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\FirstMatchStrategy;
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['name' => 'Remote', 'provider' => new RemoteProvider()], // Try remote first
['name' => 'Cache', 'provider' => new CacheProvider()], // Fall back to cache
['name' => 'Default', 'provider' => new DefaultProvider()], // Final fallback
], new FirstMatchStrategy());
Behavior:
FLAG_NOT_FOUND → continues to CacheFLAG_NOT_FOUND → returns default value with aggregated errorsEvaluates providers sequentially and returns the first successful result, skipping providers that throw any error (not just FLAG_NOT_FOUND).
Use cases:
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\FirstSuccessfulStrategy;
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['name' => 'Primary', 'provider' => new UnstableProvider()],
['name' => 'Secondary', 'provider' => new StableProvider()],
['name' => 'Tertiary', 'provider' => new LocalProvider()],
], new FirstSuccessfulStrategy());
Behavior:
Evaluates all providers at one time. If every provider returns a successful result with the same value, then that result is returned. Otherwise, an error is returned immediately if any provider errors. When values do not agree, the configured "fallback provider" value will be used.
This strategy accepts several arguments during initialization:
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\ComparisonStrategy;
// Set up providers
$providerA = new ProviderA();
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['provider' => $providerA],
['provider' => new ProviderB()],
], new ComparisonStrategy(
$providerA, // First argument: "fallback provider" whose value to use when providers don't agree
function($resolutions) { // Second argument: callback when values don't match
error_log('Mismatch detected: ' . json_encode($resolutions));
}
));
The first argument is the "fallback provider" whose value to use in the event that providers do not agree. It should be the same object reference as one of the providers in the list. The second argument is a callback function that will be executed when a mismatch is detected. The callback will be passed an array containing the details of each provider's resolution, including the flag key, the value returned, and any errors that were thrown.
Use cases:
Behavior:
===) to check if all providers returned the same valueonMismatch callback, then returns the fallback provider's valueImportant Notes:
Strategy Comparison
| Scenario | FirstMatchStrategy | FirstSuccessfulStrategy | ComparisonStrategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider order matters | ✅ Yes (stops at first match) | ✅ Yes (stops at first success) | ❌ No (evaluates all) |
| Handles FLAG_NOT_FOUND | Continues to next | Continues to next | Returns all errors |
| Handles other errors | Stops evaluation | Continues to next | Returns all errors immediately |
| Evaluates all providers | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Best for fallback | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Best for high availability | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Best for consistency validation | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Requires fallback provider | ❌ Optional | ❌ Optional | ✅ Required |
Error Handling
Error handling varies by strategy:
FirstMatchStrategy:
FLAG_NOT_FOUNDFLAG_NOT_FOUND errors if all providers failFirstSuccessfulStrategy:
ComparisonStrategy:
onMismatch callback, then returns fallback provider's value (not an error)Error Aggregation:
When all providers fail, MultiProvider aggregates individual provider errors into a single detailed error message:
// Example: FirstMatchStrategy with all FLAG_NOT_FOUND
$result = $client->getBooleanDetails('non-existent-flag', false);
// Returns: value=false, reason=ERROR,
// error="Multi-provider evaluation failed with 3 provider error(s): [ProviderA]: Flag not found; [ProviderB]: Flag not found; [ProviderC]: Flag not found"
// Example: ComparisonStrategy with provider errors
$result = $client->getBooleanDetails('some-flag', false);
// Returns: value=false, reason=ERROR,
// error="Multi-provider evaluation failed with 2 provider error(s): [ProviderA]: Connection timeout; [ProviderB]: Invalid configuration"
This detailed error aggregation helps with debugging by showing exactly which provider failed and why, similar to JavaScript's AggregateError.
Complete Example
use OpenFeature\OpenFeatureAPI;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\MultiProvider;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\FirstMatchStrategy;
// Set up providers
$remoteProvider = new LaunchDarklyProvider($config);
$cacheProvider = new RedisCacheProvider($redis);
$defaultProvider = new InMemoryProvider([
'feature-enabled' => true,
'api-timeout' => 30,
]);
// Configure MultiProvider with priority order
$multiProvider = new MultiProvider([
['name' => 'LaunchDarkly', 'provider' => $remoteProvider],
['name' => 'Redis', 'provider' => $cacheProvider],
['name' => 'Defaults', 'provider' => $defaultProvider],
], new FirstMatchStrategy());
// Register with OpenFeature
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$api->setProvider($multiProvider);
// Use as normal
$client = $api->getClient();
$enabled = $client->getBooleanValue('feature-enabled', false);
// Evaluation flow:
// 1. Try LaunchDarkly → if FLAG_NOT_FOUND, continue
// 2. Try Redis → if FLAG_NOT_FOUND, continue
// 3. Try Defaults → returns value
// 4. If all fail → returns default with aggregated errors
Custom Strategies
It is also possible to implement your own strategy if the above options do not fit your use case. To do so, create a class which extends BaseEvaluationStrategy:
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\BaseEvaluationStrategy;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\ProviderContext;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\strategy\StrategyContext;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\ProviderResolutionResult;
use OpenFeature\implementation\multiprovider\FinalResult;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\RunMode;
class CustomStrategy extends BaseEvaluationStrategy
{
// Set to RunMode::EVALUATE_ALL to evaluate all providers at one time
// or leave as default for sequential evaluation
public string $runMode = RunMode::SEQUENTIAL;
/**
* Called before each provider is evaluated.
* Return false to skip evaluating this provider.
*/
public function shouldEvaluateThisProvider(ProviderContext $context): bool
{
// Custom logic to determine if this provider should be evaluated
return true;
}
/**
* Called after a provider is evaluated (sequential mode only).
* Return false to stop evaluating remaining providers.
*/
public function shouldEvaluateNextProvider(
ProviderContext $context,
ProviderResolutionResult $result
): bool {
// Custom logic to determine if evaluation should continue
return true;
}
/**
* Called after all providers have been evaluated.
* Determines the final result to return based on all provider results.
*/
public function determineFinalResult(
StrategyContext $context,
array $resolutions
): FinalResult {
// Custom logic to determine which result to return
// Can analyze all results and choose one, aggregate them, etc.
// Example: Return first successful result
foreach ($resolutions as $resolution) {
if (!$resolution->hasError()) {
return new FinalResult(
$resolution->getDetails(),
$resolution->getProviderName(),
null
);
}
}
// All failed - return errors
return new FinalResult(null, null, $this->aggregateErrors($resolutions));
}
}
The $runMode property determines whether the list of providers will be evaluated sequentially or at once (using RunMode::EVALUATE_ALL).
The shouldEvaluateThisProvider() method is called just before a provider is evaluated by the Multi-Provider. If the function returns false, then the provider will be skipped instead of being evaluated.
The shouldEvaluateNextProvider() method is called after a provider is evaluated in sequential mode. If it returns true, the next provider in the sequence will be called, otherwise no more providers will be evaluated. This method is not called when $runMode is RunMode::EVALUATE_ALL.
The determineFinalResult() method is called after all providers have been evaluated, or the shouldEvaluateNextProvider() method returned false. It is called with an array of results from all the individual providers' evaluations. It returns the final result, or can throw an error if needed.
Sub-Provider Hooks Not Executed:
Currently, when using MultiProvider, hooks registered on individual sub-providers via provider->getHooks() are not executed during flag evaluation. Only hooks registered at the API, Client, and Invocation levels (plus MultiProvider's own hooks) are executed.
In the JS-SDK reference implementation, each sub-provider's hooks are executed around each provider call via a dedicated HookExecutor. The PHP Provider interface extends HooksGetter (per OpenFeature Requirement 2.10), so the mechanism exists—it just isn't wired up in the current implementation.
Workaround: Register hooks at the API or Client level instead of on individual providers:
// Instead of this (won't execute):
$providerA->addHooks($myHook);
// Do this (will execute):
$client = $api->getClient();
$client->addHooks($myHook);
This limitation will be addressed in a future release where per-provider hook execution will be implemented to match the JS-SDK behavior.
Sometimes, the value of a flag must consider some dynamic criteria about the application or user, such as the user's location, IP, email address, or the server's location. In OpenFeature, we refer to this as targeting. If the flag management system you're using supports targeting, you can provide the input data using the evaluation context.
// add a value to the global context
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$api->setEvaluationContext(new EvaluationContext('targetingKey', new Attributes(['myGlobalKey' => 'myGlobalValue'])));
// add a value to the client context
$client = $api->getClient();
$client->setEvaluationContext(new EvaluationContext('targetingKey', new Attributes(['myClientKey' => 'myClientValue'])));
// add a value to the invocation context
$context = new EvaluationContext('targetingKey', new Attributes(['myInvocationKey' => 'myInvocationValue']));
$boolValue = $client->getBooleanValue('boolFlag', false, $context);
Hooks allow for custom logic to be added at well-defined points of the flag evaluation life-cycle. Look here for a complete list of available hooks. If the hook you're looking for hasn't been created yet, see the develop a hook section to learn how to build it yourself.
Once you've added a hook as a dependency, it can be registered at the global, client, or flag invocation level.
// add a hook globally, to run on all evaluations
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$api->addHooks(new ExampleGlobalHook());
// add a hook on this client, to run on all evaluations made by this client
$client = $api->getClient();
$client->addHooks(new ExampleClientHook());
// add a hook for this evaluation only
$value = $client->getBooleanValue("boolFlag", false, $context, new EvaluationOptions([new ExampleInvocationHook()]));
The PHP SDK utilizes several of the PHP Standards Recommendation, one of those being PSR-3 which provides a standard LoggerInterface.
The SDK makes use of a LoggerAwareTrait on several components, including the client for flag evaluation, the hook executor, and the global OpenFeatureAPI instance.
When an OpenFeature client is created by the API, it will automatically utilize the configured logger in the API for it. The logger set in the client is also automatically used for the hook execution.
⚠️ Once the client is instantiated, updates to the API's logger will not synchronize. This is done to support the separation of named clients. If you must update an existing client's logger, do so directly!
$api = OpenFeatureAPI::getInstance();
$logger = new FancyLogger();
$defaultLoggerClient = $api->getClient('default-logger');
$api->setLogger(new CustomLogger());
$customLoggerClient = $api->getClient('custom-logger');
$overrideLoggerClient = $api->getClient('override-logger');
$overrideLoggerClient->setLogger($logger);
// now let's do some evaluations with these!
$defaultLoggerClient->getBooleanValue('A', false);
// uses default logger in the SDK
$customLoggerClient->getBooleanValue('B', false);
// uses the CustomLogger set in the API before the client was made
$overrideLoggerClient->getBooleanValue('C', false);
// uses the FancyLogger set directly on the client
Named clients are not yet available in the PHP SDK. Progress on this feature can be tracked here.
Events are not yet available in the PHP SDK. Progress on this feature can be tracked here.
A shutdown method is not yet available in the PHP SDK. Progress on this feature can be tracked here.
To develop a provider, you need to create a new project and include the OpenFeature SDK as a dependency.
This can be a new repository or included in the existing contrib repository available under the OpenFeature organization.
You’ll then need to write the provider by implementing the Provider interface exported by the OpenFeature SDK.
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace OpenFeature\Example\Providers;
use OpenFeature\implementation\common\Metadata;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\common\Metadata as IMetadata;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\EvaluationContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\Hook;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\Provider;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\ResolutionDetails;
class ExampleProviderImplementation implements Provider
{
public function setLogger(LoggerInterface $logger): void
{
$this->logger = $logger;
// or, utilize the OpenFeature\interfaces\common\LoggerAwareTrait
}
/**
* @return Hook[]
*/
public function getHooks(): array
{
return $this->hooks; // implement according to the OpenFeature specification
}
/**
* Returns the metadata for the current resource
*/
public function getMetadata(): IMetadata
{
return new Metadata(self::class);
}
public function resolveBooleanValue(string $flagKey, bool $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetails
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveStringValue(string $flagKey, string $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetails
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveIntegerValue(string $flagKey, int $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetails
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveFloatValue(string $flagKey, float $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetails
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
/**
* @inheritdoc
*/
public function resolveObjectValue(string $flagKey, array $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetails
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
}
As you can see, this ends up requiring some boilerplate to fulfill all of the functionality that a Provider expects. Another option for implementing a provider is to utilize the AbstractProvider base class. This provides some internally wiring and simple scaffolding so you can skip some of it and focus on what's most important: resolving feature flags!
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace OpenFeature\Example\Providers;
use OpenFeature\implementation\provider\AbstractProvider;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\EvaluationContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\ResolutionDetails as ResolutionDetailsInterface;
class ExampleProviderExtension extends AbstractProvider
{
protected static string $NAME = self::class;
public function resolveBooleanValue(string $flagKey, bool $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetailsInterface
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveStringValue(string $flagKey, string $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetailsInterface
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveIntegerValue(string $flagKey, int $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetailsInterface
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
public function resolveFloatValue(string $flagKey, float $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetailsInterface
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
/**
* @inheritdoc
*/
public function resolveObjectValue(string $flagKey, array $defaultValue, ?EvaluationContext $context = null): ResolutionDetailsInterface
{
// resolve some ResolutionDetails
}
}
Built a new provider? Let us know so we can add it to the docs!
To develop a hook, you need to create a new project and include the OpenFeature SDK as a dependency.
This can be a new repository or included in the existing contrib repository available under the OpenFeature organization.
Implement your own hook by conforming to the Hook interface.
To satisfy the interface, all methods (before/after/finally/error) need to be defined.
You can also extend one of the typed abstract base classes (BooleanHook, StringHook, IntegerHook, FloatHook, ObjectHook) which automatically implement supportsFlagValueType() for the corresponding flag type.
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace OpenFeature\Example\Hooks;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\EvaluationContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\FlagValueType;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\Hook;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\HookContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\HookHints;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\ResolutionDetails;
use Throwable;
class ExampleStringHookImplementation implements Hook
{
public function before(HookContext $context, HookHints $hints): ?EvaluationContext
{
}
public function after(HookContext $context, ResolutionDetails $details, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
public function error(HookContext $context, Throwable $error, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
public function finally(HookContext $context, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
public function supportsFlagValueType(string $flagValueType): bool
{
return $flagValueType === FlagValueType::STRING;
}
}
You can also make use of existing base classes for various types and behaviors. Suppose you want to make this same hook, and have no limitation around extending a base class, you could do the following:
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace OpenFeature\Example\Hooks;
use OpenFeature\implementation\hooks\StringHook;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\EvaluationContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\flags\FlagValueType;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\HookContext;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\hooks\HookHints;
use OpenFeature\interfaces\provider\ResolutionDetails;
use Throwable;
class ExampleStringHookExtension extends StringHook
{
public function before(HookContext $context, HookHints $hints): ?EvaluationContext
{
}
public function after(HookContext $context, ResolutionDetails $details, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
public function error(HookContext $context, Throwable $error, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
public function finally(HookContext $context, HookHints $hints): void
{
}
}
Built a new hook? Let us know so we can add it to the docs!
Interested in contributing? Great, we'd love your help! To get started, take a look at the CONTRIBUTING guide.
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