Quickstart

This guide helps you set up Unleash in just a few minutes. The fastest way to get started is by using Docker. If Docker doesn't work for you, see other ways to try Unleash.

Set up Unleash with Docker

Start Unleash locally

To start Unleash locally, clone the Unleash repository and start the server with Docker Compose:

git clone git@github.com:Unleash/unleash.git

cd unleash
docker compose up -d

Log in to the Unleash Admin UI

In your browser, go to http://localhost:4242 and log in using the following credentials:

• username: admin
• password: unleash4all

Create your first flag

To create your first flag:

1. Open the Default project.
2. Click New feature flag.
3. Enter a name, and click Create feature flag.

For more details on creating feature flags, see How to create a feature flag.

Connect an SDK

Next, use one of the client or server-side SDKs to connect Unleash with your application.

1. Create an API token:
   • For client-side SDKs, use a frontend token.
   • For server-side SDKs, use a client token.
2. Determine your Unleash URL:
   • For client-side SDKs, use <your-unleash-instance>/api/frontend.
   • For server-side SDKs, use <your-unleash-instance>/api.
3. Use the SDK to connect to Unleash in your application.

The following example shows how to use the JavaScript SDK and the Node.js SDK to connect to your Unleash instance:

Connect a client-side SDK

JavaScript SDK

import { UnleashClient } from "unleash-proxy-client";

const unleash = new UnleashClient({
    url: "https://<your-unleash-instance>/api/frontend",
    clientKey: "<your-token>",
    appName: "<your-app-name>",
});

unleash.on("synchronized", () => {
    // Unleash is ready to serve updated feature flags.

    // Check a feature flag
    if (unleash.isEnabled("some-flag")) {
        // do cool new things when the flag is enabled
    }
});

Connect a server-side SDK

Node.js SDK

const { initialize } = require("unleash-client");

const unleash = initialize({
    url: "https://<your-unleash-instance>/api/",
    appName: "<your-app-name>",
    customHeaders: {
        Authorization: "<your-token>",
    },
});

unleash.on("synchronized", () => {
    // Unleash is ready to serve updated feature flags.

    if (unleash.isEnabled("some-flag")) {
        // do cool new things when the flag is enabled
    }
});

Other ways to try Unleash

Unleash demo instance

You can also use the Unleash demo instance to test different use cases before setting up your own instance. This is a Pro version available at https://app.unleash-hosted.com/demo/.

To run tests on this instance, use the following API URLs and keys:

• Client-side:
  • API URL: https://app.unleash-hosted.com/demo/api/frontend
  • Frontend key: demo-app:default.bf8d2a449a025d1715a28f218dd66a40ef4dcc97b661398f7e05ba67
• Server-side:
  • API URL: https://app.unleash-hosted.com/demo/api
  • Client key: 56907a2fa53c1d16101d509a10b78e36190b0f918d9f122d

To test the credentials and retrieve feature flags, run this command:

curl https://app.unleash-hosted.com/demo/api/client/features \
-H "Authorization: 56907a2fa53c1d16101d509a10b78e36190b0f918d9f122d"

Other local setup options

For other ways to get started locally, see the steps for starting an Unleash server.

Hosting Unleash

Hosted by Unleash

With our Pro and Enterprise plans, you can run Unleash in the cloud by using our hosted offerings.

Self-hosted

Self-hosting Unleash is available for Open-Source and Enterprise customers. Visit Self-hosting Unleash to learn more.

Next steps

Check out our reference documentation that explains all core concepts you need to get the most out of Unleash.

Explore feature flag best practices and language-specific tutorials in our developer guides.