LaunchDarkly Flag Expiry Setter

A GitHub Action that manages LaunchDarkly feature flag custom properties by setting an expiry date based on flag creation timestamps.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This is not an officially supported LaunchDarkly solution. Use at your own discretion.

Configuration

Input Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required	Default	Example
launchdarkly_api_key	LaunchDarkly API access token (requires WRITE permission)	✅	-	${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
project_key	LaunchDarkly project key	✅	-	my-project
days_from_creation	Number of days from flag creation date to set expiry	❌	30	90
custom_property_name	Name of the custom property to set	❌	flag.expiry.date	lifecycle.expiry.date
date_format	Date format for the expiry date	❌	MM/DD/YYYY	YYYY-MM-DD
skip_existing	Skip flags that already have the expiry property set	❌	true	false

Supported Date Formats

Format	Example	Description
MM/DD/YYYY	03/15/2024	US format (default)
MM-DD-YYYY	03-15-2024	US format with dashes
YYYY-MM-DD	2024-03-15	ISO 8601 format
YYYY/MM/DD	2024/03/15	International format

Output Parameters

Output	Type	Description
updated_flags	JSON Array	Flags that were successfully updated with expiry dates
failed_flags	JSON Array	Flags that failed to update with error details
skipped_flags	JSON Array	Flags that were skipped with reasons
total_processed	Number	Total number of flags that were processed
total_found	Number	Total number of flags found in the project
total_skipped	Number	Total number of flags that were skipped

Quick Start

Basic Usage

name: Set Flag Expiry Dates
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 9 * * 1' # Every Monday at 9 AM
  workflow_dispatch: # Allow manual triggers

jobs:
  set-expiry-dates:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Set 30-day expiry on flags without expiry dates
        uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
        with:
          launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
          project_key: 'your-project-key'
          days_from_creation: '30'

Advanced Configuration

name: Flag Lifecycle Management
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      project_key:
        description: 'LaunchDarkly project key'
        required: true
        default: 'my-project'
      days_from_creation:
        description: 'Days from creation to set expiry'
        required: false
        default: '90'

jobs:
  manage-flag-lifecycle:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Set custom expiry dates
        uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
        with:
          launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
          project_key: ${{ github.event.inputs.project_key }}
          days_from_creation: ${{ github.event.inputs.days_from_creation }}
          date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD'
          custom_property_name: 'lifecycle.expiry.date'
          skip_existing: 'false'

Integration with Audit Action

name: Complete Flag Lifecycle Management
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 9 * * 1' # Monday at 9 AM

jobs:
  # First, set expiry dates on flags without them
  set-missing-expiry:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Set 60-day expiry on flags without expiry dates
        uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
        with:
          launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
          project_key: 'your-project'
          days_from_creation: '60'
          skip_existing: 'true'

  # Then, audit for expiring flags
  audit-expiring:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: set-missing-expiry
    steps:
      - name: Audit expiring flags
        uses: devopsdina/ld-cp-exp-date-gh-actions-audit@v1
        with:
          launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
          project_key: 'your-project'
          days_ahead: '7'
          create_issues: 'true'

## Output Examples

<details>
<summary><strong>Successfully Updated Flags</strong></summary>

```json
[
  {
    "key": "my-feature-flag",
    "name": "My Feature Flag",
    "creationDate": "2025-07-18",
    "calculatedExpiryDate": "08/17/2025",
    "daysFromCreation": 30,
    "customPropertyName": "flag.expiry.date"
  }
]

Skipped Flags

[
  {
    "key": "existing-flag",
    "name": "Existing Flag",
    "reason": "Already has flag.expiry.date",
    "existingValue": "09/15/2025"
  }
]

Prerequisites

LaunchDarkly API Token Setup

🔐 Security Note: This action requires write access to your LaunchDarkly feature flags.

Required Permissions:

• ✅ Write access to feature flags in the target project
• ✅ Permission to modify custom properties

Setup Instructions:

1. Navigate to Account Settings → Authorization in LaunchDarkly
2. Click Create Token
3. Configure the token:
   • Name: GitHub Actions Flag Expiry Setter
   • Role: Writer or Admin
   • Projects: Select target projects
4. Copy the token and add it to GitHub Secrets as LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY

⚠️ Important: Store the API token securely in GitHub Secrets. Never commit it to your repository.

Common Use Cases

1. New Project Setup

Set expiry dates on all flags in a new project:

- name: Initialize flag expiry dates
  uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
  with:
    launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
    project_key: 'new-project'
    days_from_creation: '90'
    skip_existing: 'false'

2. Cleanup Campaign

Add expiry dates to legacy flags without them:

- name: Cleanup legacy flags
  uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
  with:
    launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
    project_key: 'legacy-project'
    days_from_creation: '30'
    skip_existing: 'true'

3. Compliance Requirements

Ensure all flags have expiry dates for audit purposes:

- name: Compliance - Set expiry dates
  uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
  with:
    launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
    project_key: 'production'
    days_from_creation: '180'
    custom_property_name: 'compliance.expiry.date'

4. Different Expiry Policies by Flag Type

# Short-lived experimental flags
- name: Set 30-day expiry on experimental flags
  uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
  with:
    launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
    project_key: 'experiments'
    days_from_creation: '30'

# Long-lived feature flags
- name: Set 180-day expiry on feature flags
  uses: your-org/launchdarkly-flag-expiry-setter@v1
  with:
    launchdarkly_api_key: ${{ secrets.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY }}
    project_key: 'features'
    days_from_creation: '180'

Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue	Cause	Solution
"API key has no WRITE permissions"	Insufficient token permissions	Ensure API
Rate limiting errors	Too many API requests	Built-in handling with exponential backoff

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our contribution guidelines for details.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: npm test
5. Submit a pull request

Related Projects

Project	Description	Link
Flag Expiry Audit	Audit flags for expiring dates	GitHub

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.