Dark Launch
Dark Launch is a software deployment technique where new features or code changes are released to production but remain hidden or inactive for end-users, allowing developers to test them in a real-world environment without affecting the user experience. It involves deploying code behind feature flags or toggles that control visibility, enabling gradual rollouts, A/B testing, and performance monitoring. This approach helps identify bugs, assess system impact, and gather data before making features publicly available.
Developers should use Dark Launch when deploying high-risk features, conducting large-scale system changes, or implementing gradual rollouts to minimize disruption and ensure stability. It is particularly valuable in continuous delivery pipelines, microservices architectures, and user-facing applications where reliability is critical, as it allows for safe experimentation and reduces the blast radius of potential failures. Use cases include testing new algorithms, validating infrastructure upgrades, and gathering user feedback on beta features without exposing them to all users.