Targeting
Using this feature you will be able to set different setting values for different users in your application. Lets say you would like to enable a feature only for the users within your company or only to a small percentage of your users before releasing it to the entire world.
Targeting specific users
Enable feature
- Log in to access the Dashboard
- Go to Feature Flags & Settings
- Select TARGET SPECIFIC USERS after clicking the actions icon.
Anatomy of a Targeting Rule
By adding a rule, you specify a group of your users and specify what feature flag - or other setting - value they should get. A rule consists of an Attribute of a user in your application (e.g. email address), a Comparison value (e.g. a list of email addresses) and a Comparator (e.g. IS ONE OF). ConfigCat evaluates the targeting rule every time your application requires and decides what value to serve.
Attribute
A property of your user (e.g. email address, geographic location). Your application should pass the attribute values (e.g. jane@example.com, Europe) to ConfigCat for comparison.
There are 3 predefined attributes. Additionally you can define your own custom attributes as well:
| Attribute Name | Description |
|---|---|
Email | The e-mail address of your user. |
Identifier | Usually a unique user identifier in your application. |
Country | Might come useful for testing a new feature only in one country. |
Custom | Define any attribute (e.g. OS version), by typing its name to the textbox. |
Comparison value
Any string, number or comma separated list. Will be compared to the selected Attribute using the Comparator. Max Length: 65535 chars
Comparator
Text comparators
The following comparators assume that Attribute and Comparison value contain string/text.
| Comparator | Description |
|---|---|
| IS ONE OF | Checks if the Attribute is listed in the Comparison value. Comparison value should be a comma separated list. |
| IS NOT ONE OF | True if the Attribute is not listed in the Comparison value. |
| CONTAINS | True if the Attribute contains the Comparison value. |
| DOES NOT CONTAIN | True if the Attribute doesn't contain the Comparison value. |
Sensitive text comparators
We recommend sensitive text comparators in case of frontend applications targeting users based on sensitive data (like email addresses, name etc). In this case the feature flag evaluation is based on the secure hashes of the comparison values.
| Comparator | Description |
|---|---|
| IS ONE OF (Sensitive) | Checks if the Attribute is listed in the Comparison value. Comparison value should be a comma separated list. |
| IS NOT ONE OF (Sensitive) | True if the Attribute is not listed in the Comparison value. |
Since sensitive text comparators don't support CONTAINS or DOES NOT CONTAIN comparisons, here is an example how to target users from the same company. Which used to be handled by a rule like:
You can add a custom attribute called domain and use only sensitive comparators in the targeting rule.
On the Dashboard:
In your code:
const userDomain = userEmail.split('@').pop();
const userObject = {
identifier: '<SOME USER ID>',
email: userEmail,
custom: { domain: userDomain }
}
const value = configCatClient.getValue(key, defaultValue, callback, userObject);
Sensitive comparators are supported from these SDK versions:
| SDK | Version |
|---|---|
| JS | v3.0.0 |
| Node | v4.0.0 |
| PHP | v3.0.2 |
| Python | v3.0.2 |
| Ruby | v2.0.3 |
| Go | v4.0.2 |
| Java | v4.0.1 |
| Android | v4.0.0 |
| .NET | v4.0.0 |
| Swift | v4.0.0 |
Semantic version comparators
The following comparators assume that Attribute and Comparison value contain semantic versions. Evaluation is based on the SemVer Semantic Version Specification.
| Comparator | Description |
|---|---|
| IS ONE OF (Semver) | True if Attribute is listed in the Comparison value. Comparison value should be a comma separated list of semantic versions. |
| IS NOT ONE OF (Semver) | True if the Attribute is not listed in the Comparison value. |
| < (Semver) | True if Attribute is a smaller version number than Comparison value. |
| <= (Semver) | True if Attribute is smaller than or equals Comparison value. |
| > (Semver) | True if Attribute is a larger version number than Comparison value. |
| >= (Semver) | True if Attribute is larger than or equals Comparison value. |
All semantic version comparators return false if either Attribute or Comparison value is not a valid semantic version.
Number comparators
The following comparators assume that Attribute and Comparison value contain numbers.
| Comparator | Description |
|---|---|
| = (Number) | True if Attribute equals Comparison value. |
| <> (Number) | True if Attribute does not equal Comparison value. |
| < (Number) | True if Attribute is less than Comparison value. |
| <= (Number) | True if Attribute is less than or equals Comparison value. |
| > (Number) | True if Attribute is a larger than Comparison value. |
| >= (Number) | True if Attribute is larger than or equals Comparison value. |
All number comparators return false if either Attribute or Comparison value is not a valid number.
Served value
The exact value that will be served to the users who match the targeting rule. Depending on the kind of your setting this could be:
| Setting Kind | Setting Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| On/Off Toggle | Boolean | true/false, usually the state of a feature flag |
| Text | String | any string, max. 65535 characters |
| Whole Number | Integer | any whole number within the range of int32 |
| Decimal Number | Double | any decimal number within the range of double |
Multiple targeting rules and ordering
Add new rule by clicking on the Actions icon.
By adding multiple targeting rules you can create more complex rule sets.
Rule sets are evaluated one by one, from top to bottom direction.
Change the order of targeting rules by drag n' drop.
Example
Enable a feature only to users within your company except the sales team (Susan and Simon) by adding two targeting rules:
| # | Attribute | Comparator | Comparison value | Served value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CONTAINS | susan@mycompany.com, simon@mycompany.com | OFF | |
| 2 | CONTAINS | @mycompany.com | ON |
All other cases: OFF
To all other users, serve
This value will be served as a fallback if none of the above rules apply or a User Object is not passed to the ConfigCat SDK correctly within your application.
Targeting a percentage of users
With percentage-based user targeting you can specify a randomly selected fraction of your users whom a feature will be enabled or a different value will be served.
Enable feature
- Log in to access the Dashboard
- Go to Feature Flags & Settings
- Select TARGET % OF USERS after clicking the actions icon.
Anatomy of the percentage-based targeting
Percentage based targeting consists of % value and the Served value pairs.
% value
Any number between 0 and 100 that represents a randomly allocated fraction of your users.
Served value
The exact value that will be served to the users that fall into that fraction. Depending on the kind of your setting this could be:
| Setting Kind | Setting Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| On/Off Toggle | Boolean | true/false, usually the state of a feature flag |
| Text | String | any string, max. 65535 characters |
| Whole Number | Integer | any whole number within the range of Int32 |
| Decimal Number | Double | any decimal number within the range of double |
Multiple options
On/Off Toggle
When the Setting Kind is On/Off Toggle the number of options must be 2. One for the On and one for the Off state.
Text and Number
When the Setting Kind is Text, Whole Number or Decimal Number the maximum number options depends on your subscription plan. You can add/remove options by clicking the Actions icon.
The sum of all % values must be equal to 100.
All other cases
This value will be served as a fallback if none of the above rules apply or a User Object was not passed to the ConfigCat SDK correctly within your application.