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Edge API

The Flagsmith Architecture is based around a server-side flag engine. This comes with a number of benefits, but it can increase latency, especially when the calls are being made from a location that is far from the EU; the location of our current API.

In order to solve this problem we have developed a Global Edge API. Our aim for this API is to serve all SDK requests within 100 milliseconds, anywhere in the world. In order to achieve this, we are using the following AWS components.

Enabling the Edge API​

tip

The Edge API is currently in beta. If you want to join the beta programme, please connect with us in Discord, via the chat widget at the bottom of this page or by emailing support@flagsmith.com

Once you have had your project added to the beta, all you will need to do is point your SDK to a new Flagsmith Edge API URL. This URL will point to our edge Cloudfront CDN. That's it!

So for example, in the Java SDK we just add the withApiUrl line:

FlagsmithClient flagsmithClient = FlagsmithClient.newBuilder()
        .setApiKey("aaa"))
        .withApiUrl("https://edge.api.flagsmith.com/api/v1/")
        .build();

Check the docs for your language SDK on how to override the endpoint URL prefix.

Current Caveats​

Whilst in beta, there are some limitations to the platform. These are being worked on and will be in place when we put the Edge API into production.

Identities are only synced from Core to Edge API​

If you cause a write to an Identity in our Core API, we will copy it to our Edge API data store. We will NOT copy data in the opposite direction: writes to Edge will not be copied to Core.

Increment and Decrement endpoints are deprecated​

You probably didn't know these existed though, right?

The API responses have been slimmed down​

Our core API responses are quite verbose, and the SDKs ignore a lot of the fields they receive. We've taken the opportunity to remove these additional, unused fields. This wont affect the SDKs but if you are using these values via the REST API, things have changed. The list of removed fields is as follows:

trait.id
flag.feature.created_data
flag.feature.description
flag.feature.initial_value
flag.feature.default_enabled
flag.environment
flag.identity
flag.feature_segment

How It Works​

Lambda@Edge​

Our core Rules Engine has been factored out of our REST API. This allows us to use it as a dependency within both the Flagsmith API, but also within a set of Lambda functions that service SDK API calls. You can point your SDK clients to our global CDN edge.api.flagsmith.com which will serve your request using a Lambda function running in an AWS data-centre near your client. This is how we reduce latency!

DynamoDB Global Tables​

We store state within our API - both related to the Environments for your Projects, but also for the Identities within those Environments. Our Edge design sees us write this data through to DynamoDB global tables, which are replicated globally.

Currently we are writing through Environment data only (see Caveat below) but we plan on writing through Identities soon.

Our Lambda functions then connect to the nearest DynamoDB table to retrieve both Environment and Identity data.