# Retire a feature flag with rollback context

Illustrative planning brief; no automatic product import.

Illustrative planning case: A new path is stable, but removing its flag would eliminate the only tested rollback route.

## Decision

Retire the flag only after agreeing the replacement rollback boundary.

## Owned work

- Inventory flag branches
  - Owner role: Release investigator
  - Acceptance evidence: Fallback path and operational dependencies are listed.
- Prepare removal proposal
  - Owner role: Migration engineer
  - Acceptance evidence: The replacement recovery action is reviewed on a fixture.
- Verify obsolete references
  - Owner role: Release reviewer
  - Acceptance evidence: No supported environment depends on the retired flag.

## Workflow

1. Inventory supported environments, overrides and recovery steps that still use the flag.
2. Rehearse the replacement recovery route on representative fixtures and record compatibility limits.
3. Approve removal only when the recovery reviewer accepts the replacement and every supported consumer has a migration decision.

## Judgment

Do not remove the only reviewed recovery path.


## Filled illustrative release coordination record

The synthetic flag has been enabled for three weeks. Removal is deferred because the rollback play still toggles it off. A replacement rollback to the prior artifact is rehearsed, including compatible data reads. Only then does the deletion task include the flag, its unused branch and stale runbook step as one reviewed scope.
Decision: Retire the flag only after agreeing the replacement rollback boundary.
Review boundary: Do not remove the only reviewed recovery path.
This example uses synthetic conditions. Replace its observations with project evidence and record any changed assumptions before adopting the plan.


## Working artifact

- Flag retention / Current rollback depends on toggle / Revisit after replacement recovery trial
- Branch removal / All supported environments use new path / Revisit if old client remains supported
- Runbook cleanup / Operator guidance must match shipped behavior / Revisit alongside artifact release


## Workflow questions

### Is long enablement proof the flag is removable?

No. Check rollback, environment overrides and any operational instructions that still use the flag.

### Should every fallback branch remain forever?

No. Give it an explicit retirement gate so useful recovery evidence is preserved without indefinite dead code.

## Product connection

Use the manual work brief to discuss task ownership, review evidence and next actions in TeamBoost. Release execution remains a separate project workflow; the download performs no deployment or import.

Confirm account availability before adopting this manual outline.