years
2022, 2026

lastupdated

2026-03-30

keywords

tool integrations, IBM Cloud Public, App Configuraton, AppConfig

subcollection

ContinuousDelivery

Configuring {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}}

{: #app-configuration}

{{site.data.keyword.contdelivery_short}} will be discontinued in the following regions on 10 April 2026: eu-es and jp-osa. This discontinuation also applies to any features provided within the service, including Code Risk Analyzer and {{site.data.keyword.DRA_short}}. Learn more {: important}

{{site.data.keyword.contdelivery_short}} will be discontinued in the following regions on 12 February 2027: au-syd, ca-mon, ca-tor, us-east. Code Risk Analyzer and {{site.data.keyword.DRA_short}} will also be deprecated in all regions on that date. However, if a region has no active usage of these features, the features in that region may be discontinued earlier and stop accepting new instances. Learn more {: important}

{{site.data.keyword.appconfig_full}} is a centralized feature management and configuration service that provides a convenient, consistent, and secure approach to accessing, referencing, and reusing collections of feature flags and properties within toolchains. {: shortdesc}

You can configure an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} instance by using the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance dashboard to add and manage specific environments and collections that contain sets of feature flags and properties. You can further refine the use of feature flags and properties by specifying target segments that evaluate based on user attributes and rules.

You can also add an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tool integration to a toolchain and apply specific feature flags or properties from the service instance to the environment or trigger properties of the associated pipeline. You can repeat this process across multiple toolchains by using {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instances, as required. For example, you can use a service instance to centrally store and manage all of the feature flags and properties that are required by toolchains across several environments.

When you apply feature flags or properties to a toolchain, special {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} feature flag and property references are saved within the toolchain instead of in the literal values. This feature supports centralized management of feature flags and properties directly from an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance. Feature flags and property values are then immediately available to toolchains that contain references to those feature flags and property values during subsequent pipeline runs.

Creating an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} integration

{: #creating-app-configuration}

Before you create an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tool integration in your toolchain, make sure that you provision an instance of the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service in a region and resource group that your toolchain can refer to. {: important}

If you are configuring this tool integration as you are creating the toolchain, and an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tool integration exists within the template that you are configuring, click the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tab. Alternatively, in the More tools section, click {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}}. To create an authorization between the toolchain and the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance select the Create an authorization for this toolchain option from the Authorization type dropdown. This grants the toolchain access to the feature flags and properties stored in the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance.
If you have an existing toolchain and are adding this tool integration to it, from the {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} console, click the Menu icon > Platform Automation > Toolchains. On the Toolchains page, click the existing toolchain to open its Overview page.

a. Click Add tool.

b. In the Tool Integrations section, click {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}}.
Type the name that you want to display for this new tool integration on the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} card in your toolchain. This name is used to identify the tool integration in your toolchain.
Select the Region and Resource group where your {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance exists.
Select the appropriate App Configuration Environment and App Configuration Collection options from your chosen {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance.
To create an authorization between the toolchain and the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance click the Create Authorization button. This grants the toolchain access to the feature flags and properties stored in the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance.
Click Create Integration.

Applying feature flags and properties

{: #apply_flags_and_properties}

After you configure your {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tool integration, you can use it to apply feature flags and properties to the toolchain environment and trigger properties.

Within the Pipeline environment properties tab or the Trigger properties tab, click Add to display the list of available property types.
Select AppConfig value and choose the feature flags or properties that you want to apply to the toolchain environment and trigger properties.
Specify the name for the new toolchain environment or trigger property.
Select the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} tool integration and an Environment and Collection from within it.
Select Feature flag or Property and from the list within your {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance, choose the target feature flag or property.
Click OK to apply an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} reference to the field that is associated with it.

Authorizing your toolchain to access feature flags and properties

{: #appconfig_authorize_secrets}

References to feature flags and properties that are stored in an {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance are dynamically resolved when the toolchain runs. To access the required feature flags and properties, you must authorize your toolchain to access the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} instance. If you are creating a toolchain from a template use the Authorization type dropdown when configuring the {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} integration. If you are adding a {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} integration to an existing toolchain use the Create authorization button.

To view your authorizations in {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}}, complete the following steps:

From the {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} console, click Manage > Access (IAM).
Click Authorizations.

You can also access your authorizations on the Manage authorizations{: external} page. {: tip}

You can also create the authorization manually, if required. To successfully resolve {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} references, your toolchain instance must have both Viewer and Reader access to the correct {{site.data.keyword.appconfig_short}} service instance.