@flipt-io/flipt-client-js NPM

Flipt Client JS

The flipt-client-js library contains the JavaScript/TypeScript client for Flipt client-side evaluation in Web and Node.js environments. It supports:

Node.js
Browsers
Edge Functions (Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, etc.)
Web Workers

Installation

npm install @flipt-io/flipt-client-js

Usage

import { FliptClient } from '@flipt-io/flipt-client-js';

const client = await FliptClient.init({
  namespace: 'default',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
  authentication: {
    clientToken: 'secret'
  }
});

const variant = client.evaluateVariant({
  flagKey: 'flag1',
  entityId: 'someentity',
  context: {
    fizz: 'buzz'
  }
});

console.log(variant);

Initialization Arguments

The FliptClient constructor accepts the following optional arguments:

options: An instance of the ClientOptions type that supports several options for the client. The structure is:
- namespace: The namespace to fetch flag state from. If not provided, the client will default to the default namespace.
- url: The URL of the upstream Flipt instance. If not provided, the client will default to http://localhost:8080.
- updateInterval: Node.js Only The interval (in seconds) in which to fetch new flag state. If not provided, the client will default to 120 seconds.
- authentication: The authentication strategy to use when communicating with the upstream Flipt instance. If not provided, the client will default to no authentication. See the Authentication section for more information.
- reference: The reference to use when fetching flag state. If not provided, reference will not be used.
- fetcher: An implementation of a fetcher interface to use when requesting flag state. If not provided, a default fetcher using the browser's fetch API will be used.
- errorStrategy: The error strategy to use when fetching flag state. If not provided, the client will default to fail. See the Error Strategies section for more information.

Authentication

The FliptClient supports the following authentication strategies:

Error Strategies

The client errorStrategy option supports the following error strategies:

fail: The client will throw an error if the flag state cannot be fetched. This is the default behavior.
fallback: The client will maintain the last known good state and use that state for evaluation in case of an error.

Custom Fetcher

The FliptClient supports custom fetchers. This allows you to fetch flag state from a custom source or override HTTP headers.

The fetcher can be passed in as an argument to the FliptClient initializer function.

const client = await FliptClient.init({
  namespace: 'default',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
  authentication: {
    clientToken
  },
  fetcher: customFetcher
});

The fetcher is a function that takes an optional IFetcherOpts argument and returns a Promise that resolves to a Response object.

State Management

The FliptClient class pulls flag state from the Flipt instance at the url provided in the options object on instantiation.

To update the flag state, you can call the refresh method on the FliptClient class.

!NOTE The refresh method returns a boolean indicating whether the flag state changed.

// Refresh the flag state
let changed = await client.refresh();

if (changed) {
  // Do something
}

Auto-Refresh (Node.js Only)

The FliptClient class supports auto-refreshing flag state.

To enable auto-refreshing, you can pass the updateInterval option to the FliptClient initializer function. Under the hood this uses a timer to fetch new flag state at a regular interval.

!NOTE The updateInterval option is only supported in Node.js environments.

const client = await FliptClient.init({
  namespace: 'default',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
  updateInterval: 30 // refresh every 30 seconds
});

Make sure to call the close method on the FliptClient class once you are done using it to stop the timer and clean up resources.

client.close();

ETag Support

The default fetcher uses ETag HTTP headers to reduce the number of requests to the Flipt instance. This is useful in scenarios where the flag state is not frequently updated and you want to reduce the load on the server.

To disable ETag support, you can implement a custom fetcher that does not use ETags.

Slim Module

The slim module is designed for advanced or non-standard environments where you need full control over how the WASM binary is loaded. Unlike the default client, which tries to load the WASM file automatically, the slim client requires you to explicitly provide the WASM file (as a URL, buffer, etc.).

Why use the slim module?

Edge/Serverless/Custom Environments: Some platforms (like Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge, or certain Node.js setups) restrict how files are loaded or bundled. The slim client lets you load the WASM file in a way that works for your environment.
Full Control: You decide how and when the WASM file is loaded—fetch from a CDN, load from disk, or use a custom loader.
Compatibility: The slim client removes all assumptions about WASM loading, making it compatible with any environment where you can provide the WASM binary.
Bundle Size: The slim build may exclude some code related to WASM loading, making it lighter and more tree-shakable for certain use cases.

If you are using a standard browser app with a bundler, the default client is usually easier. For edge, serverless, or custom setups, the slim client is the right tool.

Using the `@flipt-io/flipt-client-js/slim` Module

The slim build of the FliptClient is designed for environments where you want to provide your own WASM binary, such as modern browsers (with a bundler) or Node.js.

Browser Usage (with a Bundler like Vite, Webpack, etc.)

Import and initialize the client:

import { FliptClient } from '@flipt-io/flipt-client-js/slim';
import wasmUrl from '@flipt-io/flipt-client-js/engine.wasm';

async function main() {
  const client = await FliptClient.init(
    {
      namespace: 'default',
      url: 'http://localhost:8080'
    },
    { wasm: wasmUrl }
  );

  // Use the client as normal
  const result = client.evaluateBoolean({
    flagKey: 'my-flag',
    entityId: 'user-123',
    context: { country: 'US' }
  });

  console.log(result);
}

main();

Ensure your bundler is configured to handle .wasm files.
- For Vite, this works out of the box.
- For Webpack, you may need to add a rule for .wasm files.

Node.js Usage

Import and initialize the client:

import { FliptClient } from '@flipt-io/flipt-client-js/slim';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
import path from 'path';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';

// Resolve the path to the WASM file
const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
const wasmPath = path.join(
  __dirname,
  '../node_modules/@flipt-io/flipt-client-js/engine.wasm'
);
const wasmBuffer = readFileSync(wasmPath);

async function main() {
  const client = await FliptClient.init(
    {
      namespace: 'default',
      url: 'http://localhost:8080'
    },
    { wasm: wasmBuffer }
  );

  // Use the client as normal
  const result = client.evaluateBoolean({
    flagKey: 'my-flag',
    entityId: 'user-123',
    context: { country: 'US' }
  });

  console.log(result);
}

main();

Note: In Node.js, you must load the WASM file as a buffer using fs.readFileSync.

Run your script with a loader that supports ESM and top-level await, such as ts-node or tsx:
```
npx tsx src/index.ts
```

Additional Notes

The slim build requires you to provide the WASM binary via the wasm option.
For browser usage, pass the URL to the WASM file (using your bundler's asset handling).
For Node.js, pass the WASM file as a buffer.
Make sure your environment supports top-level await or wrap your code in an async function.

Development

WASM

This library uses a WebAssembly (WASM) layer to interact with the Flipt server. It is written in Rust and exposes a JavaScript API using the wasm-bindgen and wasm-pack tools. We wrap the built WASM layer in a JavaScript API to make it easier to use in a web environment.