unleash.unleash/websitev2/docs/deploy/import-export.md

id	title
import_export	Import & Export

since v3.3.0

Unleash supports import and export of feature-toggles and strategies at startup and during runtime. The import mechanism will guarantee that all imported features will be non-archived, as well as updates to strategies and features are included in the event history.

All import mechanisms support a drop parameter which will clean the database before import (all strategies and features will be removed).

You should be careful when using drop parameter in production environments, as it will clean current state.

Runtime import & export

State Service

Unleash returns a StateService when started, you can use this to import and export data at any time.

const unleash = require('unleash-server');

const { services } = await unleash.start({...});
const { stateService } = services;

const exportedData = await stateService.export({includeStrategies: false, includeFeatureToggles: true, includeTags: true, includeProjects: true});

await stateService.import({data: exportedData, userName: 'import', dropBeforeImport: false});

await stateService.importFile({file: 'exported-data.yml', userName: 'import', dropBeforeImport: true})

If you want the database to be cleaned before import (all strategies and features will be removed), set the dropBeforeImport parameter.

It is also possible to not override existing feature toggles (and strategies) by using the keepExisting parameter.

API Export

The api endpoint /api/admin/state/export will export feature-toggles and strategies as json by default.
You can customize the export with query parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
format	json	Export format, either json or yaml
download	false	If the exported data should be downloaded as a file
featureToggles	true	Include feature-toggles in the exported data
strategies	true	Include strategies in the exported data
tags	true	Include tagtypes, tags and feature_tags in the exported data
projects	true	Include projects in the exported data

For example if you want to download just feature-toggles as yaml:

/api/admin/state/export?format=yaml&featureToggles=1&strategies=0&tags=0&projects=0&download=1

Example with curl:

curl -X GET -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic YWRtaW46" \
  http://unleash.herokuapp.com/api/admin/state/export?&featureToggles=1&strategies=0 > export.json

API Import

You can import feature-toggles and strategies by POSTing to the /api/admin/state/import endpoint (keep in mind this will require authentication).
You can either send the data as JSON in the POST-body or send a file parameter with multipart/form-data (YAML files are also accepted here).

You can customize the import with query parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
drop	false	If the database should be cleaned before import (see comment below)
keep	true	If true, the existing feature toggles and strategies will not be override

If you want the database to be cleaned before import (all strategies and features will be removed), specify a drop query parameter.

You should never use this in production environments.

Example usage:

POST /api/admin/state/import
{
    "features": [
        {
            "name": "a-feature-toggle",
            "enabled": true,
            "description": "#1 feature-toggle"
        }
    ]
}

Example with curl:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic YWRtaW46" -d @export.json \
  http://localhost:4242/api/admin/state/import

*) Remember to set correct token for Authorization.

Startup import

Import files via config parameter

You can import a json or yaml file via the configuration option importFile.

Example usage: unleash-server --databaseUrl ... --importFile export.yml.

If you want the database to be cleaned before import (all strategies and features will be removed), specify the dropBeforeImport option.

You should never use this in production environments.

Example usage: unleash-server --databaseUrl ... --importFile export.yml --dropBeforeImport.

These options can also be passed into the unleash.start() entrypoint.