---
title: "Discussion on \"Remove the code before you delete the flag\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"Remove the code before you delete the flag\". A feature flag's expiry date is often wired straight to a deletion job. That has the order backwards. Deleting the configuration is the last step of a removal, not the trigger for one.\nThe reason is t"
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/remove-the-code-before-you-delete-the-flag/6ab0f026807d1c8a51a9a8e4"
---

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# [Remove the code before you delete the flag](https://edilec-engineering.hashnode.dev/remove-the-code-before-you-delete-the-flag?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)

A feature flag's expiry date is often wired straight to a deletion job. That has the order backwards. Deleting the configuration is the last step of a removal, not the trigger for one. The reason is t

Sep 21 · 3 min read · edilec-engineering.hashnode.dev  
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-   [#feature-flags](https://hashnode.com/tag/feature-flags)
-   [#devops](https://hashnode.com/tag/devops)
-   [#opentelemetry](https://hashnode.com/tag/opentelemetry)

## Written by

[Krishnam Murarka](https://hashnode.com/@krishnamm)

@krishnamm · Bangalore, India

  
[View profile](https://hashnode.com/@krishnamm)

## Responses 1

Markdown supported · ⌘↵ to post

[Mihai\_LeanZero](https://hashnode.com/@mihaileanzero)

[Sep 21](https://hashnode.com/posts/remove-the-code-before-you-delete-the-flag/6ab0f026807d1c8a51a9a8e4/comment/6ab105560d3dfe8e38e419a4)

the part that's easy to skip past is step 1, "hold it long enough to observe normal load." we treat that observation window as the actual gate, not just a waiting period -- pull evaluation telemetry for the whole window and confirm every evaluation landed on the variant you think won, not just that nobody complained.

a kill-switch flipped in the provider dashboard during an incident and never flipped back produces exactly the silent-default failure this post describes, except it looks like a clean removal, because the code default happens to match whatever got served that week by accident. the four-state inventory is the right fix for that -- "evaluated only through default or error paths" catches it -- but only if someone's actually looking at states three and four instead of just expired vs still-active.