A feature flag is a control plane decision, not a string in an environment file. For a Node.js property-management pipeline, use REST to set a flag, toggle its enabled state, and retrieve the current configuration; then record the flag key and decision alongside the nightly job's structured logs so a cost query can explain what ran. The trade-off is operational context versus convenience. A flag API can change behavior, but it does not by itself provide audit history, evaluation counts, dependency graphs, or client push delivery.

The practical design is small: keep writes behind an authenticated service, make reads explicit, poll from clients when necessary, and attach a stable flag key to every pipeline record. I would not page on a dashboard that says a flag is enabled.…