Using feature flags with TAS for VMs

This topic tells you how VMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs (TAS for VMs) admins can set feature flags using the Cloud Foundry Command Line Interface (cf CLI) to activate or deactivate the features available to users.

With TAS for VMs, you can set feature flags by using the cf CLI to activate or deactivate the features available to users. This article tells you how.

View and edit feature flags

To perform the following procedures, you must be logged in to your deployment as an admin using the Cloud Foundry Command Line Interface (cf CLI).

To view and edit feature flags:

Use the cf feature-flags command to list the feature flags:

$ cf feature-flags

Features                                      State
user_org_creation                             disabled
private_domain_creation                       enabled
app_bits_upload                               enabled
app_scaling                                   enabled
route_creation                                enabled
service_instance_creation                     enabled
diego_docker                                  disabled
set_roles_by_username                         enabled
unset_roles_by_username                       enabled
task_creation                                 enabled
env_var_visibility                            enabled
space_scoped_private_broker_creation          enabled
space_developer_env_var_visibility            enabled
service_instance_sharing                      disabled
hide_marketplace_from_unauthenticated_users   disabled
resource_matching                             enabled

For descriptions of the features enabled by each feature flag, see [Feature Flags](#flags).

To view the status of a feature flag, run:
```
cf feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME
```
Where FEATURE-FLAG-NAME is the name of the feature flag you want to view.
To enable a feature flag, run:
```
cf enable-feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME
```
Where FEATURE-FLAG-NAME is the name of the feature flag you want to enable.
To deactivate a feature flag, run:
```
cf disable-feature-flag FEATURE-FLAG-NAME
```
Where FEATURE-FLAG-NAME is the name of the feature flag you want to deactivate.

Feature flags

Only admins can set feature flags. All flags are enabled by default except user_org_creation and diego_docker. When disabled, these features are only available to admins.

The following list provides descriptions of the features activated or deactivated by each flag, and the minimum Cloud Controller API (CC API) version necessary to use the feature. To determine your Cloud Controller API version, see Identifying the API Endpoint for Your TAS for VMs Instance.:

user_org_creation: Any user can create an org. If enabled, this flag activates the Create a New Org link in the dropdown of the left navigation menu in Apps Manager. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
private_domain_creation: An Org Manager can create private domains for that org. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
app_bits_upload: Space Developers can upload app bits. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
app_scaling: Space Developers can perform scaling operations such as changing memory, disk, or instances. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
route_creation: Space Developers can create routes in a space. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
route_sharing: Space Developers can share routes between two spaces (including across orgs) in which they have the Space Developer role. When deactivated, Space Developers cannot share routes between two spaces. Minimum CC API version: 3.117.
service_instance_creation: Space Developers can create service instances in a space. Minimum CC API version: 2.12.
diego_docker: Space Developers can push Docker apps. Minimum CC API version 2.33.
set_roles_by_username: Org Managers and Space Managers can add roles by username. Minimum CC API version: 2.37.
unset_roles_by_username: Org Managers and Space Managers can remove roles by username. Minimum CC API version: 2.37.
task_creation: Space Developers can create tasks on their app. Minimum CC API version: 2.47.
env_var_visibility: Admins can view environment variables. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
space_scoped_private_broker_creation: Space Developers can create space-scoped private service brokers. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
space_developer_env_var_visibility: Space Developers can view their v2 environment variables. Space Developers and Space Supporters can view their v3 environment variables. Minimum CC API version: 2.58.
service_instance_sharing: Space Developers can share service instances between two spaces (across orgs) in which they have the Space Developer role.
hide_marketplace_from_unauthenticated_users: Do not allow unauthenticated users to see the service offerings available in the marketplace.
resource_matching: Allow the package upload endpoint to cache uploaded packages for resource matching. When deactivated, the resource match endpoint always returns an empty array of matches. Minimum CC API version: 3.77.

For more information about feature flag commands, see Feature Flags in the Cloud Foundry API documentation.

Deactivate custom buildpacks

You can deactivate custom buildpacks using the TAS for VMs tile. In the App Containers pane, deselect the Enable custom buildpacks check box, as shown in the following image.

alt-text=""

By default, the cf CLI gives developers the option of using a custom buildpack when they deploy apps to TAS for VMs. To do so, they use the -b option to provide a custom buildpack URL with the cf push command. Deselecting the Enable custom buildpacks check box prevents the -b option from being used with external buildpack URLs.

For more information about custom buildpacks, see Creating custom buildpacks.