VIP Early Access
VIP early access gives specific users or accounts access to a feature without affecting anyone else. Unlike an internal beta (which targets a whole domain), this targets individual users by ID or email.
By user email
curl -X POST .../flags/$FLAG_ID/rules \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"rule_type": "user_email",
"rule_value": "[email protected]",
"priority": 10
}'
Alice gets the feature. No one else does.
By user ID
If your application uses stable internal user IDs, target by user_id instead:
{
"rule_type": "user_id",
"rule_value": "user_00042",
"priority": 10
}
User IDs are more reliable than email addresses. Emails change, user IDs don't.
Multiple VIPs
Add one rule per user, each at the same priority:
# Rule for user A
# Rule for user B
All rules at priority 10 are checked in order. First match wins.
Stacking with a broader rollout
VIP rules work alongside a general rollout. A typical early access setup:
| Layer | Configuration |
|---|---|
| Priority 20 (VIP users) | user_email rules for key accounts |
| Priority 10 (Internal team) | email_domain = @yourcompany.com |
| Rollout 5% | General population |
This gives VIPs access immediately, the internal team gets it for testing, and 5% of regular users are in the gradual rollout. Increase the rollout percentage over time without touching the VIP or team rules.