Client-side testing
Also called: client-side experimentation
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Client-side testing is any test or rollout whose variation is decided in the user's own browser or mobile app. A client SDK holds the flag configuration in memory and evaluates it there, so the interface can branch on the result without a round trip to your servers. Code running on someone else's device can be read by whoever owns that device, so everything the SDK receives has to be safe to expose. The key type is what enforces that.
What a client key can see
sdk_client_ and sdk_server_. A client key returns only the flags marked client-side visible, which makes it safe to ship inside a browser bundle. Every other flag in the project stays invisible to it, including the ones whose names alone would give away unreleased work, and because that filter is applied when the configuration is served, an unmarked flag never reaches the device in the first place. The browser SDK reference covers setup and the key type it expects.What this changes about a test
Want the full picture? Read the concept guide: Browser SDK →
Related terms
Server-side testing
Server-side testing decides the variation in your own backend before the response leaves it, using a server SDK and a server key that can read every flag in the project.
A/B testing
A/B testing serves two variations to randomly assigned groups of users and measures which one performs better on a chosen metric — turning a product decision into a controlled experiment instead of a guess.
Flag evaluation
Flag evaluation is the process an SDK runs to decide which variation a feature flag returns for a given user — applying prerequisites, targeting rules, and rollouts to the user context.
Try it in your own app
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