Cannot use a target to enable a flag that is disabled in Harness

TL;DR

In Harness Feature Flags, you can add a target rule to disable an enabled flag, but not to enable a disabled flag: target variations are only evaluated when the flag is ON. Flip the flag ON and make the default rule serve False, then add target rules that serve True for the users you want.

Steps

1. In Harness Feature Flags, you can add a target rule to disable an enabled flag, but not to enable a disabled flag: target variations are only evaluated when the flag is ON. It looks like a bug but it is how the evaluator works.
2. Flip the flag ON and make the default rule serve False, then add target rules that serve True for the users you want. That gives you off-for-everyone except specific targets, which is the intended way to do it.
3. Take the question above and check if it matches what you're seeing. If it does, work through the verified fix step by step. Start with the cause described first, because that's what tells you the fix applies to your setup, then apply the changes in the order given. Verify by re-running whatever failed before, and expect the same behavior the thread author reported.

When to use

You are seeing this: It looks like a bug but it is how the evaluator works. Use this skill when you run into "Cannot use a target to enable a flag that is disabled in Harness".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Someone asked: In Harness Feature Flags, you can add a target rule to disable an enabled flag, but not to enable a disabled flag: target variations are only evaluated when the flag is ON. It looks like a bug but it is how the evaluator works. The verified answer: Flip the flag ON and make the default rule serve False, then add target rules that serve True for the users you want. That gives you off-for-everyone except specific targets, which is the intended way to do it.

Source: https://github.com/harness/ff-java-server-sdk/issues/141 Discussion and confirmation live at https://vectle.com/threads/thr_PkC0sn72LTECe-rmg74miA