aiconfig-projects

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Before prompting the user for an API key, try to detect it automatically:

• Check environment variables: Look for LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY, LAUNCHDARKLY_API_TOKEN, or LD_API_KEY

• Check MCP config: If using Claude, read ~/.claude/config.json for mcpServers.launchdarkly.env.LAUNCHDARKLY_API_KEY

• Prompt user: Only if detection fails, ask the user for their API key

See Quick Start for API usage patterns.

What Are Projects?

Projects are LaunchDarkly's top-level organizational containers that hold:

• All your AI Configs

• Feature flags and segments

• Multiple environments (Production and Test created by default)

Think of projects as separate applications, services, or teams that need their own isolated set of configurations.

Project Setup Workflow

Step 1: Explore the Codebase

Before implementing anything, understand the existing architecture:

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Identify the tech stack:

• What language(s)? (Python, Node.js, Go, Java, etc.)

• What framework(s)? (FastAPI, Express, Spring Boot, etc.)

• Is there an existing LaunchDarkly integration?

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Check environment management:

• How are environment variables stored? (.env files, secrets manager, config files)

• Where is configuration loaded? (startup scripts, config modules)

• Are there existing LaunchDarkly SDK keys?

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Look for patterns:

• Are there existing API clients or service modules?

• How is external API integration typically done?

• Is there a CLI, scripts directory, or admin tooling?

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Understand the use case:

• Is this a new project being set up?

• Adding to an existing LaunchDarkly integration?

• Part of a multi-service architecture?

• Need for project cloning across regions/teams?

Step 2: Assess the Situation

Based on your exploration, determine the right approach:

Scenario

Recommended Path

New project, no LaunchDarkly integration

Quick Setup - Create project and save SDK keys

Existing LaunchDarkly usage

Add to Existing - Create new project or use existing

Multiple services/microservices

Multi-Project - Create projects per service

Multi-region or multi-tenant

Project Cloning - Clone template project

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) setup

Automated Setup - Script-based creation

Need project management tooling

CLI/Admin Tools - Build project management utilities

Step 3: Choose Your Implementation Path

Select the reference guide that matches your stack and use case:

By Language/Stack:

• Python Implementation - For Python applications (FastAPI, Django, Flask)

• Node.js/TypeScript Implementation - For Node.js/Express/NestJS applications

• Go Implementation - For Go services

• Multi-Language Setup - For polyglot architectures

By Use Case:

• Quick Start - Create first project and get SDK keys

• Environment Configuration - Save SDK keys to .env, secrets, or config

• Project Cloning - Clone projects for regions/teams

• IaC/Automation - Terraform, scripts, CI/CD integration

• Admin Tooling - Build CLI or admin utilities

Step 4: Implement the Integration

Follow the chosen reference guide to implement project management. Key considerations:

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API Authentication:

• Store API token securely

• Follow existing secrets management patterns

• Never commit tokens to version control

-

Project Naming:

• Use consistent, descriptive names

• Follow existing naming conventions

• Project keys: lowercase, hyphens, start with letter

-

SDK Key Management:

• Extract and store SDK keys for each environment

• Use the same pattern as other secrets in your codebase

• Consider separate keys for test/staging/production

-

Error Handling:

• Handle existing projects gracefully (409 conflict)

• Provide clear error messages

• Don't fail silently

Step 5: Verify the Setup

After creating the project, verify it works:

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Fetch to confirm it exists. Prefer the MCP get-project tool over raw curl — it returns a typed object you can inspect directly. If you must call the REST API:

curl -X GET "https://app.launchdarkly.com/api/v2/projects/{projectKey}?expand=environments" \

  -H "Authorization: {api_token}"

**Do not pipe the response straight into a .environments.items[]-style jq filter.** The shape of environments varies by expand parameter — sometimes it's {items: [...]}, sometimes a bare array — and a hand-rolled filter will fail with Cannot index array with string "items". Run jq -e . first to inspect the actual shape, or use jq '.environments | if type == "object" then .items else . end' to handle both.

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Test SDK integration:

Run a quick verification to ensure the SDK key works:

import ldclient

from ldclient.config import Config

ldclient.set_config(Config("{sdk_key}"))

# SDK initializes successfully

# Always flush events before closing — trailing events are at risk of being

# lost otherwise, in short-lived scripts and long-running services alike.

ldclient.get().flush()

ldclient.get().close()

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Report results:

• ✓ Project exists and has environments

• ✓ SDK keys are present and valid

• ✓ SDK can initialize (or flag any issues)

Project Key Best Practices

Project keys must follow these rules:

✓ Good examples:

  - "support-ai"

  - "chat-bot-v2"

  - "internal-tools"

✗ Bad examples:

  - "Support_AI"     # No uppercase or underscores

  - "123-project"    # Must start with letter

  - "my.project"     # No dots allowed

Naming Recommendations:

• Keep keys short but descriptive

• Use team/service/purpose as naming scheme

• Be consistent across your organization

Common Organization Patterns

By Team

platform-ai       → Platform Team AI

customer-ai       → Customer Success Team AI

internal-ai       → Internal Tools Team AI

By Application/Service

mobile-ai         → Mobile App AI Configs

web-ai            → Web App AI Configs

api-ai            → API Service AI Configs

By Region/Deployment

ai-us             → US Region

ai-eu             → Europe Region

ai-apac           → Asia-Pacific Region

Edge Cases

Situation

Action

Project already exists

Check if it's the right one; use it or create with different key

Need multiple projects

Create separately for each service/region/team

Shared configs across services

Use same project, separate by SDK context

Token lacks permissions

Request projects:write or use MCP server

Project name conflict

Keys must be unique, names can be similar

What NOT to Do

• Don't create projects without understanding the use case first

• Don't commit API tokens or SDK keys to version control

• Don't use production SDK keys in test/development environments

• Don't create duplicate projects unnecessarily

• Don't skip the exploration phase

Next Steps

After setting up projects:

• Create AI Configs - Use the aiconfig-create skill

• Set up SDK Integration - Use the aiconfig-sdk skill

• Configure Targeting - Use the aiconfig-targeting skill

Related Skills

• aiconfig-create - Create AI Configs in projects

• aiconfig-sdk - Integrate SDK in your application

• aiconfig-targeting - Configure AI Config targeting

• aiconfig-variations - Manage config variations

References

• Python Implementation

• Node.js Implementation

• Go Implementation

• Quick Start Guide

• Environment Configuration

• Project Cloning

• IaC/Automation

• Admin Tooling