OpenFeature Provider (Android)

Overview

This guide covers using Mixpanel’s Feature Flags through the OpenFeature standard with the Mixpanel Android OpenFeature provider. OpenFeature provides a vendor-agnostic API for feature flag evaluation, allowing you to switch between providers without changing your application code.

For the native Mixpanel SDK approach, see the Feature Flags (Android) guide.

Prerequisites

• Enterprise subscription plan with Feature Flags enabled
• Android SDK 21+
• Project Token from your Mixpanel Project Settings

Installation

Add to your build.gradle.kts:

dependencies {
    implementation("com.mixpanel.android:mixpanel-android-openfeature:<version>")
    implementation("dev.openfeature:kotlin-sdk-android:0.7.2")
}

Quick Start

import com.mixpanel.android.openfeature.MixpanelProvider
import com.mixpanel.android.mpmetrics.MixpanelOptions
import dev.openfeature.kotlin.sdk.OpenFeatureAPI

// 1. Create the provider
val options = MixpanelOptions.Builder()
    .featureFlags()
    .build()
val provider = MixpanelProvider(context, "YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN", options)

// 2. Register the provider with OpenFeature
OpenFeatureAPI.setProviderAndWait(provider)

// 3. Get a client and evaluate flags
val client = OpenFeatureAPI.getClient()
val showNewFeature = client.getBooleanValue("new-feature-flag", false)

if (showNewFeature) {
    // New feature is enabled!
}

Using an Existing MixpanelAPI Instance

import com.mixpanel.android.mpmetrics.MixpanelAPI

val mixpanel = MixpanelAPI.getInstance(context, "YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN", false, options)
val provider = MixpanelProvider(mixpanel.getFlags())

OpenFeatureAPI.setProviderAndWait(provider)

This provider does not call mixpanel.identify() or mixpanel.track(). If you need to update the logged-in user or use Runtime Events for targeting, call these methods on the same MixpanelAPI instance whose Flags object was passed to the provider.

val provider = MixpanelProvider(context, "YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN", options)

// Use the same instance for identity and tracking
provider.mixpanel?.identify("user-123")
provider.mixpanel?.track("Purchase Completed")

Usage

Flag Types and Evaluation Methods

Mixpanel Flag Type	Variant Values	OpenFeature Method
Feature Gate	true / false	getBooleanValue()
Experiment	boolean, string, number, or JSON object	getBooleanValue(), getStringValue(), getIntegerValue(), getDoubleValue(), or getObjectValue()
Dynamic Config	JSON object	getObjectValue()

val client = OpenFeatureAPI.getClient()

// Feature Gate
val isFeatureOn = client.getBooleanValue("new-checkout", false)

// Experiment with string variants
val buttonColor = client.getStringValue("button-color-test", "blue")

// Experiment with numeric variants
val maxItems = client.getIntegerValue("max-items", 10)
val threshold = client.getDoubleValue("score-threshold", 0.5)

// Dynamic Config
val featureConfig = client.getObjectValue("homepage-layout", Value.Structure(mapOf(
    "layout" to Value.String("grid"),
    "itemsPerRow" to Value.Integer(3)
)))

Evaluation Context

Context must be set globally via OpenFeatureAPI.setContext():

import dev.openfeature.kotlin.sdk.ImmutableContext
import dev.openfeature.kotlin.sdk.Value

OpenFeatureAPI.setContext(ImmutableContext(
    attributes = mutableMapOf(
        "email" to Value.String("[e-mail]"),
        "plan" to Value.String("premium")
    )
))

Per-evaluation context (the optional context parameter on evaluation methods) is not supported by this provider. Context must be set globally via OpenFeatureAPI.setContext(), which triggers a re-fetch of flag values from Mixpanel.

Runtime Properties

Pass custom_properties in the evaluation context for runtime targeting:

OpenFeatureAPI.setContext(ImmutableContext(
    attributes = mutableMapOf(
        "custom_properties" to Value.Structure(mapOf(
            "tier" to Value.String("enterprise"),
            "seats" to Value.Integer(50),
        ))
    )
))

Unlike some providers, targetingKey is not used as a special bucketing key. It is passed as another context property. Mixpanel’s server-side configuration determines which properties are used for targeting and bucketing.

Full Resolution Details

val details = client.getBooleanDetails("my-feature", false)

println(details.value)
println(details.variant)
println(details.reason)
println(details.errorCode)

User Identity

This provider does not call mixpanel.identify(). Manage identity through the same Mixpanel instance:

provider.mixpanel?.identify("user-123")

Error Handling

Error Code	When
PROVIDER_NOT_READY	Flags evaluated before the provider has finished initializing
FLAG_NOT_FOUND	The requested flag does not exist in Mixpanel
TYPE_MISMATCH	The flag value type does not match the requested type

Troubleshooting

Flags Always Return Default Values

1. Feature flags not enabled: Ensure MixpanelOptions includes .featureFlags().
2. Provider not ready: Use setProviderAndWait to ensure initialization.
3. Network issues: Check Logcat for failed requests.
4. Flag not configured: Verify the flag exists and is enabled.

Flags Not Updating After Context Change

Update context and the provider will re-fetch flags:

OpenFeatureAPI.setContext(ImmutableContext(
    attributes = mutableMapOf("plan" to Value.String("premium"))
))