---
title: "Feature Manager"
description: "Control which Verifier2 features are enabled at service startup using the feature manager."
stack: "Community Stack (open source) — version 0.21.0"
stack_version: "0.21.0"
stack_comparison: https://docs.walt.id/community-vs-enterprise.md
canonical_url: https://docs.walt.id/community-stack/verifier2/configurations/feature-manager
generated: 2026-07-08
---
# Feature Manager

Use the feature manager to control which Verifier2 API features are enabled at service startup.
This reduces complexity and the risk of misconfigurations.

## Feature Types

The feature manager offers two types: **Base** and **Optional**.

### Base Features

Base features are always enabled and do not require additional configuration in most cases. They provide
critical functionality expected to be available by default.

### Optional Features

Optional features can be enabled or disabled based on your requirements.

1. **Enabled by default**: These features work without additional configuration (e.g. no extra config file needed).
2. **Disabled by default**: These features must be explicitly enabled in `_features.conf`. They may require their
   own configuration to function.

**Note:**

Each feature may have zero, one, or multiple configuration files associated with it.

## How the Feature Manager Works

The Feature Manager ensures efficient and error-free service initialisation through the following steps:

1. **Initialisation with Feature Catalogs**: Services are passed one or more Feature Catalogs on startup.
2. **Determination of Active Features**: The initialiser identifies explicitly enabled or disabled features and
   resolves the default states of optional features.
3. **Loading Configurations**: Configurations for base features and explicitly enabled optional features are loaded.

**This results in:**

- Only necessary configurations being loaded, reducing complexity and avoiding unused features.
- Minimal required configuration through sensible defaults.
- Invalid configurations being caught during initialisation before they can reach production.

## Feature Configuration

Configure features by updating the `_features.conf` file as
explained [here](https://docs.walt.id/community-stack/verifier2/configurations/config-files/features.md).