feat(soft-delete): gate soft delete behind a temporary SOFT_DELETE release toggle by mikebridge · Pull Request #41166 · apache/superset

mikebridge · 2026-06-17T17:18:00Z

SUMMARY

Adds a temporary rollout / kill-switch feature flag — SOFT_DELETE (default off) — so the soft-delete substrate can ship dark and be activated per-deploy once validated, separating deploy from release for a behavior change with cross-entity blast radius (DELETE semantics + read-path visibility filtering).

This is deployment scaffolding, not a permanent toggle: it is removed once soft delete is stable, leaving the unconditional "always active once deployed" end state. Until an operator opts in, existing deployments retain byte-for-byte legacy DELETE (hard-delete) behavior.

Two gate points, both no-op to legacy behavior when off:

BaseDAO.delete() routes to soft_delete() only when the flag is on; otherwise hard_delete().
The do_orm_execute visibility listener attaches no deleted_at IS NULL criteria when off.

Both the write path and the read path gate on the same flag, so they cannot diverge. Restore needs no explicit gate — with the flag off no row carries deleted_at, so a restore call has nothing to act on. The flag docstring documents the kill-switch semantics (flipping off after rows are soft-deleted resurrects them — emergency stop, not a clean rollback) and that the import pipeline's existing-row detection is gated transitively via the listener.

The deleted_at migration (from the substrate PRs) stays un-gated (additive). Removal of this flag + its two gate points is a small follow-up once soaked.

THIS IS A RELEASE TOGGLE, NOT A FEATURE FLAG

A common and reasonable objection is "feature flags that change functionality are a maintenance hazard." That objection is about long-lived flags — permanent configuration surface that parameterizes product behavior, branches the test matrix indefinitely, and accumulates as config sprawl. This flag is a different category.

In the Continuous Delivery taxonomy this is a Release Toggle: a transitory toggle whose only job is to decouple deploy from release so a not-yet-validated change can land on master and ship dark, then be switched on once trusted — and then deleted. It is not a Permission/Experiment/Ops toggle that lives forever.

Martin Fowler — Feature Toggles (aka Feature Flags), "Release Toggles": https://martinfowler.com/articles/feature-toggles.html#ReleaseToggles
Octopus — Feature flags, "1. Release toggles": https://octopus.com/devops/feature-flags/#1-release-toggles

Why the distinction matters here:

	Long-lived feature flag (the thing people are wary of)	This flag (release toggle)
Lifespan	Indefinite	Removed after the change soaks
Purpose	Permanently parameterize behavior / experiment per tenant	De-risk rollout of one high-blast-radius change
End state	Both branches maintained forever	Single unconditional code path; flag + both gate points deleted
Test matrix	Permanent fork	Temporary; off-path is the existing legacy behavior

So the change is deliberately scoped as scaffolding with a removal plan, default off, both gate points keyed to the same flag so the write and read paths can't diverge. It exists to make a behavior change with cross-entity reach safe to deploy continuously — not to add a permanent toggle to the product.

TESTING INSTRUCTIONS

Unit tests cover both flag states (default-off and on):

pytest tests/unit_tests/daos/test_base_dao_soft_delete.py \
       tests/unit_tests/models/test_soft_delete_mixin.py

With FEATURE_FLAGS = {"SOFT_DELETE": False} (default): a DELETE on a SoftDeleteMixin model hard-deletes, and the read-path listener does not hide soft-deleted rows.
With SOFT_DELETE on: DELETE soft-deletes and the listener filters soft-deleted rows out of reads (existing substrate behavior).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Required feature flags: SOFT_DELETE (default off; temporary rollout/kill-switch — to be removed after stabilization)
Has associated issue:
Changes UI
Includes DB Migration
Introduces new feature or API
Removes existing feature or API

bito-code-review · 2026-06-17T17:18:12Z

Code Review Agent Run #0cc334

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tests/unit_tests/models/test_soft_delete_mixin.py - 2
- Wrong mock patch target path · Line 102-102
- Wrong mock patch target path · Line 198-198

Review Details

Files reviewed - 5 · Commit Range: e7edbc6..e7edbc6
- superset/config.py
- superset/daos/base.py
- superset/models/helpers.py
- tests/unit_tests/daos/test_base_dao_soft_delete.py
- tests/unit_tests/models/test_soft_delete_mixin.py
Files skipped - 1
- docs/static/feature-flags.json - Reason: Filter setting
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codecov · 2026-06-17T17:44:39Z

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 66.66667% with 1 line in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 64.30%. Comparing base (a19093e) to head (0b47f63).

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
superset/daos/base.py	50.00%	0 Missing and 1 partial ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##           master   #41166      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   64.31%   64.30%   -0.01%     
==========================================
  Files        2652     2652              
  Lines      144807   144808       +1     
  Branches    33423    33423              
==========================================
- Hits        93126    93119       -7     
- Misses      50013    50021       +8     
  Partials     1668     1668

Flag	Coverage Δ
hive	`39.32% <66.66%> (-0.01%)`	⬇️
mysql	`58.04% <66.66%> (-0.02%)`	⬇️
postgres	`58.10% <66.66%> (-0.02%)`	⬇️
presto	`40.89% <66.66%> (-0.01%)`	⬇️
python	`59.55% <66.66%> (-0.02%)`	⬇️
sqlite	`57.77% <66.66%> (-0.02%)`	⬇️
unit	`100.00% <ø> (ø)`

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Adds a temporary rollout / kill-switch feature flag (`SOFT_DELETE`, default off) so the soft-delete substrate can ship dark and be activated per-deploy once validated — separating deploy from release for a behavior change with cross-entity blast radius. This is deployment scaffolding, not a permanent toggle: it is removed once soft delete is stable, leaving the unconditional "always active" end state. Until an operator opts in, deployments retain legacy DELETE (hard-delete) behavior. Two gate points (both no-op to legacy behavior when off): - `BaseDAO.delete()` routes to soft_delete only when the flag is on; otherwise hard_delete. - The `do_orm_execute` visibility listener attaches no criteria when off. Both write- and read-path gate on the same flag, so they cannot diverge. Restore needs no explicit gate: with the flag off no row carries `deleted_at`, so a restore call has nothing to act on. The flag docstring documents the kill-switch semantics (flipping off after rows are soft-deleted resurrects them — emergency stop, not a clean rollback) and that the import pipeline's existing-row detection is gated transitively via the listener. The `deleted_at` migration stays un-gated (additive). Existing soft-delete unit tests are updated to enable the flag; new tests pin the gate-off path: a mixin model hard-deletes and the listener does not filter. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

bito-code-review · 2026-06-17T20:26:40Z

Code Review Agent Run #dc874c

Actionable Suggestions - 0

Review Details

Files reviewed - 5 · Commit Range: 0b47f63..0b47f63
- superset/config.py
- superset/daos/base.py
- superset/models/helpers.py
- tests/unit_tests/daos/test_base_dao_soft_delete.py
- tests/unit_tests/models/test_soft_delete_mixin.py
Files skipped - 1
- docs/static/feature-flags.json - Reason: Filter setting
Tools
- Whispers (Secret Scanner) - ✔︎ Successful
- Detect-secrets (Secret Scanner) - ✔︎ Successful
- MyPy (Static Code Analysis) - ✔︎ Successful
- Astral Ruff (Static Code Analysis) - ✔︎ Successful

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pull-request-size Bot added the size/L label Jun 17, 2026

mikebridge force-pushed the sc-111230-soft-delete-gate branch 2 times, most recently from 3318c24 to 71bc1f2 Compare June 17, 2026 17:27

github-actions Bot added the doc Namespace | Anything related to documentation label Jun 17, 2026

mikebridge force-pushed the sc-111230-soft-delete-gate branch from 71bc1f2 to 0b47f63 Compare June 17, 2026 20:15

richardfogaca self-requested a review June 17, 2026 21:38

mikebridge changed the title ~~feat(soft-delete): gate soft delete behind a temporary SOFT_DELETE flag~~ feat(soft-delete): gate soft delete behind a temporary SOFT_DELETE release toggle Jun 17, 2026

mikebridge mentioned this pull request Jun 17, 2026

feat(versioning): entity-version base infrastructure (gated off, dark launch) #41176

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feat(soft-delete): gate soft delete behind a temporary SOFT_DELETE release toggle#41166

feat(soft-delete): gate soft delete behind a temporary SOFT_DELETE release toggle#41166
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mikebridge commented Jun 17, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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SUMMARY

THIS IS A RELEASE TOGGLE, NOT A FEATURE FLAG

TESTING INSTRUCTIONS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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