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Overview

This template provides a production‑ready GrowthBook instance as a Monk runnable. You can:
  • Run it directly to get a managed feature flagging and A/B testing platform
  • Inherit it in your own runnable to seamlessly add experimentation capabilities to your stack
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. It helps teams release features safely, run experiments, and make data-driven decisions without vendor lock-in.

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What this template manages

  • GrowthBook application server
  • MongoDB for data storage
  • Web UI and API on port 3000
  • Feature flag management and experiment analysis engine
  • Persistent volumes for data

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Quick start (run directly)

  1. Load templates
monk load MANIFEST
  1. Run GrowthBook stack
monk run growthbook/stack
  1. Customize configuration (recommended via inheritance)
Running directly uses the defaults defined in this template’s variables. Secrets added with monk secrets add will not affect this runnable unless you inherit it and reference those secrets.
  • Preferred: inherit and replace variables with secret("...") as shown below.
  • Alternative: fork/clone and edit the variables in the template files, then monk load MANIFEST and run.
Once started, access GrowthBook at http://localhost:3000. Create your admin account on first login.

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Configuration

Key variables you can customize in this template: 
variables:
  growthbook-image-tag: "latest"      # GrowthBook container image tag
  growthbook-port: "3000"             # web UI and API port
  app-origin: "http://localhost:3000" # application URL (env: APP_ORIGIN)
  jwt-secret: "..."                   # JWT secret for auth (env: JWT_SECRET)
  encryption-key: "..."               # encryption key (env: ENCRYPTION_KEY)
  mongodb-uri: "mongodb://mongo:27017/growthbook" # MongoDB connection string
  email-enabled: "false"              # enable email notifications
  email-host: "smtp.gmail.com"        # SMTP host
  email-port: "587"                   # SMTP port
  email-from: "noreply@example.com"   # sender email address
Data is persisted under ${monk-volume-path}/mongodb on the host. Inherit the GrowthBook runnable in your application and declare a connection. Example: 
namespace: myapp
experiments:
  defines: runnable
  inherits: growthbook/stack
  variables:
    jwt-secret:
      value: <- secret("growthbook-jwt-secret")
    encryption-key:
      value: <- secret("growthbook-encryption-key")
    app-origin:
      value: "https://experiments.myapp.com"
api:
  defines: runnable
  containers:
    api:
      image: myorg/api
  connections:
    features:
      runnable: experiments
      service: growthbook
  variables:
    growthbook-api-host:
      value: <- connection-hostname("features")
    growthbook-client-key:
      value: <- secret("growthbook-client-key")
Then set the secrets once and run your app group: 
monk secrets add -g growthbook-jwt-secret="<random-secret>"
monk secrets add -g growthbook-encryption-key="<random-key>"
monk secrets add -g growthbook-client-key="<sdk-key>"
monk run myapp/api

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Ports and connectivity

  • Service: growthbook on TCP port 3000 (Web UI and API)
  • API endpoint: http://\<host>:3000/api
  • From other runnables in the same process group, use connection-hostname("\<connection-name>") to resolve the GrowthBook host.
  • From apps, use GrowthBook SDKs to connect with the client key.

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Persistence and configuration

  • MongoDB data path: ${monk-volume-path}/mongodb:/data/db
  • All feature flags, experiments, and configuration are stored in MongoDB.

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Features

  • Feature Flags: Toggle features on/off without deployment
  • A/B Testing: Run experiments and measure impact
  • Targeting: Target features by user attributes, percentage rollout
  • SDK Support: JavaScript, React, Python, Ruby, PHP, Go, Java, etc.
  • Analytics Integration: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Segment, etc.
  • Visual Editor: No-code experiment setup
  • Statistical Analysis: Bayesian and Frequentist stats
  • WYSIWYG Editor: Visual changes without code
  • Role-Based Access: Team permissions

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Feature Flag Usage

JavaScript SDK example: 
import { GrowthBook } from "@growthbook/growthbook";

const growthbook = new GrowthBook({
  apiHost: "http://localhost:3000",
  clientKey: "sdk-abc123",
  enableDevMode: true,
  attributes: {
    id: userId,
    country: "US",
    premium: true
  }
});

await growthbook.loadFeatures();

// Check feature flag
if (growthbook.isOn("new-checkout")) {
  // Show new checkout flow
}

// Get feature value
const theme = growthbook.getFeatureValue("theme", "light");

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A/B Testing

Create experiments:
  1. Define hypothesis and metrics
  2. Create variations (A vs B)
  3. Set targeting and traffic split
  4. Launch experiment
  5. Monitor results in real-time
  6. View statistical significance

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Analytics Integration

Connect to your analytics:
  • Data Sources: Query experiment data from your warehouse
  • Metrics: Define success metrics from analytics events
  • Attribution: Automatic experiment tracking
  • Supported: SQL databases, BigQuery, Mixpanel, Segment

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Use cases

GrowthBook excels at:
  • Feature rollout management and progressive rollouts (canary releases)
  • A/B testing and multi-variate experimentation
  • Kill switches for production incidents
  • User targeting and personalization
  • Data-driven product decisions with statistical analysis
  • Analytics: combine with monitoring tools (e.g., prometheus-grafana/) for observability
  • Databases: see other database templates in this repository for data source connections

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Troubleshooting

  • Access GrowthBook UI at http://localhost:3000
  • Generate secrets with:
openssl rand -base64 32
  • Get SDK keys in Settings → API Keys after first login
  • Check logs:
monk logs -l 500 -f growthbook/growthbook
  • For feature flag issues, verify SDK connection and client key configuration
  • For experiment analysis, ensure analytics integration is configured in the UI
  • For MongoDB connection issues, verify the connection string
  • Enable debug mode in SDK for detailed troubleshooting