--- title: Vercel Global Config product: vercel url: /docs/global-config canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/docs/global-config" last_updated: 2026-07-29 type: conceptual prerequisites: [] related: - /docs/global-config/migration-guide - /docs/speed-insights/metrics - /docs/routing-middleware - /docs/functions - /docs/functions/runtimes summary: A Global Config is a global data store that enables experimentation with feature flags, A/B testing, critical redirects, and more. install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin --- # Vercel Global Config > **🔒 Permissions Required**: Global Config A [Global Config](/docs/global-config) is a global data store that [enables experimentation with feature flags, A/B testing, critical redirects, and IP blocking](#use-cases). It enables you to read data in the region closest to the user without querying an external database or hitting upstream servers. > **💡 Note:** Global Config was previously called **Edge Config**. The store itself is > unchanged, and existing projects require no action. See [Migrating from Edge > Config to Global Config](/docs/global-config/migration-guide) for details. With Vercel's optimizations, you can read Global Config data at negligible latency. The vast majority of your reads will complete within 15ms [at P99](/docs/speed-insights/metrics#how-the-percentages-are-calculated "P99 latency"), or often less than 1ms. You can use a Global Config in [Middleware](/docs/routing-middleware) and [Vercel Functions](/docs/functions). > **💡 Note:** Vercel's Global Config read optimizations are **only available on the Edge and > Node.js runtimes**. Optimizations can be enabled for other runtimes, [such as > Ruby, Go, and Python](/docs/functions/runtimes) upon request. See [our Edge > Config limits docs](/docs/global-config/global-config-limits) to learn more. ## Use cases Global Configs are great for data that is accessed frequently and updated infrequently. Here are some examples of storage data suitable for Global Config: - : When you need to redirect a URL urgently, Global Configs offer a fast solution that doesn't require you to redeploy your website. With Middleware, you can read from your Global Config to redirect users visiting incorrect URLs. For an example, see the [Maintenance Page template](https://vercel.com/templates/next.js/maintenance-page). * : Store a set of malicious IPs in your Global Config, then block them upon detection without invoking upstream servers ## Getting started You can create and manage your Global Config from either [Vercel REST API](/docs/global-config/vercel-api) or [Dashboard](/docs/global-config/global-config-dashboard). You can scope your Global Configs to your Hobby team or [team](/docs/accounts#creating-a-team), and connect them to as many projects as you want. To get started, see [our quickstart](/docs/global-config/get-started). ## Using Global Config in your workflow If you'd like to know whether or not Global Config can be integrated into your workflow, it's worth knowing the following: - You can have one or more Global Configs per Vercel account, depending on your plan as explained in [Limits](/docs/global-config/global-config-limits) - You can use multiple Global Configs in one Vercel project - Each Global Config can be accessed by multiple Vercel projects - Global Configs can be scoped to different environments within projects using environment variables - **Global Config access is secure by default**. A [read access token](/docs/global-config/using-global-config#creating-a-read-access-token) is required to read from them, and an [API token](/docs/rest-api#creating-an-access-token) is required to write to them See [our Global Config limits docs to learn more](/docs/global-config/global-config-limits) ## Why use Global Config instead of alternatives? There are alternative solutions to Global Config for handling A/B testing, feature flags, and IP blocking. The following table lays out how those solutions compare to Global Config: | **Global Config vs alternatives** | **Read latency** | **Write latency** | **Redeployment required** | **Added risk of downtime** | | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Global Config** | **Ultra-low** | **Varies** | **No** | **No** | | Remote JSON files | Varies | Varies | No | Yes | | Embedded JSON files | Lowest | Highest | Yes | No | | Environment Variables | Lowest | Highest | Yes | No | ## Limits To learn about Global Config limits and pricing, see [our Global Config limits docs](/docs/global-config/global-config-limits). ## More resources - [Quickstart](/docs/global-config/get-started) - [Read with the SDK](/docs/global-config/global-config-sdk) - [Use the Dashboard](/docs/global-config/global-config-dashboard) - [Manage with the API](/docs/global-config/vercel-api) - [Global Config Limits](/docs/global-config/global-config-limits) --- [View full sitemap](/docs/sitemap)