# Creating a configuration profile in Amazon AppConfig
<a name="appconfig-creating-configuration-profile"></a>

*Configuration data* is a collection of settings that influence the behavior of your application. A *configuration profile* includes, among other things, a URI that enables Amazon AppConfig to locate your configuration data in its stored location and a configure type. Amazon AppConfig supports the following types of configuration profiles:
+ **Feature flags**: You can use feature flags to enable or disable features within your applications or to configure different characteristics of your application features using flag attributes. Amazon AppConfig stores feature flag configurations in the Amazon AppConfig hosted configuration store in a feature flag format that contains data and metadata about your flags and the flag attributes. The URI for feature flag configurations is simply `hosted`. 
+ **Freeform configurations**: A freeform configuration can store data in any of the following Amazon Web Services services and Systems Manager tools:
  + Amazon AppConfig hosted configuration store
  + Amazon Simple Storage Service
  + Amazon CodePipeline
  + Amazon Secrets Manager
  + Amazon Systems Manager (SSM) Parameter Store
  + SSM Document Store

**Note**  
If possible, we recommend hosting your configuration data in the Amazon AppConfig hosted configuration store as it offers the most features and enhancements.

Here are some configuration data samples to help you better understand different types of configuration data and how they can be used in either a feature flag or free from configuration profile.

 **Feature flag configuration data** 

The following feature flag configuration data enables or disables mobile payments and default payments on a per-region basis.

------
#### [ JSON ]

```
{
  "allow_mobile_payments": {
    "enabled": false
  },
  "default_payments_per_region": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}
```

------
#### [ YAML ]

```
---
allow_mobile_payments:
  enabled: false
default_payments_per_region:
  enabled: true
```

------

 **Operational configuration data** 

The following freeform configuration data enforces limits on how an application processes requests.

------
#### [ JSON ]

```
{
  "throttle-limits": {
    "enabled": "true",
    "throttles": [
      {
        "simultaneous_connections": 12
      },
      {
        "tps_maximum": 5000
      }
    ],
    "limit-background-tasks": [
      true
    ]
  }
}
```

------
#### [ YAML ]

```
---
throttle-limits:
  enabled: 'true'
  throttles:
  - simultaneous_connections: 12
  - tps_maximum: 5000
  limit-background-tasks:
  - true
```

------

 **Access control list configuration data** 

The following access control list freeform configuration data specifies which users or groups can access an application.

------
#### [ JSON ]

```
{
  "allow-list": {
    "enabled": "true",
    "cohorts": [
      {
        "internal_employees": true
      },
      {
        "beta_group": false
      },
      {
        "recent_new_customers": false
      },
      {
        "user_name": "Jane_Doe"
      },
      {
        "user_name": "John_Doe"
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

------
#### [ YAML ]

```
---
allow-list:
  enabled: 'true'
  cohorts:
  - internal_employees: true
  - beta_group: false
  - recent_new_customers: false
  - user_name: Jane_Doe
  - user_name: Ashok_Kumar
```

------

**Topics**
+ [Creating a feature flag configuration profile in Amazon AppConfig](appconfig-creating-configuration-and-profile-feature-flags.md)
+ [Creating a free form configuration profile in Amazon AppConfig](appconfig-free-form-configurations-creating.md)
+ [Creating a configuration profile for non-native data sources](appconfig-creating-configuration-profile-other-data-sources.md)