LaunchDarkly 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

LaunchDarkly is where engineering teams manage feature flags, rollouts and experiments, so a LaunchDarkly login can change what your users see in production. LaunchDarkly calls its two-factor authentication multi-factor authentication (MFA), and it works one way: a 6-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone, plus a set of recovery codes. Its docs don't describe text-message codes or security keys. LaunchDarkly suggests Google Authenticator but says "any TOTP authenticator application should work well" (LaunchDarkly). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, and the steps are the same in any authenticator app.

How we checked this guide: the LaunchDarkly steps come from LaunchDarkly's own product documentation, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a LaunchDarkly account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Is it required?

That depends on your organization. Each member can turn MFA on from their own profile. Admins and owners (or anyone with a role that allows the updateRequireMfa action) can also check Require multi-factor authentication for new members under Organization settings > Security. Once that box is on, newly invited members have to set up MFA the first time they log in, and members can no longer turn their MFA off (LaunchDarkly). In that case the option to enable or disable MFA disappears from your profile (LaunchDarkly).

If one email address belongs to several LaunchDarkly organizations, MFA is set separately in each one. Only the email address is shared (LaunchDarkly).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

LaunchDarkly's MFA page gives these steps (LaunchDarkly):

1. Click your member icon in the left sidebar.
2. In the menu, click Personal settings. Your profile page opens.
3. Click Enable MFA. A dialog with a QR code appears.
4. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on your computer screen. If LaunchDarkly is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the text box in LaunchDarkly.
6. Click Continue. A dialog shows your recovery codes. Save them now (see below).
7. Click Complete.

LaunchDarkly's documentation only describes scanning the QR code. It doesn't mention a text key you could type instead, so plan to scan. If the dialog does offer a key, in Novaz tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Save your recovery codes away from your phone

LaunchDarkly tells you to store the recovery codes somewhere other than your mobile device. Each one works only once (LaunchDarkly).

This matters with Novaz too. Unless you've turned on iCloud backup or exported a backup file, its keys stay only on your iPhone, so if that phone is gone and you have no Novaz backup, the recovery codes are your way back in. A password manager on another device or a printed copy both work. More in 2FA backup codes.

Logging in with MFA

Once MFA is on, LaunchDarkly asks for a code every time you log in. You enter your email address and password as usual, and then an MFA screen appears. You have five minutes to type a code from your app. After that, you have to enter your password again and use a new code (LaunchDarkly).

If LaunchDarkly rejects your code

LaunchDarkly's docs don't cover rejected codes beyond the five-minute limit above. If you're well inside that limit and the code still fails, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

If you lose your authenticator

Work through these in order (LaunchDarkly):

1. Use a recovery code. On the MFA login screen, click the link to log in with a recovery code. LaunchDarkly then takes you to your profile page. Reset your MFA settings there right away, add LaunchDarkly to your authenticator again, and save the new recovery codes.
2. No recovery codes left? Ask an administrator of your organization's LaunchDarkly account. They can email you a new recovery code. Admins can also see on each member's Settings page whether MFA is on.

LaunchDarkly's MFA page names the admin as the route for members who have lost both their device and their codes. It doesn't describe a separate process with LaunchDarkly support, what proof is asked for, or how long anything takes. If you're the only admin, guard your recovery codes with extra care. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

LaunchDarkly doesn't describe a way to move MFA to a new phone. The documented tool is resetting your MFA settings from your profile, which also gives you new recovery codes. Do it while you can still log in with the old phone or a recovery code. If you restore Novaz on the new iPhone from an iCloud backup or backup file, LaunchDarkly comes with it and you can skip the reset. Without one, add LaunchDarkly to Novaz on the new phone during that reset. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Turning MFA off

LaunchDarkly's profile page says members can enable or disable MFA from their profile, unless their organization requires it (LaunchDarkly). The docs don't list the exact button for turning it off. After you turn it off, open LaunchDarkly in Novaz and tap Remove account so you don't keep a code that no longer works.

Official LaunchDarkly help

• Multi-factor authentication
• Your member profile
• Members
• Using one email for multiple accounts