Features exports static YAML configuration files into the module's config/install folder. Features modifies the standard configuration management workflow by ensuring that a specific kind of configuration exists. Configuration management does not allow modules to overwrite existing configuration objects, but Features manages and allows this to happen.

To accomplish this, Features provides \Drupal\features\FeaturesConfigInstaller, which extends the default config.install service class. It then alters the services definition to use its FeaturesConfigInstaller class instead of the default \Drupal\Core\Config\ConfigInstaller class.

Beyond adjusting the config.install service, Features harnesses all the functionalities of the configuration management system to provide a simpler way to generate modules.