# Apache APISIX — Cloud Native High-Performance API Gateway

> Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real-time, high-performance API gateway built on NGINX and etcd, offering rich traffic management with a large plugin ecosystem and sub-millisecond routing updates.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Apache APISIX — Cloud Native High-Performance API Gateway

## Quick Use
```bash
# Run APISIX + etcd + dashboard with Docker Compose
git clone https://github.com/apache/apisix-docker
cd apisix-docker/example
docker compose -p apisix up -d

# Register a route via the admin API
curl -i http://127.0.0.1:9180/apisix/admin/routes/1 
  -H "X-API-KEY: edd1c9f034335f136f87ad84b625c8f1" -X PUT -d '
{
  "uri": "/get",
  "upstream": { "type": "roundrobin", "nodes": {"httpbin.org:80": 1} }
}'

# Call through the gateway
curl http://127.0.0.1:9080/get
```

## Introduction
APISIX is a top-level Apache project originally built at Zhiliu Tech to replace older gateways like Kong at scale. It keeps the speed of NGINX / OpenResty, stores routes and plugins in etcd for live reconfiguration, and ships with 80+ plugins for auth, traffic control, observability, and serverless integrations.

## What APISIX Does
- Routes HTTP(S), gRPC, WebSocket, TCP/UDP, MQTT, and Dubbo traffic with a single data plane.
- Enforces authentication (JWT, OIDC, key-auth, basic-auth, LDAP, HMAC) per route or service.
- Applies limit-count, limit-conn, limit-req, and circuit-breaker policies using Redis or in-memory counters.
- Integrates with Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Zipkin, Skywalking, Datadog, and syslog.
- Acts as a Kubernetes ingress controller and supports the Gateway API.

## Architecture Overview
APISIX runs as an OpenResty/Lua application fronted by NGINX. Configuration lives in etcd; every APISIX node subscribes to change streams, so new routes or plugin configs propagate in sub-millisecond latency without reloading NGINX. Plugins are pure Lua modules that plug into request phases (`rewrite`, `access`, `header_filter`, `body_filter`, `log`), making custom extensions easy.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy via Docker Compose, Helm (`apisix/apisix`), or the official Ansible role; etcd is the only stateful dep.
- Use the Dashboard (`apisix/apisix-dashboard`) for a GUI, or manage via Admin API / declarative YAML.
- Configure TLS and mTLS termination with SNI-routed server blocks and automatic Let''s Encrypt (ACME plugin).
- Enable OpenTelemetry or Prometheus metrics by editing `config.yaml`; scrape `/apisix/prometheus/metrics`.
- For Kubernetes, install `apisix-ingress-controller` which syncs `ApisixRoute` CRDs into APISIX routes.

## Key Features
- Hot-reload everything — routes, plugins, upstreams, certs — without dropping connections.
- Serverless backends: invoke AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, OpenFaaS, or Apache OpenWhisk inline.
- Fault injection, traffic mirroring, canary releasing, and dark launching via plugins.
- Multi-protocol: HTTP/1/2/3, gRPC, Dubbo, MQTT, WebSocket, TCP/UDP stream routing.
- Scriptable plugin authoring in Lua, Go (via external plugin runner), Java, Python, or WASM.

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Kong** — established OpenResty gateway with paid Enterprise tier; APISIX is fully open source with faster route updates.
- **Envoy / Emissary / Contour** — xDS-native, great for service mesh; APISIX is more batteries-included for gateway use.
- **Traefik** — beautiful DX and ACME story; APISIX wins on plugin breadth and TCP/UDP/gRPC.
- **NGINX Plus** — commercial; APISIX matches many features plus dynamic configuration for free.
- **Tyk** — Go gateway with good dashboards; APISIX typically benchmarks faster under heavy load.

## FAQ
**Q: What storage backends are supported?**
A: etcd v3 is the primary store. Some deployments use consul or a file-based fallback for dev.

**Q: Can I write plugins outside Lua?**
A: Yes — the external plugin runner supports Go, Java, Python, and Node.js; WASM plugins are also available.

**Q: Does it run standalone without Kubernetes?**
A: Absolutely. Single-node, HA-bare-metal, and VM deployments are all first-class.

**Q: How does APISIX compare to ingress-nginx in Kubernetes?**
A: APISIX-Ingress supports more protocols, dynamic plugins, and finer traffic-shaping CRDs than vanilla Ingress.

## Sources
- https://github.com/apache/apisix
- https://apisix.apache.org


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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/aa6e7a65-38ce-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot