# Lura (KrakenD) — Ultra-Performance API Gateway Framework in Go

> Lura is the open-source framework powering the KrakenD API Gateway. Written in Go, it assembles high-performance API gateways with middleware pipelines, response aggregation, and protocol translation — processing thousands of requests per second on minimal hardware.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Lura (KrakenD) — Ultra-Performance API Gateway Framework in Go

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install KrakenD (built on Lura)
docker run -p 8080:8080 -v "$PWD:/etc/krakend" devopsfaith/krakend run -c /etc/krakend/krakend.json
```
```json
{
  "version": 3,
  "endpoints": [
    { "endpoint": "/users/{id}", "backend": [{ "url_pattern": "/api/users/{id}", "host": ["http://backend:3000"] }] }
  ]
}
```

## Introduction
Lura is an open-source Go framework for building API gateways, created by the team behind KrakenD. It provides the core routing, middleware, and aggregation engine that transforms a declarative JSON configuration into a high-throughput gateway, removing the need to write custom proxy code for common API composition patterns.

## What Lura Does
- Routes incoming requests to one or more backend services based on declarative configuration
- Aggregates multiple backend responses into a single unified response
- Applies middleware pipelines for rate limiting, authentication, and transformation
- Handles protocol translation between REST, gRPC, and GraphQL endpoints
- Processes requests with zero-allocation techniques for minimal garbage collection pressure

## Architecture Overview
Lura implements a pipeline architecture where each endpoint definition becomes a handler chain. The router dispatches incoming requests, the proxy layer fans out to backends concurrently, and the response merger combines results. Middleware hooks at each stage allow injecting cross-cutting concerns. The framework is stateless by design, relying on external stores only when features like distributed rate limiting require coordination.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy as a Docker container or standalone binary on Linux, macOS, or Windows
- Define all routing and behavior in a single JSON or YAML configuration file
- Use the KrakenDesigner web tool to visually build gateway configurations
- Scale horizontally behind a load balancer with no shared state between instances
- Monitor performance via built-in OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, and logging integrations

## Key Features
- Declarative configuration with no custom code required for standard use cases
- Concurrent backend requests with configurable timeouts and circuit breakers
- Response manipulation including field filtering, grouping, and renaming
- Plugin system for extending functionality in Go without forking the framework
- Sub-millisecond latency overhead per proxied request under normal load

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Kong** — Lua-based with a database for configuration; Lura is stateless and config-file driven
- **APISIX** — similar declarative approach but Nginx/Lua based; Lura is pure Go with lower resource usage
- **Envoy** — C++ service proxy focused on mesh scenarios; Lura targets API composition and aggregation
- **Tyk** — Go-based gateway with dashboard; Lura is a framework for building custom gateways without vendor lock-in

## FAQ
**Q: What is the difference between Lura and KrakenD?**
A: Lura is the open-source framework (the engine). KrakenD is a complete API gateway product built on Lura with additional enterprise features and support.

**Q: Can Lura handle WebSocket connections?**
A: WebSocket passthrough is supported for direct proxy scenarios. Full WebSocket manipulation requires custom middleware.

**Q: How does performance compare to Nginx-based gateways?**
A: Lura processes requests with lower memory usage and comparable throughput to Nginx for API gateway workloads, with the advantage of native response aggregation.

**Q: Do I need a database?**
A: No, Lura is completely stateless and reads all configuration from files. No database is required for operation.

## Sources
- https://github.com/luraproject/lura
- https://www.krakend.io/docs/

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-3cb2ed6b
Author: AI Open Source