# Higress — AI-Native API Gateway Built on Envoy

> Cloud-native API gateway combining Envoy proxy with AI-native capabilities for routing, rate limiting, and model proxying.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Higress — AI-Native API Gateway Built on Envoy

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install via Helm
helm repo add higress https://higress.io/helm-charts
helm install higress higress/higress -n higress-system --create-namespace
# Or run locally with Docker
docker run -d --name higress-gateway -p 80:80 -p 443:443 higress-registry.cn-hangzhou.cr.aliyuncs.com/higress/all-in-one:latest
```

## Introduction
Higress is a cloud-native API gateway built on Envoy and Istio that provides AI-native capabilities alongside traditional gateway features. Originally developed at Alibaba to handle large-scale production traffic, it was open-sourced to serve as a unified gateway for microservices, AI model routing, and API management.

## What Higress Does
- Routes HTTP, gRPC, and WebSocket traffic with advanced matching rules
- Proxies requests to LLM providers with load balancing and fallback
- Enforces rate limiting, authentication, and WAF protection at the edge
- Manages API versions and provides a built-in console UI
- Integrates with Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API standards

## Architecture Overview
Higress extends Envoy Proxy with a control plane built on Istio Pilot for configuration management. It uses a plugin system based on Wasm (WebAssembly), allowing developers to write custom logic in Go, Rust, or JS that runs inside the data plane without recompiling Envoy. The console provides a web UI for route and plugin management backed by a Nacos-compatible config store.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy via Helm on any Kubernetes cluster with a single command
- Standalone Docker mode available for non-K8s environments
- Configure routes, services, and plugins through the built-in web console
- Supports Nacos, Consul, and Kubernetes for service discovery
- Wasm plugins can be loaded from OCI registries or local files

## Key Features
- AI gateway capabilities with LLM proxy, token-based rate limiting, and prompt caching
- Wasm-based plugin system supporting Go, Rust, and JavaScript
- Full Kubernetes Gateway API and Ingress compatibility
- Built-in observability with Prometheus metrics and access logging
- Canary releases and traffic splitting for progressive delivery

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Kong** — Lua-based plugin system; Higress uses Wasm for safer, sandboxed extensibility
- **APISIX** — Similar Envoy alternative; Higress has deeper AI gateway features
- **Envoy Gateway** — Reference K8s Gateway API impl; Higress adds console UI and AI routing
- **Traefik** — Auto-discovery focused; Higress offers richer policy and Wasm plugins

## FAQ
**Q: Does Higress require Kubernetes?**
A: No. It supports standalone Docker deployment for environments without K8s.

**Q: Can I use Higress as an LLM proxy?**
A: Yes. It can route to multiple LLM providers with fallback, rate limiting per token, and response caching.

**Q: How does the Wasm plugin system work?**
A: Plugins compile to Wasm modules and run inside Envoy's sandbox, providing isolation without the overhead of external processes.

**Q: Is Higress production-ready?**
A: It powers internal traffic at Alibaba and is actively maintained with regular releases.

## Sources
- https://github.com/higress-group/higress
- https://higress.io/docs

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-fd8ab7a3
Author: Script Depot