apache/apisix

What is it?

Key features

• 01Dynamic routing, upstreams and plugins that update at runtime without restarts
• 02Load balancing, health checks, canary release, traffic splitting and circuit breaking
• 03Authentication plugins including key-auth, JWT, basic-auth and OpenID Connect
• 04Integration with Consul, Nacos, Eureka and other service discovery systems
• 05Plugins can be written in Lua, Java, Go, Python, Node.js or via Proxy Wasm
• 06AI gateway features for LLM proxying, fallbacks and token-based rate limiting

Use cases

• Acting as a single entry point for microservices and routing requests to backend services
• Running as a Kubernetes ingress controller for cluster traffic
• Putting a unified gateway in front of multiple LLM providers with rate limits and fallbacks
• Doing canary releases or A/B testing by routing on headers, cookies or query arguments

Quick start

1. 1

   Install and run APISIX with the quickstart script (requires Docker)

   Install with the official instructions in the README
2. 2

   Verify APISIX is running on port 9080

   curl "http://127.0.0.1:9080" --head | grep Server
3. 3

   Create your first route via the Admin API on port 9180

   curl -i "http://127.0.0.1:9180/apisix/admin/routes/1" -X PUT -d ' { "uri": "/get", "upstream": { "type": "roundrobin", "nodes": { "httpbin.org:80": 1 } } }'
4. 4

   Send a request through APISIX to confirm the route works

   curl "http://127.0.0.1:9080/get"

Things to know

• !The quickstart requires Docker to be installed.
• !The Admin API only allows 127.0.0.1 by default and uses key auth, so it needs configuration for remote access.

Topics

FAQ

What is apisix?

A dynamic, high-performance API gateway built on NGINX and etcd, with plugins for routing, auth, rate limiting and AI/LLM traffic. Apache APISIX is an API gateway that handles north-south traffic from clients and east-west traffic between services. It is built on NGINX and etcd, and its routes, upstreams, certificates and plugins can be changed at runtime through a REST Admin API without restarting the process. It can also run as a Kubernetes ingress controller.

Is apisix free to use? What license does it have?

apisix is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is apisix still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to apisix was on Oct 16, 2026.

What can I use apisix for?

Acting as a single entry point for microservices and routing requests to backend services Running as a Kubernetes ingress controller for cluster traffic Putting a unified gateway in front of multiple LLM providers with rate limits and fallbacks Doing canary releases or A/B testing by routing on headers, cookies or query arguments

How do I install apisix?

Install and run APISIX with the quickstart script (requires Docker) Verify APISIX is running on port 9080: curl "http://127.0.0.1:9080" --head | grep Server Create your first route via the Admin API on port 9180: curl -i "http://127.0.0.1:9180/apisix/admin/routes/1" -X PUT -d ' { "uri": "/get", "upstream": { "type": "roundrobin", "nodes": { "httpbin.org:80": 1 } } }' Send a request through APISIX to confirm the route works: curl "http://127.0.0.1:9080/get"

Where can I get apisix?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/apache/apisix