name: api-gateway-configurator description: Configure and manage API gateways including Kong, Tyk, AWS API Gateway, and Apigee. Activates when users need help setting up API gateways, rate limiting, authentication, request transformation, or API management. allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob]

API Gateway Configurator

Enterprise skill for configuring and managing API gateways for microservices architectures.

When to Use

This skill should be used when:

Setting up API gateway for microservices
Configuring rate limiting and throttling
Implementing API authentication and authorization
Setting up request/response transformation
Configuring API routing and load balancing
Implementing API versioning strategies
Setting up API monitoring and analytics
Managing API documentation and developer portals

Instructions

Step 1: Choose API Gateway Platform

Select the appropriate API gateway based on requirements:

Kong Gateway (Open Source/Enterprise):

Best for: Kubernetes-native, plugin ecosystem
Strengths: Performance, extensibility, cloud-native
Use cases: Microservices, multi-cloud, hybrid cloud

AWS API Gateway:

Best for: AWS-native applications, serverless
Strengths: AWS integration, managed service, scalability
Use cases: Lambda functions, AWS services, serverless APIs

Tyk:

Best for: GraphQL, multi-cloud, analytics
Strengths: Developer portal, analytics, open source
Use cases: GraphQL federation, API analytics

Apigee (Google Cloud):

Best for: Enterprise API management, monetization
Strengths: Analytics, developer portal, API products
Use cases: External APIs, partner APIs, API monetization

Step 2: Configure Core Features

Kong Configuration Example:

# kong.yml - Declarative configuration
_format_version: "3.0"

services:
  - name: user-service
    url: http://user-service:8080
    routes:
      - name: user-routes
        paths:
          - /api/v1/users
        methods:
          - GET
          - POST
        strip_path: false
    plugins:
      - name: rate-limiting
        config:
          minute: 100
          policy: local
      - name: jwt
        config:
          claims_to_verify:
            - exp
      - name: cors
        config:
          origins:
            - "*"
          methods:
            - GET
            - POST
          headers:
            - Accept
            - Authorization
          max_age: 3600

  - name: order-service
    url: http://order-service:8080
    routes:
      - name: order-routes
        paths:
          - /api/v1/orders
    plugins:
      - name: rate-limiting
        config:
          minute: 50
      - name: request-transformer
        config:
          add:
            headers:
              - "X-Gateway:Kong"

# Global plugins
plugins:
  - name: prometheus
    config:
      per_consumer: true
  - name: correlation-id
    config:
      header_name: X-Correlation-ID
      generator: uuid

AWS API Gateway Configuration:

# serverless.yml for AWS API Gateway
provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: nodejs18.x
  apiGateway:
    apiKeys:
      - name: premium-api-key
        value: ${env:API_KEY}
    usagePlan:
      - premium:
          quota:
            limit: 5000
            period: MONTH
          throttle:
            burstLimit: 200
            rateLimit: 100
    resourcePolicy:
      - Effect: Allow
        Principal: "*"
        Action: execute-api:Invoke
        Resource:
          - execute-api:/*/*/*

functions:
  getUsers:
    handler: users.getUsers
    events:
      - http:
          path: users
          method: get
          cors: true
          authorizer:
            name: jwtAuthorizer
            type: request
          request:
            parameters:
              querystrings:
                page: false
                limit: false
          throttling:
            maxRequestsPerSecond: 100
            maxConcurrentRequests: 50

  createUser:
    handler: users.createUser
    events:
      - http:
          path: users
          method: post
          cors: true
          authorizer: jwtAuthorizer

Step 3: Implement Authentication & Authorization

JWT Authentication (Kong):

# Create JWT consumer
consumers:
  - username: mobile-app
    jwt_credentials:
      - key: mobile-app-key
        algorithm: HS256
        secret: ${JWT_SECRET}

# Apply JWT plugin to service
services:
  - name: protected-service
    plugins:
      - name: jwt
        config:
          header_names:
            - Authorization
          claims_to_verify:
            - exp
            - nbf

OAuth2 (Kong):

plugins:
  - name: oauth2
    config:
      scopes:
        - read
        - write
        - admin
      mandatory_scope: true
      enable_authorization_code: true
      enable_client_credentials: true
      enable_implicit_grant: false
      token_expiration: 3600
      refresh_token_ttl: 2592000

Step 4: Configure Rate Limiting & Throttling

# Kong - Multiple rate limiting strategies
plugins:
  # Per-consumer rate limiting
  - name: rate-limiting
    consumer: mobile-app
    config:
      second: 10
      minute: 100
      hour: 1000
      policy: redis
      redis:
        host: redis-cluster
        port: 6379
        database: 0

  # Advanced rate limiting
  - name: rate-limiting-advanced
    config:
      limit:
        - minute: 100
        - hour: 1000
      window_size:
        - 60
        - 3600
      sync_rate: 10
      strategy: cluster
      dictionary_name: kong_rate_limiting_counters

Step 5: Set Up Request/Response Transformation

# Request transformation
plugins:
  - name: request-transformer
    config:
      add:
        headers:
          - "X-Request-ID:$(uuid)"
          - "X-Forwarded-For:$(client_ip)"
        querystring:
          - "version:v1"
      remove:
        headers:
          - "Authorization"  # Don't pass to backend
      replace:
        headers:
          - "Host:backend-service"

# Response transformation
plugins:
  - name: response-transformer
    config:
      add:
        headers:
          - "X-Response-Time:$(latency)"
          - "X-Gateway:Kong"
      remove:
        headers:
          - "X-Internal-Secret"
      replace:
        json:
          - "$.metadata.source:api-gateway"

Step 6: Implement API Versioning

# URL path versioning
services:
  - name: user-service-v1
    url: http://user-service-v1:8080
    routes:
      - paths:
          - /api/v1/users

  - name: user-service-v2
    url: http://user-service-v2:8080
    routes:
      - paths:
          - /api/v2/users

# Header-based versioning
routes:
  - name: versioned-route
    paths:
      - /api/users
    plugins:
      - name: request-transformer
        config:
          add:
            headers:
              - "X-API-Version:$(header.Accept-Version)"

Step 7: Configure Monitoring & Analytics

# Prometheus metrics
plugins:
  - name: prometheus
    config:
      per_consumer: true
      status_code_metrics: true
      latency_metrics: true
      bandwidth_metrics: true
      upstream_health_metrics: true

# Logging
plugins:
  - name: file-log
    config:
      path: /var/log/kong/access.log
      reopen: true

  - name: http-log
    config:
      http_endpoint: http://log-aggregator:8080/logs
      method: POST
      content_type: application/json
      timeout: 10000
      keepalive: 60000

# Datadog integration
plugins:
  - name: datadog
    config:
      host: datadog-agent
      port: 8125
      metrics:
        - name: request_count
          stat_type: counter
        - name: latency
          stat_type: timer

Best Practices

Security:

✅ Always use HTTPS/TLS for API gateway
✅ Implement JWT or OAuth2 for authentication
✅ Use API keys for external partners
✅ Enable CORS with specific origins
✅ Implement request size limits
✅ Add security headers (HSTS, CSP, etc.)

Performance:

✅ Enable caching for GET requests
✅ Use Redis for distributed rate limiting
✅ Configure connection pooling to backends
✅ Set appropriate timeouts
✅ Enable gzip compression
✅ Use CDN for static content

Reliability:

✅ Configure health checks for backends
✅ Implement circuit breakers
✅ Set up retry policies
✅ Configure fallback responses
✅ Use multiple gateway instances
✅ Monitor gateway metrics

Operations:

✅ Use declarative configuration (GitOps)
✅ Version control gateway configs
✅ Implement blue-green deployments
✅ Set up comprehensive logging
✅ Configure alerts for anomalies
✅ Regular security audits

Examples

Example 1: Microservices E-Commerce Gateway

# Kong configuration for e-commerce platform
services:
  - name: product-catalog
    url: http://catalog-service:8080
    routes:
      - paths: ["/api/v1/products"]
    plugins:
      - name: rate-limiting
        config:
          minute: 1000
      - name: cors
      - name: jwt
      - name: response-cache
        config:
          strategy: memory
          memory:
            dictionary_name: kong_cache

  - name: shopping-cart
    url: http://cart-service:8080
    routes:
      - paths: ["/api/v1/cart"]
    plugins:
      - name: rate-limiting
        config:
          minute: 100
      - name: jwt
      - name: request-size-limiting
        config:
          allowed_payload_size: 10

  - name: checkout
    url: http://checkout-service:8080
    routes:
      - paths: ["/api/v1/checkout"]
    plugins:
      - name: rate-limiting
        config:
          minute: 50
      - name: jwt
      - name: bot-detection
      - name: ip-restriction
        config:
          allow:
            - 10.0.0.0/8

Example 2: AWS API Gateway with Lambda

# API Gateway with Lambda integration
functions:
  getUserProfile:
    handler: handlers/users.getProfile
    events:
      - http:
          path: users/{userId}/profile
          method: get
          cors:
            origin: 'https://app.example.com'
            headers:
              - Content-Type
              - Authorization
          authorizer:
            arn: arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789:function:authorizer
            resultTtlInSeconds: 300
            identitySource: method.request.header.Authorization
          request:
            parameters:
              paths:
                userId: true
          caching:
            enabled: true
            ttlInSeconds: 300
            dataEncrypted: true

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Not implementing rate limiting
❌ Exposing internal service URLs
❌ No authentication on public APIs
❌ Missing CORS configuration
❌ No monitoring or logging
❌ Hardcoding credentials in config
❌ Not versioning APIs
❌ Single gateway instance (no HA)
❌ No request/response validation
❌ Missing error handling

✅ Correct approach:

Implement multi-layer rate limiting
Use service discovery internally
JWT/OAuth2 authentication
Proper CORS with allowed origins
Comprehensive monitoring
Use environment variables/secrets
Version APIs from day one
Deploy in HA configuration
Validate all inputs/outputs
Implement circuit breakers

Tips

💡 Start with managed API gateway for faster setup
💡 Use declarative configuration for repeatability
💡 Implement caching to reduce backend load
💡 Monitor gateway metrics continuously
💡 Use API gateway for security boundary
💡 Implement request tracing for debugging
💡 Version APIs early, migrate gradually
💡 Test rate limiting before production

Related Skills/Commands

Skills:

microservices-orchestrator - Microservices architecture
service-mesh-integrator - Service mesh integration
distributed-tracing-setup - Request tracing

Commands:

/dependency-graph - Visualize API dependencies
/load-test-suite - Test API gateway performance
/security-posture - Security assessment

Agents:

enterprise-architect - Architecture design
security-architect - Security configuration
sre-consultant - SLO/SLI setup

Notes

API Gateway Selection Criteria:

✅ Kong: Best for Kubernetes, open source, plugin ecosystem
✅ AWS API Gateway: Best for AWS Lambda, managed service
✅ Tyk: Best for GraphQL, analytics, multi-cloud
✅ Apigee: Best for enterprise API management

Common Patterns:

Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern
API composition
API aggregation
Protocol translation (REST to gRPC)
Request/response transformation

Production Checklist:

api-gateway-configurator

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