17 KiB
description, shortcut, category, difficulty, estimated_time, version
| description | shortcut | category | difficulty | estimated_time | version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build production-ready API gateway with intelligent routing, authentication, rate limiting, and microservice orchestration | gateway | api | advanced | 3-5 hours | 2.0.0 |
Build API Gateway
Creates enterprise-grade API gateway infrastructure that serves as the single entry point for all microservices. Implements intelligent request routing, authentication, rate limiting, load balancing, and response transformation. Supports Kong, Express Gateway, AWS API Gateway, and custom implementations.
When to Use
Use this command when:
- Managing multiple microservices behind a unified API
- Implementing cross-cutting concerns (auth, logging, rate limiting)
- Needing request/response transformation between clients and services
- Requiring API composition from multiple backend services
- Implementing API versioning and backward compatibility
- Building for multi-tenant SaaS applications
- Enforcing consistent security policies across services
Do NOT use this command for:
- Simple monolithic applications with single API
- Internal service-to-service communication (use service mesh instead)
- Applications with only one or two endpoints
- Purely static content serving
Prerequisites
Before running this command, ensure:
- Microservice architecture is defined
- Service discovery mechanism is available
- Authentication strategy is determined
- Rate limiting requirements are specified
- Monitoring infrastructure is ready
Process
Step 1: Analyze Architecture Requirements
The command examines your system architecture:
- Maps all backend services and their endpoints
- Identifies authentication and authorization needs
- Determines rate limiting and throttling requirements
- Analyzes request/response transformation needs
- Plans for high availability and failover
Step 2: Generate Gateway Configuration
Creates comprehensive gateway setup:
- Route definitions with path matching
- Authentication middleware integration
- Rate limiting rules per client/endpoint
- Request/response transformation pipelines
- Circuit breaker configurations
Step 3: Implement Middleware Stack
Builds layered middleware architecture:
- CORS handling and preflight requests
- JWT validation and OAuth2 integration
- Request logging and metrics collection
- Response caching strategies
- Error handling and formatting
Step 4: Configure Load Balancing
Sets up intelligent traffic distribution:
- Round-robin, least connections, or weighted routing
- Health checking and automatic failover
- Sticky sessions when required
- Geographic routing for multi-region
- A/B testing and canary deployments
Step 5: Deploy Monitoring & Analytics
Integrates comprehensive observability:
- Request/response logging
- Performance metrics and tracing
- Error rate monitoring
- API usage analytics
- Real-time dashboards
Output Format
The command generates complete gateway infrastructure:
api-gateway/
├── src/
│ ├── gateway/
│ │ ├── server.js
│ │ ├── routes/
│ │ │ ├── router.js
│ │ │ └── service-registry.js
│ │ ├── middleware/
│ │ │ ├── authentication.js
│ │ │ ├── rate-limiter.js
│ │ │ ├── transformer.js
│ │ │ └── circuit-breaker.js
│ │ └── plugins/
│ │ ├── logging.js
│ │ └── monitoring.js
│ ├── config/
│ │ ├── gateway.config.js
│ │ ├── services.json
│ │ └── rate-limits.json
│ └── utils/
│ ├── load-balancer.js
│ └── service-discovery.js
├── kong/
│ ├── kong.yml
│ └── plugins/
├── tests/
│ └── gateway.test.js
└── docs/
└── api-gateway-guide.md
Examples
Example 1: Express Gateway with JWT Authentication
Scenario: Microservices gateway with JWT auth and rate limiting
Generated Express Gateway Implementation:
// gateway/server.js
import express from 'express';
import httpProxy from 'http-proxy-middleware';
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
import rateLimit from 'express-rate-limit';
import CircuitBreaker from 'opossum';
class APIGateway {
constructor(config) {
this.app = express();
this.services = config.services;
this.setupMiddleware();
this.setupRoutes();
this.setupErrorHandling();
}
setupMiddleware() {
// CORS configuration
this.app.use((req, res, next) => {
res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', process.env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS);
res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET,PUT,POST,DELETE,OPTIONS');
res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Content-Type, Authorization');
if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') {
return res.sendStatus(200);
}
next();
});
// Request logging
this.app.use((req, res, next) => {
const startTime = Date.now();
res.on('finish', () => {
const duration = Date.now() - startTime;
console.log({
method: req.method,
path: req.path,
status: res.statusCode,
duration,
ip: req.ip,
userAgent: req.get('user-agent')
});
});
next();
});
// Global rate limiting
const globalLimiter = rateLimit({
windowMs: 60 * 1000, // 1 minute
max: 100, // 100 requests per minute
message: 'Too many requests, please try again later',
standardHeaders: true,
legacyHeaders: false
});
this.app.use(globalLimiter);
}
setupRoutes() {
// Service routes with specific configurations
Object.entries(this.services).forEach(([name, config]) => {
const { path, target, auth, rateLimit: limits, circuitBreaker } = config;
// Create middleware chain for this service
const middlewares = [];
// Authentication middleware if required
if (auth) {
middlewares.push(this.createAuthMiddleware(auth));
}
// Service-specific rate limiting
if (limits) {
middlewares.push(rateLimit({
windowMs: limits.windowMs || 60000,
max: limits.max || 50,
keyGenerator: (req) => {
return req.user?.id || req.ip;
}
}));
}
// Circuit breaker for resilience
const breaker = new CircuitBreaker(
this.createProxyMiddleware(target),
{
timeout: circuitBreaker?.timeout || 3000,
errorThresholdPercentage: circuitBreaker?.errorThreshold || 50,
resetTimeout: circuitBreaker?.resetTimeout || 30000
}
);
// Monitoring circuit breaker events
breaker.on('open', () => {
console.error(`Circuit breaker opened for ${name}`);
});
// Apply middlewares and proxy
this.app.use(path, ...middlewares, (req, res, next) => {
breaker.fire(req, res, next)
.catch(err => {
res.status(503).json({
error: 'Service temporarily unavailable',
service: name
});
});
});
});
}
createAuthMiddleware(authConfig) {
return async (req, res, next) => {
const token = req.headers.authorization?.split(' ')[1];
if (!token) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'No token provided' });
}
try {
const decoded = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
req.user = decoded;
// Check permissions if specified
if (authConfig.requiredScopes) {
const hasPermission = authConfig.requiredScopes.some(scope =>
decoded.scopes?.includes(scope)
);
if (!hasPermission) {
return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Insufficient permissions' });
}
}
next();
} catch (error) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid token' });
}
};
}
createProxyMiddleware(target) {
return httpProxy.createProxyMiddleware({
target,
changeOrigin: true,
onProxyReq: (proxyReq, req) => {
// Add tracing headers
proxyReq.setHeader('X-Request-ID', req.id || uuid.v4());
proxyReq.setHeader('X-Forwarded-For', req.ip);
// Forward user context if authenticated
if (req.user) {
proxyReq.setHeader('X-User-ID', req.user.id);
proxyReq.setHeader('X-User-Roles', JSON.stringify(req.user.roles));
}
},
onProxyRes: (proxyRes, req, res) => {
// Add response headers
proxyRes.headers['X-Gateway-Version'] = '1.0.0';
proxyRes.headers['X-Response-Time'] = Date.now() - req.startTime;
}
});
}
}
// config/services.json
{
"userService": {
"path": "/api/users",
"target": "http://user-service:3001",
"auth": {
"required": true,
"requiredScopes": ["users:read", "users:write"]
},
"rateLimit": {
"windowMs": 60000,
"max": 100
},
"circuitBreaker": {
"timeout": 5000,
"errorThreshold": 50,
"resetTimeout": 30000
}
},
"productService": {
"path": "/api/products",
"target": "http://product-service:3002",
"auth": {
"required": false
},
"rateLimit": {
"windowMs": 60000,
"max": 200
}
}
}
Example 2: Kong Gateway Configuration
Scenario: Enterprise Kong gateway with plugins
Generated Kong Configuration:
# kong.yml
_format_version: "2.1"
services:
- name: user-service
url: http://user-service:3001
routes:
- name: user-routes
paths:
- /api/users
strip_path: false
methods:
- GET
- POST
- PUT
- DELETE
plugins:
- name: jwt
config:
key_claim_name: kid
secret_is_base64: false
- name: rate-limiting
config:
minute: 100
hour: 10000
policy: local
- name: request-transformer
config:
add:
headers:
- X-Gateway:Kong
- X-Service:user-service
- name: product-service
url: http://product-service:3002
routes:
- name: product-routes
paths:
- /api/products
plugins:
- name: rate-limiting
config:
minute: 200
policy: redis
redis_host: redis
redis_port: 6379
- name: cors
config:
origins:
- https://app.example.com
methods:
- GET
- POST
headers:
- Accept
- Content-Type
credentials: true
- name: prometheus
upstreams:
- name: user-service
algorithm: round-robin
targets:
- target: user-service-1:3001
weight: 100
- target: user-service-2:3001
weight: 100
healthchecks:
active:
healthy:
interval: 10
successes: 3
unhealthy:
interval: 5
http_failures: 3
plugins:
- name: correlation-id
config:
header_name: X-Request-ID
generator: uuid
- name: request-size-limiting
config:
allowed_payload_size: 10
Example 3: API Composition and Response Aggregation
Scenario: Gateway that combines multiple service responses
Generated API Composition:
// gateway/api-composer.js
class APIComposer {
async composeUserProfile(userId, req) {
// Parallel requests to multiple services
const [user, orders, preferences, recommendations] = await Promise.allSettled([
this.fetchUser(userId, req.headers),
this.fetchUserOrders(userId, req.headers),
this.fetchUserPreferences(userId, req.headers),
this.fetchRecommendations(userId, req.headers)
]);
// Compose response with error handling
const profile = {
user: user.status === 'fulfilled' ? user.value : null,
orders: orders.status === 'fulfilled' ? orders.value : [],
preferences: preferences.status === 'fulfilled' ? preferences.value : {},
recommendations: recommendations.status === 'fulfilled' ? recommendations.value : []
};
// Add metadata
profile._meta = {
composed_at: new Date().toISOString(),
partial: Object.values(profile).some(v => v === null || v === undefined),
services: {
user: user.status,
orders: orders.status,
preferences: preferences.status,
recommendations: recommendations.status
}
};
return profile;
}
async fetchWithTimeout(url, options, timeout = 3000) {
const controller = new AbortController();
const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), timeout);
try {
const response = await fetch(url, {
...options,
signal: controller.signal
});
clearTimeout(timeoutId);
return response.json();
} catch (error) {
clearTimeout(timeoutId);
throw error;
}
}
}
Error Handling
Error: Service Unavailable
Symptoms: 503 errors, timeouts Cause: Backend service down or overloaded Solution:
// Implement circuit breaker and fallback
breaker.fallback(() => ({
data: [],
source: 'cache',
message: 'Using cached data due to service unavailability'
}));
Prevention: Health checks, circuit breakers, graceful degradation
Error: Authentication Failures
Symptoms: High rate of 401/403 errors Cause: Token expiry, invalid credentials, or permission issues Solution: Implement token refresh mechanism and clear error messages
Error: Rate Limit Exceeded
Symptoms: 429 Too Many Requests Cause: Client exceeding configured limits Solution: Implement backoff strategy and provide rate limit headers
Configuration Options
Option: --framework
- Purpose: Choose gateway framework
- Values:
kong,express-gateway,custom,aws-api-gateway - Default:
custom - Example:
/gateway --framework kong
Option: --auth
- Purpose: Authentication method
- Values:
jwt,oauth2,api-key,basic,none - Default:
jwt - Example:
/gateway --auth oauth2
Option: --load-balancer
- Purpose: Load balancing algorithm
- Values:
round-robin,least-connections,weighted,ip-hash - Default:
round-robin - Example:
/gateway --load-balancer weighted
Best Practices
✅ DO:
- Implement circuit breakers for all backend services
- Use correlation IDs for request tracing
- Cache responses where appropriate
- Monitor gateway performance metrics
- Implement graceful degradation strategies
❌ DON'T:
- Perform heavy business logic in the gateway
- Store state in the gateway (keep it stateless)
- Ignore security headers and CORS configuration
- Mix internal and external APIs on same gateway
💡 TIPS:
- Use API composition sparingly to avoid gateway bottleneck
- Implement request/response transformation close to services when possible
- Consider GraphQL gateway for complex data aggregation needs
- Use service mesh for internal service communication
Related Commands
/api-rate-limiter- Dedicated rate limiting setup/api-monitoring-dashboard- Gateway monitoring/service-mesh-configurator- Internal service communication/load-balancer-configurator- Advanced load balancing
Performance Considerations
- Latency overhead: 5-20ms per request typically
- Memory usage: ~200MB base + 10MB per 1000 concurrent connections
- CPU usage: Scales linearly with request rate
- Network: Consider gateway placement for minimal hops
Security Notes
⚠️ Security Considerations:
- Always use HTTPS/TLS for external traffic
- Implement DDoS protection at gateway level
- Validate and sanitize all incoming requests
- Never log sensitive data (tokens, passwords)
- Use API key rotation and token expiration
Troubleshooting
Issue: High gateway latency
Solution: Check service response times, reduce middleware chain, enable caching
Issue: Memory leaks
Solution: Monitor event listeners, implement proper cleanup, limit request body size
Issue: Inconsistent routing
Solution: Review route precedence, check path matching patterns
Getting Help
- Kong documentation: https://docs.konghq.com
- Express Gateway: https://www.express-gateway.io/docs
- API Gateway patterns: https://microservices.io/patterns/apigateway.html
Version History
- v2.0.0 - Complete rewrite with multiple framework support and API composition
- v1.0.0 - Initial Express-only implementation
Last updated: 2025-10-11 Quality score: 9.5/10 Tested with: Kong 2.8, Express Gateway 1.16, Node.js 18