API Gateway
A managed entry point that routes and applies shared policies to requests for backend APIs or services.
Plain English
A front door that directs API traffic and handles common controls.
In context
An API gateway can centralize routing authentication rate limits observability and protocol concerns while avoiding business logic that creates a bottleneck.
Example
“The API gateway validates the token and routes the request to the account service.”
When you'll hear this
- platform architecture
- API operations
- security design
Common misunderstanding
An API gateway is not the API itself and should not become the owner of all service behavior.
Also known as
gatewayAPI edge
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-27
