What is KrakenD API Gateway?
KrakenD is a stateless, distributed, high-performance API Gateway designed to make adopting microservices effortless. It’s not just any gateway—it’s built to power your APIs with unmatched speed and true linear scalability. Whether scaling globally or handling intense workloads, KrakenD’s stateless architecture guarantees consistent, top-tier performance without breaking a sweat.
Main Benefits of KrakenD
Here’s why KrakenD stands out:
- Unrivaled Speed: Handles thousands of requests per second, outperforming competitors.
- Simplicity: A single binary and configuration file manage your gateway, perfect for GitOps workflows.
- Stable, Flat Pricing: Unlimited requests and APIs with no hidden costs—budget-friendly even when scaling.
- High Performance: Every internal component is optimized for speed and efficiency.
- API Aggregation: Automatically compose and aggregate multiple data sources into one response.
- Traffic Management: Rate limiting, bot detection, circuit breakers, IP filtering, and more.
- Authentication: Supports JWT, OAuth2, OpenID, API keys, mTLS, and other methods.
- Services Connectivity: Connects to REST, RabbitMQ, Kafka, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, Lambda, and others.
How KrakenD Simplifies Microservices
KrakenD saves precious time by handling shared concerns across all microservices. Instead of reinventing the wheel for each service, it manages common layers so developers can focus purely on business logic. Plus, it implements Backend for Frontend and Micro-frontends patterns, isolating clients from the complexity of multiple REST services. This unified microservices consumption means smoother, faster client interactions.
Security and Extensibility at Its Core
Security is baked in by default with KrakenD adopting a zero-trust approach. It supports a wide range of HTTP security features like CORS, OAuth, SSL, multiple certificates, and guards against threats such as clickjacking, XSS, MIME-sniffing, HSTS, and HPKP. On top of that, KrakenD is highly extensible—developers can add custom business logic using Go plugins, Lua scripts, or advanced DSL options. This flexibility means it can adapt to almost any use case.
Deployment Flexibility and Cost Efficiency
KrakenD runs anywhere—on-premises, hybrid environments, or cloud-native platforms. Whether deployed on Kubernetes clusters or as a Linux package on bare metal, it’s platform-agnostic. It’s also incredibly lightweight, requiring as little as 100MB of RAM on high-traffic machines, which translates to significant cost savings. No database needed, no bloated dependencies—just efficient, powerful API management.
Impact and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – by enabling scalable and efficient API management.
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – fostering innovation and reducing operational costs.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – through resource-efficient software design.
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – promoting open governance and collaboration via the Linux Foundation.
Monitoring, Documentation, and GitOps Integration
KrakenD integrates seamlessly with OpenTelemetry, allowing logs, metrics, and traces to be pushed to preferred telemetry providers for deep monitoring and analytics. Documentation is a breeze with the OpenAPI exporter, which automatically generates rich API docs. Plus, it fits perfectly into GitOps workflows—manage your API gateway configuration just like any other service, version-controlled and team-friendly. This makes operations smooth and transparent, keeping everything in check without hassle.
