open-consul/website/content/docs/api-gateway/configuration/routes.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: Consul API Gateway Routes
description:  >-
  Consul API Gateway Routes
---

# Route

Routes are independent configuration objects that are associated with specific listeners.

Declare a route with either `kind: HTTPRoute` or `kind: TCPRoute` and configure the route parameters in the `spec` block.
Refer to the Kubernetes Gateway API documentation for each object type for details:

- [HTTPRoute](https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/v1alpha2/references/spec/#gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2.HTTPRoute)
- [TCPRoute](https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/v1alpha2/references/spec/#gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2.TCPRoute)

The following example creates a route named `example-route` associated with a listener defined in `example-gateway`.

<CodeBlockConfig filename="routes.yaml">

  ```yaml
  apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2
  kind: HTTPRoute
  metadata:
    name: example-route
  spec:
    parentRefs:
    - name: example-gateway
    rules:
    - backendRefs:
      - kind: Service
        name: echo
        port: 8080
  ```

</CodeBlockConfig>

To create a route for a `backendRef` in a different namespace, you must also
create a [ReferencePolicy](https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/v1alpha2/references/spec/#gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2.ReferencePolicy).

The following example creates a route named `example-route` in namespace `gateway-namespace`. This route has a `backendRef` in namespace `service-namespace`. Traffic is allowed because the `ReferencePolicy`, named `reference-policy` in namespace `service-namespace`, allows traffic from `HTTPRoutes` in `gateway-namespace` to `Services` in `service-namespace`.

<CodeBlockConfig filename="route_with_referencepolicy.yaml">

  ```yaml
  apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2
  kind: HTTPRoute
  metadata:
    name: example-route
    namespace: gateway-namespace
  spec:
    parentRefs:
      - name: example-gateway
    rules:
      - backendRefs:
        - kind: Service
          name: echo
          namespace: service-namespace
          port: 8080
  ---

  apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2
  kind: ReferencePolicy
  metadata:
    name: reference-policy
    namespace: service-namespace
  spec:
    from:
    - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
      kind: HTTPRoute
      namespace: gateway-namespace
      to:
        - group: ""
          kind: Service
          name: echo
  ```

</CodeBlockConfig>

## MeshService

The `MeshService` configuration holds a reference to an externally-managed Consul service mesh service and can be used as a `backendRef` for a [`Route`](#route).

| Parameter                       | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Type    | Default         |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------- |
| `name`                      | Specifies the service name for a Consul service. It is assumed this service will exist in either the `consulDestinationNamespace` or mirrored Consul namespace from where this custom resource is defined, depending on the Helm configuration.

Refer to the [Consul API Gateway repository](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul-api-gateway/blob/main/config/crd/bases/api-gateway.consul.hashicorp.com_meshservices.yaml) for the complete specification.