---
layout: docs
page_title: 'Configuration Entry Kind: Service Intentions'
sidebar_title: Service Intentions
description: >-
  The service-intentions config entry kind controls Connect traffic
  authorization for both networking layer 4 (e.g. TCP) and networking layer 7
  (e.g. HTTP).
---

# Service Intentions ((#service-intentions))

-> **1.9.0+:** This config entry is available in Consul versions 1.9.0 and newer.

The `service-intentions` config entry kind (`ServiceIntentions` on Kubernetes) controls Connect traffic
authorization for both networking layer 4 (e.g. TCP) and networking layer 7
(e.g. HTTP).

Service intentions config entries represent a collection of
[intentions](/docs/connect/intentions) sharing a specific destination. All
intentions governing access to a specific destination are stored in a single
`service-intentions` config entry.

A single config entry may define a mix of both L4 and L7 style intentions, but
for a specific source L4 and L7 intentions are mutually exclusive. Only one
will apply at a time. Default behavior for L4 is configurable (regardless of
global setting) by defining a low precedence intention for that destination.

## Interaction with other Config Entries

L7 intentions within a config entry are restricted to only destination services
that define their protocol as HTTP-based via a corresponding
[`service-defaults`](/docs/connect/config-entries/service-defaults) config entry
or globally via [`proxy-defaults`](/docs/connect/config-entries/proxy-defaults) .

## Sample Config Entries

### REST Access

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="HCL">

Grant some clients more REST access than others:

```hcl
Kind = "service-intentions"
Name = "api"
Sources = [
  {
    Name = "admin-dashboard"
    Permissions = [
      {
        Action = "allow"
        HTTP {
          PathPrefix = "/v2"
          Methods    = ["GET", "PUT", "POST", "DELETE", "HEAD"]
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    Name = "report-generator"
    Permissions = [
      {
        Action = "allow"
        HTTP {
          PathPrefix = "/v2/widgets"
          Methods    = ["GET"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
  # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
  # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
]
```

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Kubernetes YAML">

Grant some clients more REST access than others:

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: ServiceIntentions
metadata:
  name: api
spec:
  destination:
    name: api
  sources:
    - name: admin-dashboard
      permissions:
        - action: allow
          http:
            pathPrefix: /v2
            methods: ['GET', 'PUT', 'POST', 'DELETE', 'HEAD']
    - name: report-generator
      permissions:
        - action: allow
          http:
            pathPrefix: /v2/widgets
            methods: ['GET']
    # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
    # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

### gRPC

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="HCL">

Selectively deny some gRPC service methods. Since gRPC method calls [are
HTTP/2](https://github.com/grpc/grpc/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL-HTTP2.md), we can
use an HTTP path match rule to control traffic:

```hcl
Kind = "service-intentions"
Name = "billing"
Sources = [
  {
    Name = "frontend-web"
    Permissions = [
      # The frontend website can execute all billing service methods except
      # issuing refunds.
      {
        Action = "deny"
        HTTP {
          PathExact = "/mycompany.BillingService/IssueRefund"
        }
      },
      {
        Action = "allow"
        HTTP {
          PathPrefix = "/mycompany.BillingService/"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    Name = "support-portal"
    Permissions = [
      # But the support team portal page can execute all methods.
      {
        Action = "allow"
        HTTP {
          PathPrefix = "/mycompany.BillingService/"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
  # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
  # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
]
```

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Kubernetes YAML">

Selectively deny some gRPC service methods. Since gRPC method calls [are
HTTP/2](https://github.com/grpc/grpc/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL-HTTP2.md), we can
use an HTTP path match rule to control traffic:

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: ServiceIntentions
metadata:
  name: billing
spec:
  destination:
    name: billing
  sources:
    # The frontend website can execute all billing service methods except
    # issuing refunds.
    - name: frontend-web
      permissions:
        - action: deny
          http:
            pathExact: /mycompany.BillingService/IssueRefund
        - action: allow
          http:
            pathPrefix: '/mycompany.BillingService/'
    - name: support-protocol
      # But the support team portal page can execute all methods.
      permissions:
        - action: allow
          http:
            pathPrefix: '/mycompany.BillingService/'
    # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
    # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

### L4 and L7

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="HCL">

You can mix and match L4 and L7 intentions per source:

```hcl
Kind = "service-intentions"
Name = "api"
Sources = [
  {
    Name   = "hackathon-project"
    Action = "deny"
  },
  {
    Name   = "web"
    Action = "allow"
  },
  {
    Name = "nightly-reconciler"
    Permissions = [
      {
        Action = "allow"
        HTTP {
          PathExact = "/v1/reconcile-data"
          Methods   = ["POST"]
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
  # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
]
```

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Kubernetes YAML">

You can mix and match L4 and L7 intentions per source:

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: ServiceIntentions
metadata:
  name: api
spec:
  destination:
    name: api
  sources:
    - name: hackathon-project
      action: deny
    - name: web
      action: allow
    - name: nightly-reconciler
      permissions:
        - action: allow
          http:
            pathExact: /v1/reconcile-data
            methods: ['POST']
    # NOTE: a default catch-all based on the default ACL policy will apply to
    # unmatched connections and requests. Typically this will be DENY.
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

## Available Fields

<ConfigEntryReference
  keys={[
    {
      name: 'apiVersion',
      description: 'Must be set to `consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1`',
      hcl: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Kind',
      description: {
        hcl: 'Must be set to `service-intentions`',
        yaml: 'Must be set to `ServiceIntentions`',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Name',
      description:
        "The name of the destination service for all intentions defined in this config entry. This may be set to the wildcard character (`*`) to match all services that don't otherwise have intentions defined.",
      type: 'string: <required>',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Namespace',
      type: `string: "default"`,
      enterprise: true,
      description:
        "Specifies the namespaces the config entry will apply to. This may be set to the wildcard character (`*`) to match all services in all namespaces that don't otherwise have intentions defined.",
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Meta',
      type: 'map<string|string>: nil',
      description: 'Specifies arbitrary KV metadata pairs.',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'metadata',
      children: [
        {
          name: 'name',
          description:
            'Unlike other config entries, the `metadata.name` field is not used to set the name of the service being configured. Instead, that is set in `spec.destination.name`. Thus this name can be set to anything. See [ServiceIntentions Special Case (OSS)](/docs/k8s/crds#serviceintentions-special-case) or [ServiceIntentions Special Case (Enterprise)](/docs/k8s/crds#serviceintentions-special-case-enterprise) for more details.',
        },
        {
          name: 'namespace',
          description:
            'If running Consul Open Source, the namespace is ignored (see [Kubernetes Namespaces in Consul OSS](/docs/k8s/crds#consul-oss)). If running Consul Enterprise see [Kubernetes Namespaces in Consul Enterprise](/docs/k8s/crds#consul-enterprise) for more details.',
        },
      ],
      hcl: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'destination',
      hcl: false,
      children: [
        {
          name: 'name',
          hcl: false,
          type: 'string: <required>',
          description:
            "The name of the destination service for all intentions defined in this config entry. This may be set to the wildcard character (`*`) to match all services that don't otherwise have intentions defined.",
        },
        {
          name: 'namespace',
          hcl: false,
          enterprise: true,
          type: 'string: <optional>',
          description:
            "Specifies the namespaces the config entry will apply to. This may be set to the wildcard character (`*`) to match all services in all namespaces that don't otherwise have intentions defined. If not set, the namespace used will depend on the `connectInject.consulNamespaces` configuration. See [ServiceIntentions Special Case (Enterprise)](/docs/k8s/crds#serviceintentions-special-case-enterprise) for more details.",
        },
      ],
    },
    {
      name: 'Sources',
      type: 'array<SourceIntention>',
      description: `The list of all [intention sources and the authorization granted to those sources](#sourceintention). The order of
        this list does not matter, but out of convenience Consul will always store
        this reverse sorted by intention precedence, as that is the order that they
        will be evaluated at enforcement time.`,
    },
  ]}
/>

### `SourceIntention`

<ConfigEntryReference
  topLevel={false}
  keys={[
    {
      name: 'Name',
      type: 'string: <required>',
      description: {
        hcl:
          "The source of the intention. For a `Type` of `consul` this is the name of a Consul service. The service doesn't need to be registered.",
        yaml:
          "The source of the intention. For a `type` of `consul` this is the name of a Consul service. The service doesn't need to be registered.",
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Namespace',
      type: 'string',
      description: {
        hcl:
          "The namespace of the source service. Defaults to the namespace of the destination service (i.e. the config entry's namespace)",
        yaml:
          'The namespace of the source service. Defaults to the namespace of the destination service (i.e. `spec.destination.namespace`)',
      },
      enterprise: true,
    },
    {
      name: 'Action',
      type: 'string: ""',
      description: {
        hcl:
          'For an L4 intention this is required, and should be set to one of `"allow"` or `"deny"` for the action that should be taken if this intention matches a request.' +
          '<br><br>This should be omitted for an L7 intention as it is mutually exclusive with the `Permissions` field.',
        yaml:
          'For an L4 intention this is required, and should be set to one of `"allow"` or `"deny"` for the action that should be taken if this intention matches a request.' +
          '<br><br>This should be omitted for an L7 intention as it is mutually exclusive with the `permissions` field.',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Permissions',
      type: 'array<IntentionPermission>',
      description: {
        hcl: `The list of all [additional L7 attributes](#intentionpermission) that extend the intention match criteria.<br><br>
                      Permission precedence is applied top to bottom. For any given request the
                      first permission to match in the list is terminal and stops further
                      evaluation. As with L4 intentions, traffic that fails to match any of the
                      provided permissions in this intention will be subject to the default
                      intention behavior is defined by the default [ACL policy](/docs/agent/options#acl_default_policy).<br><br>
                      This should be omitted for an L4 intention as it is mutually exclusive with
                      the \`Action\` field.`,
        yaml: `The list of all [additional L7 attributes](#intentionpermission) that extend the intention match criteria.<br><br>
                      Permission precedence is applied top to bottom. For any given request the
                      first permission to match in the list is terminal and stops further
                      evaluation. As with L4 intentions, traffic that fails to match any of the
                      provided permissions in this intention will be subject to the default
                      intention behavior is defined by the default [ACL policy](/docs/agent/options#acl_default_policy).<br><br>
                      This should be omitted for an L4 intention as it is mutually exclusive with
                      the \`action\` field.`,
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Precedence',
      type: 'int: <read-only>',
      description:
        'An [integer precedence value](/docs/connect/intentions#precedence-and-match-order) computed from the source and destination naming components.',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Type',
      type: 'string: "consul"',
      description: {
        hcl:
          'The type for the `Name` value. This can be only "consul" today to represent a Consul service. If not provided, this will be defaulted to "consul".',
        yaml:
          'The type for the `name` value. This can be only "consul" today to represent a Consul service. If not provided, this will be defaulted to "consul".',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Description',
      type: 'string: ""',
      description:
        'Description for the intention. This is not used by Consul, but is presented in API responses to assist tooling.',
    },
    {
      name: 'LegacyID',
      type: 'string: <read-only>',
      description: `This is the UUID to uniquely identify
                      this intention in the system. Cannot be set directly and is exposed here as
                      an artifact of the config entry migration and is primarily used to allow
                      legacy intention [API](/api-docs/connect/intentions#update-intention-by-id)
                      [endpoints](/api-docs/connect/intentions#read-specific-intention-by-id) to
                      continue to function for a period of time after [upgrading to 1.9.0](/docs/upgrading/upgrade-specific#consul-1-9-0).`,
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'LegacyMeta',
      type: 'map<string|string>: <read-only>',
      description: `Specified arbitrary KV
                      metadata pairs attached to the intention, rather than to the enclosing config
                      entry. Cannot be set directly and is exposed here as an artifact of the
                      config entry migration and is primarily used to allow legacy intention
                      [API](/api-docs/connect/intentions#update-intention-by-id)
                      [endpoints](/api-docs/connect/intentions#read-specific-intention-by-id) to
                      continue to function for a period of time after [upgrading to 1.9.0](/docs/upgrading/upgrade-specific#consul-1-9-0).`,
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'LegacyCreateTime',
      type: 'time: optional',
      description: `The timestamp that this intention was
                      created. Cannot be set directly and is exposed here as an artifact of the
                      config entry migration and is primarily used to allow legacy intention
                      [API](/api-docs/connect/intentions#update-intention-by-id)
                      [endpoints](/api-docs/connect/intentions#read-specific-intention-by-id) to
                      continue to function for a period of time after [upgrading to 1.9.0](/docs/upgrading/upgrade-specific#consul-1-9-0).`,
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'LegacyUpdateTime',
      type: 'time: optional',
      description: `The timestamp that this intention was
                      last updated. Cannot be set directly and is exposed here as an artifact of the
                      config entry migration and is primarily used to allow legacy intention
                      [API](/api-docs/connect/intentions#update-intention-by-id)
                      [endpoints](/api-docs/connect/intentions#read-specific-intention-by-id) to
                      continue to function for a period of time after [upgrading to 1.9.0](/docs/upgrading/upgrade-specific#consul-1-9-0).`,
      yaml: false,
    },
  ]}
/>

### `IntentionPermission`

<ConfigEntryReference
  topLevel={false}
  keys={[
    {
      name: 'Action',
      type: 'string: <required>',
      description:
        'This is one of "allow" or "deny" for the action that should be taken if this permission matches a request.',
    },
    {
      name: 'HTTP',
      type: 'IntentionHTTPPermission: <required>',
      description:
        'A set of [HTTP-specific authorization criteria](#intentionhttppermission)',
    },
  ]}
/>

### `IntentionHTTPPermission`

<ConfigEntryReference
  topLevel={false}
  keys={[
    {
      name: 'PathExact',
      type: 'string: ""',
      description: {
        hcl:
          'Exact path to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>At most only one of `PathExact`, `PathPrefix`, or `PathRegex` may be configured.',
        yaml:
          'Exact path to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>At most only one of `pathExact`, `pathPrefix`, or `pathRegex` may be configured.',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'PathPrefix',
      type: 'string: ""',
      description: {
        hcl:
          'Path prefix to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>At most only one of `PathExact`, `PathPrefix`, or `PathRegex` may be configured.',
        yaml:
          'Path prefix to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>At most only one of `pathExact`, `pathPrefix`, or `pathRegex` may be configured.',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'PathRegex',
      type: 'string: ""',
      description: {
        hcl:
          'Regular expression to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>The syntax is [described below](#regular-expression-syntax).<br><br>At most only one of `PathExact`, `PathPrefix`, or `PathRegex` may be configured.',
        yaml:
          'Regular expression to match on the HTTP request path.<br><br>The syntax is [described below](#regular-expression-syntax).<br><br>At most only one of `pathExact`, `pathPrefix`, or `pathRegex` may be configured.',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Methods',
      type: 'array<string>',
      description:
        'A list of HTTP methods for which this match applies. If unspecified all HTTP methods are matched. If provided the names must be a valid [method](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Methods).',
    },
    {
      name: 'Header',
      type: 'array<IntentionHTTPHeaderPermission>',
      description:
        'A set of criteria that can match on HTTP request headers. If more than one is configured all must match for the overall match to apply.',
      children: [
        {
          name: 'Name',
          type: 'string: <required>',
          description: 'Name of the header to match',
        },
        {
          name: 'Present',
          type: 'bool: false',
          description: {
            hcl:
              'Match if the header with the given name is present with any value.<br><br> At most only one of `Exact`, `Prefix`, `Suffix`, `Regex`, or `Present` may be configured.',
            yaml:
              'Match if the header with the given name is present with any value.<br><br> At most only one of `exact`, `prefix`, `suffix`, `regex`, or `present` may be configured.',
          },
        },
        {
          name: 'Exact',
          type: 'string: ""',
          description: {
            hcl:
              'Match if the header with the given name is this value.<br><br> At most only one of `Exact`, `Prefix`, `Suffix`, `Regex`, or `Present` may be configured.',
            yaml:
              'Match if the header with the given name is this value.<br><br> At most only one of `exact`, `prefix`, `suffix`, `regex`, or `present` may be configured.',
          },
        },
        {
          name: 'Prefix',
          type: 'string: ""',
          description: {
            hcl:
              'Match if the header with the given name has this prefix.<br><br> At most only one of `Exact`, `Prefix`, `Suffix`, `Regex`, or `Present` may be configured.',
            yaml:
              'Match if the header with the given name has this prefix.<br><br> At most only one of `exact`, `prefix`, `suffix`, `regex`, or `present` may be configured.',
          },
        },
        {
          name: 'Suffix',
          type: 'string: ""',
          description: {
            hcl:
              'Match if the header with the given name has this suffix.<br><br> At most only one of `Exact`, `Prefix`, `Suffix`, `Regex`, or `Present` may be configured.',
            yaml:
              'Match if the header with the given name has this suffix.<br><br> At most only one of `exact`, `prefix`, `suffix`, `regex`, or `present` may be configured.',
          },
        },
        {
          name: 'Regex',
          type: 'string: ""',
          description: {
            hcl:
              'Match if the header with the given name matches this pattern.<br><br>The syntax is [described below](#regular-expression-syntax).<br><br> At most only one of `Exact`, `Prefix`, `Suffix`, `Regex`, or `Present` may be configured.',
            yaml:
              'Match if the header with the given name matches this pattern.<br><br>The syntax is [described below](#regular-expression-syntax).<br><br> At most only one of `exact`, `prefix`, `suffix`, `regex`, or `present` may be configured.',
          },
        },
        {
          name: 'Invert',
          type: 'bool: false',
          description: 'Inverts the logic of the match',
        },
      ],
    },
  ]}
/>

## ACLs

Configuration entries may be protected by [ACLs](/docs/security/acl).

Reading a `service-intentions` config entry requires `intentions:read` on the resource.

Creating, updating, or deleting a `service-intentions` config entry requires
`intentions:write` on the resource.

Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See [Intention
Management Permissions](/docs/connect/intentions#intention-management-permissions) for
more details.

## Regular Expression Syntax

The actual syntax of the regular expression fields described here is entirely
proxy-specific.

When using [Envoy](/docs/connect/proxies/envoy) as a proxy, the syntax for
these fields is [RE2](https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax).