--- layout: api page_title: Intentions - Connect - HTTP API sidebar_title: Intentions description: |- The /connect/intentions endpoint provide tools for managing intentions via Consul's HTTP API. --- # Intentions - Connect HTTP API The `/connect/intentions` endpoint provide tools for managing [intentions](/docs/connect/intentions). ## Create Intention This endpoint creates a new intention and returns its ID if it was created successfully. The name and destination pair must be unique. If another intention matches the name and destination, the creation will fail. You must either update the existing intention or delete it prior to creating a new one. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------- | ------------------ | | `POST` | `/connect/intentions` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------ | | `NO` | `none` | `none` | `intentions:write`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `SourceName` `(string: )` - The source of the intention. For a `SourceType` of `consul` this is the name of a Consul service. The service doesn't need to be registered. - `DestinationName` `(string: )` - The destination of the intention. The intention destination is always a Consul service, unlike the source. The service doesn't need to be registered. - `SourceType` `(string: )` - The type for the `SourceName` value. This can be only "consul" today to represent a Consul service. - `Action` `(string: )` - This is one of "allow" or "deny" for the action that should be taken if this intention matches a request. - `Description` `(string: nil)` - Description for the intention. This is not used for anything by Consul, but is presented in API responses to assist tooling. - `Meta` `(map: nil)` - Specifies arbitrary KV metadata pairs. ### Sample Payload ```json { "SourceName": "web", "DestinationName": "db", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "allow" } ``` ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ --request POST \ --data @payload.json \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions ``` ### Sample Response ```json { "ID": "8f246b77-f3e1-ff88-5b48-8ec93abf3e05" } ``` ## Read Specific Intention This endpoint reads a specific intention. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | `GET` | `/connect/intentions/:uuid` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- | | `YES` | `all` | `none` | `intentions:read`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `uuid` `(string: )` - Specifies the UUID of the intention to read. This is specified as part of the URL. ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions/e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c ``` ### Sample Response ```json { "ID": "e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c", "Description": "", "SourceNS": "default", "SourceName": "web", "DestinationNS": "default", "DestinationName": "db", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "allow", "Meta": {}, "Precedence": 9, "CreatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977155457Z", "UpdatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977157724Z", "CreateIndex": 11, "ModifyIndex": 11 } ``` ## List Intentions This endpoint lists all intentions. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------- | ------------------ | | `GET` | `/connect/intentions` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- | | `YES` | `all` | `none` | `intentions:read`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `filter` `(string: "")` - Specifies the expression used to filter the queries results prior to returning the data. ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ 'http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions?filter=SourceName==web' ``` ### Sample Response ```json [ { "ID": "e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c", "Description": "", "SourceNS": "default", "SourceName": "web", "DestinationNS": "default", "DestinationName": "db", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "allow", "Meta": {}, "Precedence": 9, "CreatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977155457Z", "UpdatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977157724Z", "CreateIndex": 11, "ModifyIndex": 11 } ] ``` ### Filtering The filter will be executed against each Intention in the result list with the following selectors and filter operations being supported: | Selector | Supported Operations | | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | `Action` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `Description` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `DestinationNS` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `DestinationName` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `ID` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `Meta` | Is Empty, Is Not Empty, In, Not In | | `Meta.` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `Precedence` | Equal, Not Equal | | `SourceNS` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `SourceName` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | | `SourceType` | Equal, Not Equal, In, Not In, Matches, Not Matches | ## Update Intention This endpoint updates an intention with the given values. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | `PUT` | `/connect/intentions/:uuid` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------ | | `NO` | `none` | `none` | `intentions:write`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `uuid` `(string: )` - Specifies the UUID of the intention to update. This is specified as part of the URL. - Other parameters are identical to creating an intention. ### Sample Payload ```json { "SourceName": "web", "DestinationName": "other-db", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "allow" } ``` ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ --request PUT \ --data @payload.json \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions/e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c ``` ## Delete Intention This endpoint deletes a specific intention. | Method | Path | Produces | | -------- | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | `DELETE` | `/connect/intentions/:uuid` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------ | | `NO` | `none` | `none` | `intentions:write`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `uuid` `(string: )` - Specifies the UUID of the intention to delete. This is specified as part of the URL. ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ --request DELETE \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions/e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c ``` ## Check Intention Result This endpoint evaluates the intentions for a specific source and destination and returns whether the connection would be authorized or not given the current Consul configuration and set of intentions. This endpoint will work even if the destination service has `intention = "deny"` specifically set, because the resulting API response does not contain any information about the intention itself. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | `GET` | `/connect/intentions/check` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- | | `NO` | `none` | `none` | `intentions:read`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `source` `(string: )` - Specifies the source service. This is specified as part of the URL. - `destination` `(string: )` - Specifies the destination service. This is specified as part of the URL. ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions/check?source=web&destination=db ``` ### Sample Response ```json { "Allowed": true } ``` - `Allowed` is true if the connection would be allowed, false otherwise. ## List Matching Intentions This endpoint lists the intentions that match a given source or destination. The intentions in the response are in evaluation order. | Method | Path | Produces | | ------ | --------------------------- | ------------------ | | `GET` | `/connect/intentions/match` | `application/json` | The table below shows this endpoint's support for [blocking queries](/api/features/blocking), [consistency modes](/api/features/consistency), [agent caching](/api/features/caching), and [required ACLs](/api#authentication). | Blocking Queries | Consistency Modes | Agent Caching | ACL Required | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- | | `NO` | `none` | `none` | `intentions:read`1 |

1 Intention ACL rules are specified as part of a `service` rule. See{' '} Intention Management Permissions {' '} for more details.

### Parameters - `by` `(string: )` - Specifies whether to match the "name" value by "source" or "destination". - `name` `(string: )` - Specifies a name to match. This parameter can be repeated for batching multiple matches. ### Sample Request ```shell-session $ curl \ http://127.0.0.1:8500/v1/connect/intentions/match?by=source&name=web ``` ### Sample Response ```json { "web": [ { "ID": "ed16f6a6-d863-1bec-af45-96bbdcbe02be", "Description": "", "SourceNS": "default", "SourceName": "web", "DestinationNS": "default", "DestinationName": "db", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "deny", "Meta": {}, "CreatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:33.296693825Z", "UpdatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:33.296694288Z", "CreateIndex": 12, "ModifyIndex": 12 }, { "ID": "e9ebc19f-d481-42b1-4871-4d298d3acd5c", "Description": "", "SourceNS": "default", "SourceName": "web", "DestinationNS": "default", "DestinationName": "*", "SourceType": "consul", "Action": "allow", "Meta": {}, "CreatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977155457Z", "UpdatedAt": "2018-05-21T16:41:27.977157724Z", "CreateIndex": 11, "ModifyIndex": 11 } ] } ```