---
layout: docs
page_title: 'Configuration Entry Kind: Ingress Gateway'
description: >-
  The `ingress-gateway` config entry kind allows for configuring Ingress gateways
  with listeners that expose a set of services outside the Consul service mesh.
---

# Ingress Gateway

-> **v1.8.4+:** On Kubernetes, the `IngressGateway` custom resource is supported in Consul versions 1.8.4+.<br />
**v1.8.0+:** On other platforms, this config entry is supported in Consul versions 1.8.0+.

The `ingress-gateway` config entry kind (`IngressGateway` on Kubernetes) allows you to configure ingress gateways
with listeners that expose a set of services outside the Consul service mesh.

For Kubernetes, see [Kubernetes Ingress Gateway](/docs/k8s/connect/ingress-gateways) for more information.
For other platforms, see [Ingress Gateway](/docs/connect/ingress-gateway).

~> **Note:** [Configuration entries](/docs/agent/config-entries) are global in scope. A configuration entry for a gateway name applies
across all federated Consul datacenters. If ingress gateways in different Consul datacenters need to route to different
sets of services within their datacenter then the ingress gateways **must** be registered with different names.<br />
See [Ingress Gateway](/docs/connect/ingress-gateway) for more information.

## Wildcard service specification

Ingress gateways can optionally target all services within a Consul namespace by
specifying a wildcard `*` as the service name. A wildcard specifier allows
for a single listener to route traffic to all available services on the
Consul service mesh, differentiating between the services by their host/authority
header.

A wildcard specifier provides the following properties for an ingress
gateway:

- All services with the same
  [protocol](/docs/connect/config-entries/ingress-gateway#protocol) as the
  listener will be routable.
- The ingress gateway will route traffic based on the host/authority header,
  expecting a value matching `<service-name>.ingress.*`, or if using namespaces,
  `<service-name>.ingress.<namespace>.*`. This matches the [Consul DNS
  ingress subdomain](/docs/discovery/dns#ingress-service-lookups).

A wildcard specifier cannot be set on a listener of protocol `tcp`.

## Sample Config Entries

### TCP listener

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Consul OSS">

Set up a TCP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" to proxy traffic to the "db" service:

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 3456
    Protocol = "tcp"
    Services = [
      {
        Name = "db"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
spec:
  listeners:
    - port: 3456
      protocol: tcp
      services:
        - name: db
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 3456,
      "Protocol": "tcp",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Name": "db"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Consul Enterprise">

Set up a TCP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" in the default namespace
to proxy traffic to the "db" service in the ops namespace:

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"
Namespace = "default"

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 3456
    Protocol = "tcp"
    Services = [
      {
        Namespace = "ops"
        Name = "db"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  listeners:
    - port: 3456
      protocol: tcp
      services:
        - name: db
          namespace: ops
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "Namespace": "default",
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 3456,
      "Protocol": "tcp",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Namespace": "ops",
          "Name": "db"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
</Tabs>

### Wildcard HTTP listener

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Consul OSS">

Set up a wildcard HTTP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" to proxy traffic to all services in the datacenter.
Also make two services available over a custom port with user-provided hosts, and enable TLS on every listener:

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"

TLS {
  Enabled = true
}

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 8080
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Name = "*"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    Port     = 4567
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Name  = "api"
        Hosts = ["foo.example.com"]
      },
      {
        Name  = "web"
        Hosts = ["website.example.com"]
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
spec:
  tls:
    enabled: true
  listeners:
    - port: 8080
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: '*'
    - port: 4567
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: api
          hosts: ['foo.example.com']
        - name: web
          hosts: ['website.example.com']
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "TLS": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 8080,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Name": "*"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Port": 4567,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Name": "api",
          "Hosts": ["foo.example.com"]
        },
        {
          "Name": "web",
          "Hosts": ["website.example.com"]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Consul Enterprise">

Set up a wildcard HTTP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" to proxy traffic to all services in the frontend namespace.
Also make two services in the frontend namespace available over a custom port with user-provided hosts, and enable TLS on every listener:

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"
Namespace = "default"

TLS {
  Enabled = true
}

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 8080
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Namespace = "frontend"
        Name = "*"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    Port     = 4567
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Namespace = "frontend"
        Name  = "api"
        Hosts = ["foo.example.com"]
      },
      {
        Namespace = "frontend"
        Name  = "web"
        Hosts = ["website.example.com"]
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  tls:
    enabled: true
  listeners:
    - port: 8080
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: '*'
          namespace: frontend
    - port: 4567
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: api
          namespace: frontend
          hosts: ['foo.example.com']
        - name: web
          namespace: frontend
          hosts: ['website.example.com']
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "Namespace": "default",
  "TLS": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 8080,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Namespace": "frontend",
          "Name": "*"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Port": 4567,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Namespace": "frontend",
          "Name": "api",
          "Hosts": ["foo.example.com"]
        },
        {
          "Namespace": "frontend",
          "Name": "web",
          "Hosts": ["website.example.com"]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
</Tabs>

### HTTP listener with path-based routing

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Consul OSS">

Set up a HTTP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" to proxy
traffic to a virtual service named "api".

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 80
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Name = "api"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
spec:
  listeners:
    - port: 80
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: api
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 80,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Name": "api"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Consul Enterprise">

Set up a HTTP listener on an ingress gateway named "us-east-ingress" in the
default namespace to proxy traffic to a virtual service named "api".

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "ingress-gateway"
Name = "us-east-ingress"
Namespace = "default"

Listeners = [
  {
    Port     = 80
    Protocol = "http"
    Services = [
      {
        Name = "api"
        Namespace = "frontend"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: IngressGateway
metadata:
  name: us-east-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  listeners:
    - port: 80
      protocol: http
      services:
        - name: api
          namespace: frontend
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "ingress-gateway",
  "Name": "us-east-ingress",
  "Namespace": "default",
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "Port": 80,
      "Protocol": "http",
      "Services": [
        {
          "Name": "api",
          "Namespace": "frontend"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
</Tabs>

The `api` service is not an actual registered service. It exist as a "virtual"
service for L7 configuration only. A `service-router` (`ServiceRouter` on Kubernetes) is defined for this
virtual service which uses path-based routing to route requests to different
backend services:

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Consul OSS">

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "service-router"
Name = "api"
Routes = [
  {
    Match {
      HTTP {
        PathPrefix = "/billing"
      }
    }

    Destination {
      Service = "billing-api"
    }
  },
  {
    Match {
      HTTP {
        PathPrefix = "/payments"
      }
    }

    Destination {
      Service = "payments-api"
    }
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: ServiceRouter
metadata:
  name: api
spec:
  routes:
    - match:
        http:
          pathPrefix: '/billing'
      destination:
        service: billing-api
    - match:
        http:
          pathPrefix: '/payments'
      destination:
        service: payments-api
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "service-router",
  "Name": "api",
  "Routes": [
    {
      "Match": {
        "HTTP": {
          "PathPrefix": "/billing"
        }
      },
      "Destination": {
        "Service": "billing-api"
      }
    },
    {
      "Match": {
        "HTTP": {
          "PathPrefix": "/payments"
        }
      },
      "Destination": {
        "Service": "payments-api"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</Tab>
<Tab heading="Consul Enterprise">

<CodeTabs tabs={[ "HCL", "Kubernetes YAML", "JSON" ]}>

```hcl
Kind = "service-router"
Name = "api"
Namespace = "default"
Routes = [
  {
    Match {
      HTTP {
        PathPrefix = "/billing"
      }
    }

    Destination {
      Service = "billing-api"
      Namespace = "frontend"
    }
  },
  {
    Match {
      HTTP {
        PathPrefix = "/payments"
      }
    }

    Destination {
      Service = "payments-api"
      Namespace = "frontend"
    }
  }
]
```

```yaml
apiVersion: consul.hashicorp.com/v1alpha1
kind: ServiceRouter
metadata:
  name: api
  namespace: default
spec:
  routes:
    - match:
        http:
          pathPrefix: '/billing'
      destination:
        service: billing-api
        namespace: frontend
    - match:
        http:
          pathPrefix: '/payments'
      destination:
        service: payments-api
        namespace: frontend
```

```json
{
  "Kind": "service-router",
  "Name": "api",
  "Namespace": "default",
  "Routes": [
    {
      "Match": {
        "HTTP": {
          "PathPrefix": "/billing"
        }
      },
      "Destination": {
        "Service": "billing-api",
        "Namespace": "frontend"
      }
    },
    {
      "Match": {
        "HTTP": {
          "PathPrefix": "/payments"
        }
      },
      "Destination": {
        "Service": "payments-api",
        "Namespace": "frontend"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

</CodeTabs>

</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 `ingress-gateway`',
        yaml: 'Must be set to `IngressGateway`',
      },
    },
    {
      name: 'Name',
      description: 'Set to the name of the gateway being configured.',
      type: 'string: <required>',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Namespace',
      type: `string: "default"`,
      enterprise: true,
      description:
        'Specifies the namespace the config entry will apply to. This must be the namespace the gateway is registered in.' +
        ' If omitted, the namespace will be inherited from [the request](/api/config#ns)' +
        ' or will default to the `default` namespace.',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'Meta',
      type: 'map<string|string>: nil',
      description:
        'Specifies arbitrary KV metadata pairs. Added in Consul 1.8.4.',
      yaml: false,
    },
    {
      name: 'metadata',
      children: [
        {
          name: 'name',
          description: 'Set to the name of the service being configured.',
        },
        {
          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: 'TLS',
      type: 'TLSConfig: <optional>',
      description: 'TLS configuration for this gateway.',
      children: [
        {
          name: 'Enabled',
          type: 'bool: false',
          description: {
            hcl:
              "Set this configuration to enable TLS for every listener on the gateway.<br><br>If TLS is enabled, then each host defined in the `Host` field will be added as a DNSSAN to the gateway's x509 certificate.",
            yaml:
              "Set this configuration to enable TLS for every listener on the gateway.<br><br>If TLS is enabled, then each host defined in the `host` field will be added as a DNSSAN to the gateway's x509 certificate.",
          },
        },
      ],
    },
    {
      name: 'Listeners',
      type: 'array<IngressListener>: <optional>)',
      description:
        'A list of listeners that the ingress gateway should setup, uniquely identified by their port number.',
      children: [
        {
          name: 'Port',
          type: 'int: 0',
          description: `The port on which the ingress listener should receive
                        traffic. The port will be bound to the IP address that
                        was specified in the [\`-address\`](/commands/connect/envoy#address)
                        flag when starting the gateway.
                        <b>Note:</b> The ingress listener port must not conflict
                        with the health check port specified in the \`-address\`
                        flag.`,
        },
        {
          name: 'Protocol',
          type: 'string: "tcp"',
          description:
            'The protocol associated with the listener. One of `tcp`, `http`, `http2`, or `grpc`.',
        },
        {
          name: 'Services',
          type: 'array<IngressService>: <optional>',
          description:
            'A list of services to be exposed via this listener. For `tcp` listeners, only a single service is allowed.',
          children: [
            {
              name: 'Name',
              type: 'string: ""',
              description: `The name of the service that should be exposed
                                  through this listener. This can be either a service registered in the
                                  catalog, or a service defined only by [other config entries](/docs/connect/l7-traffic-management). If the wildcard specifier,
                                  \`*\`, is provided, then ALL services will be exposed through the listener.
                                  This is not supported for listener's with protocol \`tcp\`.`,
            },
            {
              name: 'Namespace',
              type: 'string: ""',
              enterprise: true,
              description:
                'The namespace to resolve the service from instead of the current namespace. If empty the current namespace is assumed.',
            },
            {
              name: 'Hosts',
              type: 'array<string>: <optional>',
              description: `A list of hosts that specify what
              requests will match this service. This cannot be used with a \`tcp\`
              listener, and cannot be specified alongside a \`*\` service name. If not
              specified, the default domain \`\<service-name>.ingress.*\` will be used to
              match services. Requests <b>must</b> send the correct host to be routed to
              the defined service.<br><br>
              The wildcard specifier, \`*\`, can be used by itself to match all traffic
              coming to the ingress gateway, if TLS is not enabled. This allows a user
              to route all traffic to a single service without specifying a host,
              allowing simpler tests and demos. Otherwise, the wildcard specifier can
              be used as part of the host to match multiple hosts, but only in the
              leftmost DNS label. This ensures that all defined hosts are valid DNS
              records. For example, \`*.example.com\` is valid, while \`example.*\` and
              \`*-suffix.example.com\` are not.`,
            },
          ],
        },
      ],
    },
  ]}
/>

## ACLs

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

Reading an `ingress-gateway` config entry requires `service:read` on the `Name`
field of the config entry.

Creating, updating, or deleting an `ingress-gateway` config entry requires
`operator:write`.