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API

Traefik exposes a number of information through an API handler, such as the configuration of all routers, services, middlewares, etc.

As with all features of Traefik, this handler can be enabled with the static configuration.

Security

Enabling the API in production is not recommended, because it will expose all configuration elements, including sensitive data.

In production, it should be at least secured by authentication and authorizations.

Info

It's recommended to NOT publicly exposing the API's port, keeping it restricted to internal networks (as in the principle of least privilege, applied to networks).

Configuration

If you enable the API, a new special service named api@internal is created and can then be referenced in a router.

To enable the API handler, use the following option on the static configuration:

# Static Configuration
api: {}
# Static Configuration
[api]
--api=true

And then define a routing configuration on Traefik itself with the dynamic configuration:

# Dynamic Configuration
labels:
  - "traefik.http.routers.api.rule=Host(`traefik.example.com`)"
  - "traefik.http.routers.api.service=api@internal"
  - "traefik.http.routers.api.middlewares=auth"
  - "traefik.http.middlewares.auth.basicauth.users=test:$$apr1$$H6uskkkW$$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/,test2:$$apr1$$d9hr9HBB$$4HxwgUir3HP4EsggP/QNo0"
# Dynamic Configuration
deploy:
  labels:
    - "traefik.http.routers.api.rule=Host(`traefik.example.com`)"
    - "traefik.http.routers.api.service=api@internal"
    - "traefik.http.routers.api.middlewares=auth"
    - "traefik.http.middlewares.auth.basicauth.users=test:$$apr1$$H6uskkkW$$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/,test2:$$apr1$$d9hr9HBB$$4HxwgUir3HP4EsggP/QNo0"
    # Dummy service for Swarm port detection. The port can be any valid integer value.
    - "traefik.http.services.dummy-svc.loadbalancer.server.port=9999"
apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
kind: IngressRoute
metadata:
  name: traefik-dashboard
spec:
  routes:
  - match: Host(`traefik.example.com`)
    kind: Rule
    services:
    - name: api@internal
      kind: TraefikService
    middlewares:
      - name: auth
---
apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
kind: Middleware
metadata:
  name: auth
spec:
  basicAuth:
    secret: secretName # Kubernetes secret named "secretName"
# Dynamic Configuration
- "traefik.http.routers.api.rule=Host(`traefik.example.com`)"
- "traefik.http.routers.api.service=api@internal"
- "traefik.http.routers.api.middlewares=auth"
- "traefik.http.middlewares.auth.basicauth.users=test:$$apr1$$H6uskkkW$$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/,test2:$$apr1$$d9hr9HBB$$4HxwgUir3HP4EsggP/QNo0"
# Dynamic Configuration
http:
  routers:
    api:
      rule: Host(`traefik.example.com`)
      service: api@internal
      middlewares:
        - auth
  middlewares:
    auth:
      basicAuth:
        users:
          - "test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/"
          - "test2:$apr1$d9hr9HBB$4HxwgUir3HP4EsggP/QNo0"
# Dynamic Configuration
[http.routers.my-api]
  rule = "Host(`traefik.example.com`)"
  service = "api@internal"
  middlewares = ["auth"]

[http.middlewares.auth.basicAuth]
  users = [
    "test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/",
    "test2:$apr1$d9hr9HBB$4HxwgUir3HP4EsggP/QNo0",
  ]
The router's rule must catch requests for the URI path /api

Using an "Host" rule is recommended, by catching all the incoming traffic on this host domain to the API. However, you can also use "path prefix" rule or any combination or rules.

# Matches http://traefik.example.com, http://traefik.example.com/api
# or http://traefik.example.com/hello
rule = "Host(`traefik.example.com`)"
# Matches http://api.traefik.example.com/api or http://example.com/api
# but does not match http://api.traefik.example.com/hello
rule = "PathPrefix(`/api`)"
# Matches http://traefik.example.com/api or http://traefik.example.com/dashboard
# but does not match http://traefik.example.com/hello
rule = "Host(`traefik.example.com`) && (PathPrefix(`/api`) || PathPrefix(`/dashboard`))"

insecure

Enable the API in insecure mode, which means that the API will be available directly on the entryPoint named traefik, on path /api.

Info

If the entryPoint named traefik is not configured, it will be automatically created on port 8080.

api:
  insecure: true
[api]
  insecure = true
--api.insecure=true

dashboard

Optional, Default=true

Enable the dashboard. More about the dashboard features here.

api:
  dashboard: true
[api]
  dashboard = true
--api.dashboard=true

With Dashboard enabled, the router rule must catch requests for both /api and /dashboard

Please check the Dashboard documentation to learn more about this and to get examples.

debug

Optional, Default=false

Enable additional endpoints for debugging and profiling, served under /debug/.

api:
  debug: true
[api]
  debug = true
--api.debug=true

Endpoints

All the following endpoints must be accessed with a GET HTTP request.

Pagination

By default, up to 100 results are returned per page, and the next page can be checked using the X-Next-Page HTTP Header. To control pagination, use the page and per_page query parameters.

curl https://traefik.example.com:8080/api/http/routers?page=2&per_page=20
Path Description
/api/http/routers Lists all the HTTP routers information.
/api/http/routers/{name} Returns the information of the HTTP router specified by name.
/api/http/services Lists all the HTTP services information.
/api/http/services/{name} Returns the information of the HTTP service specified by name.
/api/http/middlewares Lists all the HTTP middlewares information.
/api/http/middlewares/{name} Returns the information of the HTTP middleware specified by name.
/api/tcp/routers Lists all the TCP routers information.
/api/tcp/routers/{name} Returns the information of the TCP router specified by name.
/api/tcp/services Lists all the TCP services information.
/api/tcp/services/{name} Returns the information of the TCP service specified by name.
/api/tcp/middlewares Lists all the TCP middlewares information.
/api/tcp/middlewares/{name} Returns the information of the TCP middleware specified by name.
/api/udp/routers Lists all the UDP routers information.
/api/udp/routers/{name} Returns the information of the UDP router specified by name.
/api/udp/services Lists all the UDP services information.
/api/udp/services/{name} Returns the information of the UDP service specified by name.
/api/entrypoints Lists all the entry points information.
/api/entrypoints/{name} Returns the information of the entry point specified by name.
/api/overview Returns statistic information about http and tcp as well as enabled features and providers.
/api/rawdata Returns information about dynamic configurations, errors, status and dependency relations.
/api/version Returns information about Traefik version.
/debug/vars See the expvar Go documentation.
/debug/pprof/ See the pprof Index Go documentation.
/debug/pprof/cmdline See the pprof Cmdline Go documentation.
/debug/pprof/profile See the pprof Profile Go documentation.
/debug/pprof/symbol See the pprof Symbol Go documentation.
/debug/pprof/trace See the pprof Trace Go documentation.

Using Traefik OSS in Production?

If you are using Traefik at work, consider adding enterprise-grade API gateway capabilities or commercial support for Traefik OSS.

Adding API Gateway capabilities to Traefik OSS is fast and seamless. There's no rip and replace and all configurations remain intact. See it in action via this short video.