Kgateway is a cloud-native API gateway written in Go that serves as a control plane for Envoy proxy, implementing the Kubernetes Gateway API standard. The project is positioned as the most widely deployed gateway in Kubernetes for microservices, with origins tracing back to 2018 when it was launched as Gloo by Solo.io and achieved production-ready status in 2019. The repository has undergone a significant transition, with the control plane for AI and agentic features migrating to a separate agentgateway repository starting with version 2.3.0, allowing kgateway to focus exclusively on being a stable, robust, and battle-tested API gateway.
The primary use cases for kgateway include next-generation API gateway functionality with capabilities for authentication, authorization, and rate limiting policies; hybrid application migration that routes to microservices, serverless functions, and legacy applications simultaneously; and complex tenancy environments where multiple teams can express APIs through concepts like route delegation and composable policies. The gateway excels in function-level routing, supports diverse backend types, offers robust service discovery, and integrates with open-source projects while maintaining flexibility across different technologies, architectures, protocols, and cloud environments.
Kgateway is classified across multiple domains including communication, networking, protocol support, cloud connectivity, security features, middleware, edge computing, and integration tools, reflecting its broad applicability as a gateway solution. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0 and holds OpenSSF Best Practices certification. As a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project, kgateway builds upon the foundational work of Envoy proxy and the agentgateway dataplane, creating a dual control plane architecture that enables flexible deployment scenarios ranging from lightweight microgateway deployments between services to massively parallel centralized gateways handling billions of API calls. The project processes billions of API requests for major companies worldwide and continues to evolve as a trusted, feature-rich solution for Kubernetes-based API gateway requirements.
