Backend
What is API Gateway?
A single entry point that routes client requests to backend services while handling auth, rate limiting, and request transformation.
Definition
An API gateway is the front door for a service architecture: clients call one endpoint, and the gateway routes each request to the right internal service. Along the way it enforces authentication (validating JWTs or API keys), applies rate limits and quotas, transforms payloads, aggregates responses, and emits access logs. Kong, AWS API Gateway, Apigee, and Envoy-based solutions dominate the space. Centralizing these concerns keeps individual microservices thin, but the gateway must be highly available since every request flows through it.