kubernetesPractitioner

Experimenting with Gateway API in Kubernetes: A Hands-On Guide

5 min read Kubernetes BlogJan 28, 2026Reviewed for accuracy

Practitioner — Hands-on experience recommended

The Gateway API is a game changer for managing traffic routing in Kubernetes. It provides a structured way to define how traffic flows to your services, making it easier to handle complex routing scenarios. By experimenting with the Gateway API, you can gain insights into its capabilities and how it can simplify your application networking.

To get started, you'll create a local Kubernetes cluster using kind, which runs Kubernetes in Docker containers. Deploy the cloud-provider-kind component to provide LoadBalancer Services and a Gateway API controller. This setup involves creating a Gateway and HTTPRoute to direct traffic to a demo application. For instance, you can define a Gateway in YAML that listens on port 80 and allows routes from all namespaces. This flexibility is crucial for testing various routing configurations without the overhead of a full production environment.

However, keep in mind that this is primarily an experimentation setup. It's not meant for production use, as the components and configurations are not suited for a live environment. You may encounter permission issues accessing the Docker socket on some systems, and in real clusters, it's advisable to limit the allowedRoutes namespace selector to enhance security. Always remember that this is a learning tool, and apply caution when transitioning to a production-ready architecture.

Key takeaways

→Create a local Kubernetes cluster using kind with 'kind create cluster'.
→Deploy the cloud-provider-kind component for LoadBalancer Services.
→Define a Gateway in YAML to manage traffic routing effectively.
→Use 'kubectl get gateway' to verify your Gateway setup.
→Limit allowedRoutes in production to enhance security.

Why it matters

Understanding the Gateway API can significantly streamline traffic management in Kubernetes, leading to more efficient service routing and better application performance.

Code examples

Bash

kind create cluster

Bash

VERSION="$(basename $(curl -s -L -o /dev/null -w '%{url_effective}' https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cloud-provider-kind/releases/latest))"
docker run -d --name cloud-provider-kind --rm --network host -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock registry.k8s.io/cloud-provider-kind/cloud-controller-manager:${VERSION}

YAML

1---
2apiVersion: v1
3kind: Namespace
4metadata:
5  name: gateway-infra
6---
7apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
8kind: Gateway
9metadata:
10  name: gateway
11  namespace: gateway-infra
12spec:
13  gatewayClassName: cloud-provider-kind
14  listeners:
15  - name: default
16    hostname: "*.exampledomain.example"
17    port: 80
18    protocol: HTTP
19    allowedRoutes:
20      namespaces:
21        from: All