--- title: "API Platform Gateway Quick Start Guide" description: "Run API Platform Gateway in standalone mode with Docker Compose, deploy your first REST API, and invoke it through the gateway in minutes." canonical_url: https://wso2.com/api-platform/docs/api-gateway/1.0.0/quick-start-guide/ md_url: https://wso2.com/api-platform/docs/api-gateway/1.0.0/quick-start-guide.md tags: - api-gateway - quickstart - docker author: WSO2 API Platform Documentation Team last_updated: 2026-08-11 content_type: "quickstart" --- # Quick Start Guide This guide walks you through running the API Platform Gateway in standalone mode using Docker Compose. Follow these steps to get your gateway running, deploy a REST API, and invoke it in minutes. ## Overview The API Platform Gateway in standalone mode runs entirely in your own infrastructure without requiring a connection to any external control plane. All API configurations are managed directly through the gateway's built-in management API. This guide covers the fastest way to get started. ## Prerequisites Before you begin, ensure you have: - **wget** or **curl** installed - **unzip** installed - A Compose-compatible container runtime, such as Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop or Podman, Rancher Desktop, Colima, or Docker Engine with the Compose plugin These examples use `docker compose`. If you use another Compose-compatible runtime, use the equivalent commands. Verify the commands for your runtime are available. For Docker: ```bash docker --version docker compose version ``` ## Setup Gateway ### Step 1: Download the Gateway Run this command in your terminal to download and unzip the API Platform Gateway distribution: ```bash wget https://github.com/wso2/api-platform/releases/download/gateway/v1.0.0/wso2apip-api-gateway-1.0.0.zip unzip wso2apip-api-gateway-1.0.0.zip ``` ### Step 2: Start the Gateway Navigate to the extracted directory and start the complete gateway stack using Docker Compose: ```bash cd wso2apip-api-gateway-1.0.0/ docker compose up -d ``` !!! tip "Port 8080, 8443, 9090, or 9094 already taken?" If the start command fails with a port binding error, identify what is already listening on the default ports: On macOS or Linux, run: ```bash lsof -nP -iTCP:8080 -sTCP:LISTEN lsof -nP -iTCP:8443 -sTCP:LISTEN lsof -nP -iTCP:9090 -sTCP:LISTEN lsof -nP -iTCP:9094 -sTCP:LISTEN ``` On Windows PowerShell, run: ```powershell Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen -LocalPort 8080,8443,9090,9094 | Select-Object LocalAddress, LocalPort, OwningProcess ``` Stop the conflicting service if you don't need it. If you need to keep it running, change the host-side value of the relevant `ports:` mapping in `docker-compose.yaml`. Then use the remapped host port in the verification and test commands on this page. ### Step 3: Verify the Gateway Check that the gateway controller is up and healthy: ```bash # Check container status docker compose ps # Check gateway health curl http://localhost:9094/api/admin/v0.9/health ``` A successful response confirms the gateway is running and ready to accept API configurations. ## Deploy an API ### Step 1: Deploy an API Configuration Use the gateway's management API to deploy a sample Reading List REST API: ```bash curl -X POST http://localhost:9090/api/management/v0.9/rest-apis \ -u admin:admin \ -H "Content-Type: application/yaml" \ --data-binary @- <<'EOF' apiVersion: gateway.api-platform.wso2.com/v1alpha1 kind: RestApi metadata: name: reading-list-api-v1.0 spec: displayName: Reading-List-API version: v1.0 context: /reading-list/$version upstream: main: url: https://apis.bijira.dev/samples/reading-list-api-service/v1.0 policies: - name: set-headers version: v1 params: request: headers: - name: x-wso2-apip-gateway-version value: v1.0.0 response: headers: - name: x-environment value: development operations: - method: GET path: /books - method: POST path: /books - method: GET path: /books/{id} - method: PUT path: /books/{id} - method: DELETE path: /books/{id} EOF ``` ### Step 2: Invoke the API Send a request to the deployed API through the gateway: **Over HTTP:** ```bash curl -i http://localhost:8080/reading-list/v1.0/books ``` **Over HTTPS (with self-signed certificate):** ```bash curl -ik https://localhost:8443/reading-list/v1.0/books ``` A successful response returns a list of books from the upstream service, confirming that the gateway is routing traffic correctly. ## Stopping the Gateway When you are done, you have two options for stopping the gateway: ### Keep data and configurations ```bash docker compose down ``` This stops the containers but preserves the `controller-data` volume. When you restart with `docker compose up`, all your deployed API configurations will be restored. ### Delete data for a fresh start ```bash docker compose down -v ``` This stops the containers and removes the `controller-data` volume. The next startup will be a clean slate with no persisted APIs or configuration. ## Next Steps Your standalone gateway is now running! Here's what to do next: - **Configure Policies**: Apply traffic management, security, and transformation [policies](policies/overview.md) to your APIs - **Connect to API Platform Cloud**: Run the gateway as a [Self-Hosted Gateway](../../cloud/api-platform-gateway/getting-started.md) connected to the API Platform control plane for centralized management and analytics ## Advanced Configuration For production environments or specific infrastructure requirements, see the detailed setup guides: - [Gateway Artifact Templating](setup/artifact-templating.md): Customize gateway artifacts using templates - [Configuring External Storage and Backends](setup/storage-and-backends.md): Set up external storage and backend connections - [Gateway Upstream Timeouts](setup/upstream-timeouts.md): Configure timeout settings for upstream services ## Troubleshooting If the gateway does not start or the health check fails: 1. **Check container status**: Run `docker compose ps` to see which containers are running 2. **View logs**: Run `docker compose logs -f` to inspect gateway logs for errors 3. **Verify ports**: Ensure ports `8080`, `8443`, `9090`, and `9094` are not already in use on your machine 4. **Restart cleanly**: Run `docker compose down -v` and then `docker compose up -d` to start fresh