Cilium Gateway API Basics: Routing and Header Modifications

In this post, we’ll explore how to configure traffic routing using Kubernetes Gateway API. We’ll cover different routing techniques and header manipulation examples — all with simple, clear YAML snippets.

Jump to a section below:

• Creating an HTTPRoute for Traffic Routing
• Routing Based on Header Match
• Routing Based on Query Parameter Match
• Request Header Modifier Example (Add, Set, Remove)
• Response Header Modifier Example (Add, Set, Remove)

First, we create a new namespace called app-ns to keep our apps separate. Next, we start two small apps called echo-1 and echo-2. These apps send a message when someone talks to them:

• echo-1 says “Hello from echo-1”
• echo-2 says “Hello from echo-2”

Each app runs one copy and listens on port 8080.

Then, we open these apps to the outside by making a Service on port 80. This lets other apps connect easily.

kubectl -n app-ns create namespace app-ns

kubectl -n app-ns create deployment echo-1 --image=hashicorp/http-echo --replicas=1 -- \
  -text="Hello from echo-1" -listen=:8080

kubectl -n app-ns expose deployment echo-1 --port=80 --target-port=8080

kubectl -n app-ns create deployment echo-2 --image=hashicorp/http-echo --replicas=1 -- \
  -text="Hello from echo-2" -listen=:8080

kubectl -n app-ns expose deployment echo-2 --port=80 --target-port=8080

In this step, we create a Gateway resource in the app-ns namespace. The Gateway is named demo-gateway. It uses the cilium GatewayClass, which means Cilium will manage this Gateway. We define one listener that listens for HTTP traffic on port 80.

The listener allows routing only from services inside the same namespace (app-ns).

This Gateway acts like an entry point that controls how HTTP traffic comes into our cluster. It will help us test Cilium’s advanced networking features like routing and traffic management between our echo services.

kubectl -n app-ns apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Gateway
metadata:
  name: demo-gateway
spec:
  gatewayClassName: cilium
  listeners:
  - name: http
    protocol: HTTP
    port: 80
    allowedRoutes:
      namespaces:
        from: Same
EOF

Now, let’s check the status of our gateway to see if it’s ready.

kubectl -n app-ns get gateway demo-gateway -o wide

We check the demo-gateway status with this command. The gateway is managed by Cilium and has been assigned the external IP address 192.168.49.20 by the load balancer. The PROGRAMMED status shows True, which means the gateway is active and ready to handle traffic. Now, we can use this IP to test routing and other features through the Cilium Gateway API.

Creating an HTTPRoute for Traffic Routing

kubectl -n app-ns apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: echo-routing
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: demo-gateway
  rules:
  - matches:
    - path:
        type: PathPrefix
        value: /echo1
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-1
      port: 80
  - matches:
    - path:
        type: PathPrefix
        value: /echo2
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-2
      port: 80
EOF

Here, we create an HTTPRoute resource named echo-routing in the app-ns namespace.

• This route links to the demo-gateway we created earlier (using parentRefs).

• It defines two rules to direct HTTP traffic based on the request path:

  • Requests starting with /echo1 are sent to the echo-1 service on port 80.

  • Requests starting with /echo2 are sent to the echo-2 service on port 80.

With this setup, the gateway will route incoming traffic to different backend services depending on the URL path. This helps us test Cilium Gateway API’s traffic routing capabilities.

First, we find the external IP address of our gateway with this command:

GATEWAY=$(kubectl -n app-ns get gateway demo-gateway -o jsonpath='{.status.addresses[0].value}')  

echo $GATEWAY

It returns 192.168.49.20, which is the load balancer IP where our gateway listens. Now, let’s test the routing by sending HTTP requests with curl

curl http://$GATEWAY/echo1
Hello from echo-1

curl http://$GATEWAY/echo2
Hello from echo-2

These results confirm that our gateway and routing rules work perfectly — traffic is correctly sent to the right service based on the URL path.

Routing Based on Header Match

In this example, we create an HTTPRoute called header-match-example in the app-ns namespace.

apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: header-match-example
  namespace: app-ns
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: demo-gateway
  rules:
  - matches:
    - headers:
        - name: X-Region
          value: tr
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-1
      port: 80
  - backendRefs:
    - name: echo-2
      port: 80

• The route links to our demo-gateway.
• It has two rules:
  • If the incoming HTTP request has a header X-Region with the value tr, traffic is routed to echo-1.
  • If the header is missing or different, traffic goes to echo-2.

Testing with curl:

• Sending a request with the header X-Region: tr:

curl -H "X-Region: tr" http://$GATEWAY/
Hello from echo-1

• Sending a request without that header:

curl http://$GATEWAY/
Hello from echo-2

This shows how Cilium Gateway API can route traffic based on HTTP headers, enabling advanced traffic control.

Routing Based on Query Parameter Match

In this example, we create an HTTPRoute named query-param-match in the app-ns namespace.

apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: query-param-match
  namespace: app-ns
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: demo-gateway
  rules:
  - matches:
    - queryParams:
        - name: user
          value: admin
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-1
      port: 80
  - backendRefs:
    - name: echo-2
      port: 80

• The route connects to the demo-gateway.
• It has two rules:
  • If the URL contains the query parameter user=admin, traffic is routed to echo-1.
  • For all other cases (different or missing query parameter), traffic goes to echo-2.

Testing with curl :

• Request with ?user=admin :

curl "http://$GATEWAY/?user=admin"
Hello from echo-1

• Request without the user query parameter:

curl "http://$GATEWAY/"
Hello from echo-2

This demonstrates how Cilium Gateway API can route traffic based on query parameters, allowing flexible traffic control.

Request Header Modifier Example (Add, Set, Remove)

In this example, we create an HTTPRoute named request-header-mod in the app-ns namespace.

• The route is linked to the demo-gateway.
• It matches requests with the path prefix /header-mod.
• For these requests, we apply a RequestHeaderModifier filter that:
  • Adds a header X-Debug: true
  • Sets (overrides) the value of X-User header to "override" if it exists
  • Removes the header X-Remove-Me if it is present
• After modifying headers, the request is routed to the echo-1 service on port 80.

apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: request-header-mod
  namespace: app-ns
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: demo-gateway
  rules:
  - matches:
    - path:
        type: PathPrefix
        value: /header-mod
    filters:
    - type: RequestHeaderModifier
      requestHeaderModifier:
        add:
          - name: X-Debug
            value: "true"
        set:
          - name: X-User
            value: "override"
        remove:
          - X-Remove-Me
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-1
      port: 80

Use curl to send requests with different headers to test the behavior:

curl -v -H "X-User: original" -H "X-Remove-Me: remove-this" http://$GATEWAY/header-mod

Expected behavior:

• X-Debug: true header is added
• X-User header value is changed to "override"
• X-Remove-Me header is removed

Response Header Modifier Example (Add, Set, Remove)

In this example, we create an HTTPRoute named response-header-mod in the app-ns namespace.

apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: response-header-mod
  namespace: app-ns
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: demo-gateway
  rules:
  - matches:
    - path:
        type: PathPrefix
        value: /resp-header
    filters:
    - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
      responseHeaderModifier:
        add:
          - name: X-Trace
            value: active
        set:
          - name: X-Powered-By
            value: cilium
        remove:
          - X-Remove-This
    backendRefs:
    - name: echo-2
      port: 80

• The route matches requests with the path prefix /resp-header.
• It is linked to the demo-gateway.
• It applies a ResponseHeaderModifier filter that:
  • Adds the header X-Trace: active
  • Sets (overrides) the header X-Powered-By to cilium if it exists
  • Removes the header X-Remove-This if present
• Requests matching this route are sent to the echo-2 service on port 80.

When you run the command:

curl -i http://$GATEWAY/resp-header

...
x-powered-by: cilium
x-trace: active

along with other default headers like content-type, date, etc.

Thanks for reading! Hope this gave you a clear idea of how to use Gateway API for advanced routing.
Feel free to explore, experiment, and make it your own.

📚 If you’re curious to learn more

• Cilium Gateway API HTTP Routing (Official Documentation)
• Tutorial: Getting Started with the Cilium Gateway API