Building a Scalable API Gateway with YARP in .NET
Luis Gabriel Ahumada
Full Stack Developer | C#| .Net | API | SQL | Azure | Entity Framework | React | Vue | Angular | Razor | CI/CD Pipelines| Docker | Git | Swagger | Agile Methodologies
Introduction
In modern microservices architecture, managing multiple APIs efficiently is a challenge. An API Gateway serves as a single entry point, handling authentication, routing, and security. While Ocelot has been widely used for this purpose in .NET, YARP (Yet Another Reverse Proxy) is emerging as a powerful alternative for performance, flexibility, and scalability.
In this article, I will explain why YARP is a great choice for API Gateway development, how to implement it in a .NET application, and key optimizations to ensure a seamless integration.
?? Why Choose YARP Over Other API Gateways?
YARP is a highly customizable reverse proxy built by Microsoft for .NET applications. It offers several advantages over other solutions:
? Performance: Built with .NET and optimized for high throughput.
? Customization: Fully configurable with C# and JSON without complex rules.
? Integration with ASP.NET Core: Works seamlessly with Middleware, Authentication, and Authorization.
? Scalability: Supports load balancing, retries, and dynamic route updates.
? Security: Provides rate limiting, request filtering, and TLS termination.
?? Setting Up API Gateway with YARP in .NET 8
Let’s set up a simple API Gateway using YARP in a .NET 8 application.
1?? Install YARP
First, install the YARP NuGet package:
2?? Configure appsettings.json for Routing
Define the routes and clusters in appsettings.json:
? This configuration maps:
3?? Configure YARP in Startup.cs
Modify Startup.cs to load YARP configuration and register the reverse proxy:
4?? Run and Test API Gateway
Run the API Gateway and backend services:
Then, test the gateway with Postman or Curl:
?? Advanced Features for Production
Once the basic setup is done, you can optimize YARP for production:
? Authentication & Authorization – Secure endpoints with JWT, OAuth, or API keys.
? Rate Limiting – Prevent abuse with IP-based request limits.
? Load Balancing – Distribute traffic across multiple backend instances.
? Caching & Compression – Improve performance by caching frequent responses.
? Logging & Monitoring – Use Application Insights or Serilog to track API performance.
?? Final Thoughts
YARP is a powerful and flexible solution for building an API Gateway in .NET. It provides high performance, easy configuration, and deep integration with ASP.NET Core. Whether you're working with microservices, cloud applications, or distributed systems, YARP is an excellent choice to manage API traffic efficiently.
?? What do you think about using YARP for API Gateway? Have you tried it before? Let’s discuss in the comments! ??
Full Stack Developer | C#| .Net | API | SQL | Azure | Entity Framework | React | Vue | Angular | Razor | CI/CD Pipelines| Docker | Git | Swagger | Agile Methodologies
3 天前Fix: Debug 502 Bad Gateway (Service Not Found) If API Gateway returns 502 Bad Gateway, check: Is the backend running? (curl -v https://localhost:5001) Is YARP using the correct protocol? Does the backend require authentication? Try forcing HTTP/1.1 in appsettings.json: "HttpRequest": { ?"Version": "1.1", ?"Timeout": "60s", ?"Retries": "5" } Fix: Debugging API Requests To track what’s happening inside YARP, enable request logging in Startup.cs: app.Use(async (context, next) => { ??Console.WriteLine($"?? Request: {context.Request.Method} {context.Request.Path}"); ??await next(); ??Console.WriteLine($"?? Response: {context.Response.StatusCode}"); });