The Rule object (technically known as ForwardingRule) defines how the AI Gateway matches incoming requests and forwards them to the appropriate Service. It acts as the routing layer that connects paths, methods, headers, and plugins with specific backend services.

Rules allow fine-grained control over traffic behavior, request transformation, and gateway logic through plugins.

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Fields Reference

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Top-Level Fields

  • service_id (string) References the target Service that should handle requests matching this rule.

  • path (string) The path pattern to match for routing. Example: /v1/chat or /api/*.

  • methods (array of strings) HTTP methods that this rule applies to. For example: ["GET", "POST"]. Supports standard HTTP verbs such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.

  • headers (object) Optional key-value pairs used for matching request headers. Only requests with matching headers will trigger this rule.

  • strip_path (boolean) If true, the matched path prefix will be stripped before forwarding the request to the backend service.

    • Example:
      • Incoming: /api/v1/chat
      • Target path: /chat (after stripping /api/v1)

  • preserve_host (boolean) If true, the original Host header from the client request is preserved. If false, the gateway may override it with the target host.

  • plugin_chain (array of plugin configs) An ordered list of plugins to apply before the request is forwarded. Plugins can modify the request, enforce auth, log metrics, etc.

  • active (boolean) If false, the rule is disabled and will not be used by the gateway.

  • public (boolean) If true, this rule can be matched by unauthenticated or external clients. Use with caution for exposing public endpoints.

  • retry_attempts (number) Number of retry attempts the gateway should make on failure before returning an error to the client.

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Plugin Chain

The plugin_chain field allows you to apply custom processing steps to the request before it reaches the service.

Each plugin in the chain follows a common format:

  • name (string) Identifier of the plugin (e.g., "rate_limit", "data_masking").

  • config (object) Plugin-specific configuration.

Plugins are applied in the order they appear in the array. For example:

[
  {
    "name": "rate_limit",
    "config": {
      "limit": 100,
      "window_seconds": 60
    }
  }
]