Copy page

Example apps

API Gateways: Tyk

An API gateway is the entry point to your services, handling authentication, routing, rate-limiting, and observability at the edge of your infrastructure. API traffic fluctuates, so a gateway that scales to zero when idle and starts in milliseconds when traffic returns keeps your API edge ready without paying for it overnight.

This example uses Tyk, an API gateway and management platform. Tyk is used together with Redis to store API tokens and OAuth clients.

To run this example, follow these steps:

1. Install the unikraft CLI. You need a BuildKit builder. The easiest way to get one is via Docker. Alternatively, you can also directly set up and use BuildKit, see the quick start.

2. Clone the examples repository and cd into the examples/tyk/ directory:

   Code
   git clone https://github.com/unikraft-cloud/examples
   cd examples/tyk/

Make sure to log into Unikraft Cloud and pick a metro close to you. This guide uses fra (Frankfurt, 🇩🇪):

Code
unikraft login

Redis

The REDIS_PASSWORD environment variable sets the Redis requirepass directive. If not provided, it defaults to unikraft. Build and deploy the Redis instance (used internally by Tyk):

Code
unikraft build ./redis --output <my-org>/redis:latest
unikraft run --metro fra \
  -m 256M \
  --scale-to-zero policy=idle,cooldown-time=1000,stateful=true \
  --domain tyk-redis.internal \
  -e REDIS_PASSWORD=unikraft \
  --image <my-org>/redis:latest

Make sure to replace <my-org> with your username / org-name in the unikraft CLI commands above.

The output shows the Redis instance details:

Code
metro:           fra
name:            redis-6vgvc
uuid:            63b86d17-06ca-4f95-b921-56e5b3245554
state:           starting
image:           <my-org>/redis
resources:
  memory:        256MiB
  vcpus:         1
service:
  name:          snowy-water-wivk1i4r
  uuid:          6612de91-d639-4b5a-95d1-b7ae6e91e3c1
  domains:
  - fqdn:        tyk-redis.internal
networks:
- uuid:          19e4b80a-9501-448d-99a6-ec3f7b90805e
  private-ip:    10.0.0.29
  mac:           12:b0:0a:00:01:49
timestamps:
  created:       just now
scale-to-zero:
  enabled:       true
  policy:        idle
  stateful:      true
  cooldown-time: 1s

Tyk

Build and deploy the Tyk instance. Set TYK_GW_STORAGE_HOST to the same internal domain you assigned to the Redis instance (tyk-redis.internal in this guide). If TYK_GW_STORAGE_HOST is unset, Tyk tries to connect to a Redis instance at tyk-redis.internal by default.

Code
unikraft build ./tyk --output <my-org>/tyk:latest
unikraft run --metro fra \
  -m 256M \
  -p 443:8080/tls+http \
  --scale-to-zero policy=on,cooldown-time=1000 \
  -e TYK_GW_STORAGE_PASSWORD=unikraft \
  -e TYK_GW_STORAGE_HOST=tyk-redis.internal \
  --image <my-org>/tyk:latest

Make sure to replace <my-org> with your username / org-name in the unikraft CLI commands above.

The output shows the Tyk instance details:

Code
metro:        fra
name:         tyk-s9ixd
uuid:         4e8a5e56-2d0b-4ca4-88b4-aa816129a66d
state:        starting
image:        <my-org>/tyk
resources:
  memory:     256MiB
  vcpus:      1
service:
  name:       icy-haze-8ph4u8cz
  uuid:       89079646-353a-4a19-99ac-5498c7d626ad
  domains:
  - fqdn:     icy-haze-8ph4u8cz.fra.unikraft.app
networks:
- uuid:       8085804f-0fe0-4847-ad6e-8518edba126e
  private-ip: 10.0.0.1
  mac:        12:b0:0a:00:0e:b1
timestamps:
  created:    just now

In this case, the instance names are redis-6vgvc and tyk-s9ixd, and the Tyk address is https://icy-haze-8ph4u8cz.fra.unikraft.app. They're different for each run.

Use curl to query the Tyk instance on Unikraft Cloud:

Code
curl https://icy-haze-8ph4u8cz.fra.unikraft.app/hello

Code
{"status":"pass","version":"v5.3.0-dev","description":"Tyk GW","details":{"redis":{"status":"pass","componentType":"datastore","time":"2026-05-25T12:26:07Z"}}}

You can list information about the instances by running:

Code
unikraft instances list

Code
METRO  NAME         STATE   IMAGE           MEMORY  VCPUS  FQDN                                CREATED
fra    tyk-s9ixd    standby <my-org>/tyk    256MiB  1      icy-haze-8ph4u8cz.fra.unikraft.app  just now
fra    redis-6vgvc  running <my-org>/redis  256MiB  1      tyk-redis.internal                  1 minute ago

When done, you can remove the instances:

Code
unikraft instances delete redis-6vgvc tyk-s9ixd

Customize your app

To customize the Tyk app, you can update:

• Kraftfile: the Unikraft Cloud specification
• Dockerfile / rootfs/: the Tyk filesystem (in this case the configuration file /etc/tyk.conf)

It's unlikely you will have to update the Kraftfile specification.

Update the contents of the rootfs/etc/tyk.conf file for a different configuration.

You can also update the Dockerfile in order to extend the Tyk filesystem with extra data files or configuration files.

Learn more

Use the --help option for detailed information on using Unikraft Cloud:

Code
unikraft --help

Or visit the CLI Reference.