# emissary-ingress/emissary

open source Kubernetes-native API gateway for microservices built on the Envoy Proxy

Repository: https://github.com/emissary-ingress/emissary
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/emissary
Homepage: https://emissary-ingress.dev/
Language: Python
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: ambassador, kubernetes, gateway-api, microservice, cloud-native, api-gateway, docker, api-management, kubernetes-ingress, envoy-proxy, envoy, kubernetes-annotations
Last push: 2026-08-24T21:56:19+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3443, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 106, "gap_med": 146.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4519, forks 706 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:52.722560+00:00)

## What it is
Emissary-ingress is an open-source, Kubernetes-native API gateway, Layer 7 load balancer, and Kubernetes Ingress built on Envoy Proxy. It is a CNCF incubation project (formerly Ambassador API Gateway) configured declaratively via Kubernetes CRDs or annotations.

## Use cases
- expose microservices behind a Kubernetes API gateway
- manage ingress traffic and load balancing for a Kubernetes cluster
- route gRPC, HTTP/2, TCP, and WebSocket traffic to services
- add authentication, rate limiting, and TLS to APIs
- run canary releases and progressive delivery
- integrate ingress with Istio, Linkerd, or Consul service meshes
- monitor API traffic with Prometheus, Grafana, or Datadog

## When to choose
- you run microservices on Kubernetes and need a native, CRD-driven API gateway
- you want Envoy Proxy power with declarative self-service configuration
- you need ingress, auth, rate limiting, and canary delivery in one component
- you want a CNCF-governed open-source alternative to commercial API gateways

## When to avoid
- you are not running Kubernetes or prefer a host-based gateway
- you need a lightweight sidecar-less proxy without cluster CRDs
- you require full API management features like developer portals or monetization
- your team cannot operate Envoy-based infrastructure

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: stable
- function: api-gateway, routing, rate-limiting, auth, load-testing, middleware, http-server, monitoring
- domain: microservices, cloud-computing, apis, backend, networking
- platform: cloud, self-hosted, go, python
- tags: envoy-proxy, ingress, gateway-api, cncf, layer-7-load-balancing, canary-releases, service-mesh, grpc, tls, observability, devops, containers, kubernetes, docker

## Member repositories
- emissary-ingress/emissary (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:52.722560+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:20:18.174409+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/emissary-ingress/emissary (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:52.722560+00:00, sha bec5720403bd)
  - homepage: https://emissary-ingress.dev/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.255873+00:00, sha 6654ab0a211e)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/4.1 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.264922+00:00, sha 7df8331c43a5)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/4.1/quick-start (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.266810+00:00, sha 961a2ffea388)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/4.0 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.268929+00:00, sha 99ff7cfa8e7d)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/3.10 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.270682+00:00, sha ad96b174c620)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/3.9 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.272473+00:00, sha ea8f36955302)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/3.8 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.273978+00:00, sha 00b77c321c20)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/3.7 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.275366+00:00, sha 72d86b3423d1)
  - site_page: https://emissary-ingress.dev/docs/3.6 (fetched 2026-08-29T09:06:24.276762+00:00, sha 8110bf80ef83)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.