API gateways enable external network clients to securely access applications and services running in a Consul datacenter. Consul API gateways can also forward requests from clients to specific destinations in the service mesh based on request's path or protocol.

To enable an API gateway, you must configure the gateway, its listeners, and its routes. Refer to [API gateway overview](/consul/docs/north-south/api-gateway) for more about deploying API gateways to your Consul service mesh.