API Management

Set up a basic gateway - Editor

API Gateway tutorialLocal with an editorStep 1 of 5

Create a project and test a request through Zuplo to a sample backend. This is the starting point for the API Gateway tutorial.

Follow along using

In this tutorial we'll set up a simple gateway using Zuplo's local development, powered by the Zuplo CLI. We'll use the default project template, which ships with a working todo API.

Requirements

Node.js 24.0.0 or higher

Create and test your gateway

Create your project

Create a new project with create-zuplo-api:
```
Code
npx create-zuplo-api@latest
```
The CLI walks you through a few prompts. First, name your project:
```
Code
✔ What is your project named? … example-project
```
Next, the CLI offers to create a matching project on the Zuplo Portal. Answer Yes — this opens your browser to sign in (or create a free account) and creates a Zuplo project to pair with your local one. If you already have an account, you'll be asked which one to use.
```
Code
? Create a matching project on portal.zuplo.com? › No / Yes
```
Creating the matching project automatically links your local project to Zuplo, so features like API keys work in later steps without any extra setup.

Finally, select any AI coding agents you'd like to configure, or choose None:
```
Code
? Which AI coding agents would you like to configure? › - Space to select. Return to submit
◯   Claude Code - CLAUDE.md, .claude/, .mcp.json
◯   GitHub Copilot
◯   Cursor
◯   Windsurf
◯   OpenAI Codex
◯   None
```

Start your local gateway

Change into your new project directory and start the development server:

Code
cd example-project
npm run dev

The terminal prints links to your local gateway, Route Designer, and a local Docs Server:

Code
Started local development setup
Ctrl+C to exit

🚀 Zuplo Gateway: http://localhost:9000
📘 Route Designer: http://localhost:9100
📄 Docs Server: http://localhost:9200
⚙️  Loaded env files:
    - .env.zuplo

Explore your API

The default template ships with a working todo API — four routes (GET /todos, POST /todos, PUT /todos/{id}, DELETE /todos/{id}) defined in config/routes.oas.json.

Open the local Route Designer at http://localhost:9100 — you can also click the link printed in the terminal — to see the routes. Select Get all todos to inspect how it's configured; you can change the path, method, request handler, and add policies from here.
Test the API

Test the Get all todos route by clicking the Test button next to the Path field in the Route Designer.

You can also call it directly with your favorite HTTP client (for example Postman, HTTPie, or curl):
```
Code
curl http://localhost:9000/todos
```
You should receive a 200 OK response with a JSON list of todos. Your gateway is now serving traffic locally.