decK Documentation

This page is an introduction to decK, a command line tool for API Lifecycle Automation.

Learn how to install decK and use it to configure Kong Gateway

Configure decK using CLI flags, environment variables, or a configuration file

decK can be used to configure RBAC rules in Kong Gateway Enterprise

The decK version support policy outlines the decK versioning scheme and version lifecycle.

Learn how the decK state file format and Kong's DB-less declarative format differ, including when to use each one, metadata fields, and entity representation differences.

Install a binary package on Windows

Use Homebrew to install decK

Install a .deb or .rpm package, or install a binary

Create an alias to run deck via Docker

Use the kong/setup-deck action to run in CI/CD

Configure decK for use with an on-prem Kong Gateway

Configure decK for use with Konnect.

Manage AI Gateway entities on-prem with decK.

Export the current state of AI Gateway to a file.

Update AI Gateway to match the state defined in the provided configuration.

Manage Kong Gateway declaratively

Diff the current state of Kong Gateway against the provided configuration.

Update Kong Gateway to match the state defined in the provided configuration.

Export the current state of Kong Gateway to a file.

Apply configuration to Kong without deleting existing entities.

Validate the data in the provided state file against a live Admin API.

Verify that decK can talk to the configured Admin API.

Delete all entities in Kong Gateway.

Segment your configuration in to multiple files using tags.

Manage configuration in multiple Workspaces.

Configure your RBAC configuration declaratively with decK.

Reference predefined Plugin configurations in your declarative configuration.

Set custom defaults for Kong Gateway entities.

Keep your secrets safe using Kong Gateway Vaults with decK.

Manipulate a decK configuration file programmatically. Layer in additional configuration and lint against your governance rules.

Validate your declarative configuration locally against predefined schemas

Validate your decK configuration file against predefined rules.

Convert a state file that uses the AI Gateway 2.0 entity model to Kong Services and Routes.

Convert an OpenAPI specification to Kong Services and Routes.

Convert an OpenAPI specification to a Gateway Service with an MCP Route, an AI MCP Proxy plugin, and MCP tools.

Convert a Kong declarative configuration file to Kong Ingress Controller compatible CRDs. Supports both Gateway API and Ingress resources.

Convert a Kong declarative configuration file to Terraform manifests (Konnect only).

Update values in a Kong declarative configuration file.

Manage plugin configurations in a Kong declarative configuration file.

Manage tags in a Kong declarative configuration file.

Apply a namespace to Routes in a decK file by path or hostname.

Render the final configuration sent to the Admin API in a single file.

Merge multiple files in to a single file, leaving env variables in place.

Convert decK files from one format to another, for example Kong Gateway 2.x to 3.x

Convert decK files between decK and DB-less declarative formats.

Manage Kong Gateway declaratively

Run decK in CI/CD systems

Allow independent teams to manage their own configuration in a distributed way

Understand which entities decK can manage

Use decK to upgrade from Kong Gateway 2.x to 3.x

Reference environment variables within your decK state files to pass per-environment configuration at runtime