AWS API Gateway
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
API Gateway is the bouncer at your API nightclub. Every request has to go through it — it checks IDs (auth), enforces the dress code (rate limiting), and directs people to the right room (routing). It sits in front of your Lambdas, containers, or servers and handles all the boring stuff so your code doesn't have to.
Real Talk
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service for creating, publishing, and securing REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs at any scale. It handles traffic management, authorization, throttling, monitoring, and API versioning. It integrates natively with Lambda, HTTP endpoints, and other AWS services.
When You'll Hear This
"All our Lambdas are behind API Gateway with rate limiting." / "API Gateway handles the auth token validation before requests hit our services."
Related Terms
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is like a menu at a restaurant. The kitchen (server) can do a bunch of things, but you can only order what's on the menu.
Rate Limiting
Rate limiting is like a bouncer who says 'you can come in 100 times per hour, then you wait.
REST (Representational State Transfer)
REST is a set of rules for how APIs should behave. Think of it as the etiquette guide for servers and clients talking to each other.
Serverless
Serverless doesn't mean there are no servers — it means YOU don't have to think about servers. Someone else manages them, scales them, and patches them.