Reference

Reference

Block Reference

Server Block

The server block is one of the root configuration blocks of Couper's configuration file.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`server`	-	optional	CORS Block, Files Block, SPA Block , API Block(s), Endpoint Block(s)

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`base_path`	string	-	Configures the path prefix for all requests.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	`base_path = "/api"`
`hosts`	list	port `:8080`	-	⚠ required, if there is more than one `server` block. ⚠ Only one `hosts` attribute per `server` block is allowed.	`hosts = ["example.com", "localhost:9090"]`
`error_file`	string	-	Location of the error file template.	-	`error_file = "./my_error_page.html"`
`access_control`	list	-	Sets predefined Access Control for `server` block context.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	`access_control = ["foo"]`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

Files Block

The files block configures the file serving.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`files`	Server Block	no label	CORS Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`base_path`	string	-	Configures the path prefix for all requests.	-	`base_path = "/files"`
`document_root`	string	-	Location of the document root.	⚠ required	`document_root = "./htdocs"`
`error_file`	string	-	Location of the error file template.	-	-
`access_control`	list	-	Sets predefined Access Control for `files` block context.	-	`access_control = ["foo"]`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

SPA Block

The spa block configures the Web serving for SPA assets.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`spa`	Server Block	no label	CORS Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`base_path`	string	-	Configures the path prefix for all requests.	-	`base_path = "/assets"`
`bootstrap_file`	string	-	Location of the bootstrap file.	⚠ required	`bootstrap_file = "./htdocs/index.html"`
`paths`	list	-	List of SPA paths that need the bootstrap file.	⚠ required	`paths = ["/app/**"]`
`access_control`	list	-	Sets predefined Access Control for `spa` block context.	-	`access_control = ["foo"]`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

API Block

The api block bundles endpoints under a certain base_path.

⚠ If an error occurred for api endpoints the response gets processed as json error with an error body payload. This can be customized via error_file.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`api`	Server Block	Optional	Endpoint Block(s), CORS Block, Error Handler Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`base_path`	string	-	Configures the path prefix for all requests.	⚠ Must be unique if multiple `api` blocks are defined.	`base_path = "/v1"`
`error_file`	string	-	Location of the error file template.	-	`error_file = "./my_error_body.json"`
`access_control`	list	-	Sets predefined Access Control for `api` block context.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	`access_control = ["foo"]`
`allowed_methods`	tuple of string	`["*"]` == `["GET", "HEAD", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]`	Sets allowed methods as default for all contained endpoints. Requests with a method that is not allowed result in an error response with a `405 Method Not Allowed` status.	The default value `*` can be combined with additional methods. Methods are matched case-insensitively. `Access-Control-Allow-Methods` is only sent in response to a CORS preflight request, if the method requested by `Access-Control-Request-Method` is an allowed method.	`allowed_methods = ["GET", "POST"]` or `allowed_methods = ["*", "BREW"]`
`beta_scope`	string or object	-	Scope value required to use this API (see error type `beta_insufficient_scope`).	If the value is a string, the same scope value applies to all request methods. If there are different scope values for different request methods, use an object with the request methods as keys and string values. Methods not specified in this object are not permitted (see error type `beta_operation_denied`). `"*"` is the key for "all other methods". A value `""` means "no (additional) scope required".	`beta_scope = "read"` or `beta_scope = { post = "write", "*" = "" }`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

Endpoint Block

endpoint blocks define the entry points of Couper. The required label defines the path suffix for the incoming client request. The path attribute changes the path for the outgoing request (compare path mapping example). Each endpoint block must produce an explicit or implicit client response.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`endpoint`	Server Block, API Block	⚠ required, defines the path suffix for incoming client requests	Proxy Block(s), Request Block(s), Response Block, Error Handler Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`request_body_limit`	string	`64MiB`	Configures the maximum buffer size while accessing `request.form_body` or `request.json_body` content.	⚠ Valid units are: `KiB, MiB, GiB`	`request_body_limit = "200KiB"`
`path`	string	-	Changeable part of the upstream URL. Changes the path suffix of the outgoing request.	-	-
`access_control`	list	-	Sets predefined Access Control for `endpoint` block context.	-	`access_control = ["foo"]`
`allowed_methods`	tuple of string	`["*"]` == `["GET", "HEAD", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"]`	Sets allowed methods overriding a default set in the containing `api` block. Requests with a method that is not allowed result in an error response with a `405 Method Not Allowed` status.	The default value `*` can be combined with additional methods. Methods are matched case-insensitively. `Access-Control-Allow-Methods` is only sent in response to a CORS preflight request, if the method requested by `Access-Control-Request-Method` is an allowed method.	`allowed_methods = ["GET", "POST"]` or `allowed_methods = ["*", "BREW"]`
`beta_scope`	string or object	-	Scope value required to use this endpoint (see error type `beta_insufficient_scope`).	If the value is a string, the same scope value applies to all request methods. If there are different scope values for different request methods, use an object with the request methods as keys and string values. Methods not specified in this object are not permitted (see error type `beta_operation_denied`). `"*"` is the key for "all other methods". A value `""` means "no (additional) scope required".	`beta_scope = "read"` or `beta_scope = { post = "write", "*" = "" }`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-
Modifiers	-	-	-	-	-

Endpoint Sequence

If request and/or proxy block definitions are sequential based on their backend_responses.* variable references at load-time they will be executed sequentially. Unexpected responses can be caught with error handling.

Proxy Block

The proxy block creates and executes a proxy request to a backend service.

⚠ Multiple proxy and Request Blocks are executed in parallel.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`proxy`	Endpoint Block	⚠ A `proxy` block or Request Block w/o a label has an implicit label `"default"`. Only one `proxy` block or Request Block w/ label `"default"` per Endpoint Block is allowed.	Backend Block (⚠ required, if no Backend Block reference is defined or no `url` attribute is set.), Websockets Block (⚠ Either websockets attribute or block is allowed.)

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`backend`	string	-	Backend Block reference, defined in Definitions Block	⚠ required, if no Backend Block or `url` attribute is defined.	`backend = "foo"`
`expected_status`	list of number	-	If defined, the response status code will be verified against this list of codes. If the status-code is unexpected an `unexpected_status` error can be handled with an `error_handler`.	-	-
`url`	string	-	If defined, the host part of the URL must be the same as the `origin` attribute of the Backend Block (if defined).	-	-
`websockets`	bool	false	Allows support for websockets. This attribute is only allowed in the 'default' `proxy` block. Other `proxy` blocks, Request Blocks or Response Blocks are not allowed in the current Endpoint Block.	⚠ Either websockets attribute or block is allowed.	`websockets = true`
Modifiers	-	-	-	-	-

Request Block

The request block creates and executes a request to a backend service.

⚠ Multiple Proxy and request blocks are executed in parallel.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`request`	Endpoint Block	⚠ A Proxy Block or Request Block w/o a label has an implicit label `"default"`. Only one Proxy Block or Request Block w/ label `"default"` per Endpoint Block is allowed.	Backend Block (⚠ required, if no `backend` block reference is defined or no `url` attribute is set.

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`backend`	string	-	`backend` block reference, defined in Definitions Block	⚠ required, if no Backend Block is defined.	`backend = "foo"`
`body`	string	-	-	Creates implicit default `Content-Type: text/plain` header field.	-
`expected_status`	list of number	-	If defined, the response status code will be verified against this list of codes. If the status-code is unexpected an `unexpected_status` error can be handled with an `error_handler`.	-	-
`form_body`	map	-	-	Creates implicit default `Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded` header field.	-
`headers`	map	-	-	Same as `set_request_headers` in Request Header.	-
`json_body`	null, bool, number, string, map, list	-	-	Creates implicit default `Content-Type: text/plain` header field.	-
`method`	string	`GET`	-	-	-
`query_params`	-	-	-	Same as `set_query_params` in Query Parameter.	-
`url`	string	-	-	If defined, the host part of the URL must be the same as the `origin` attribute of the used Backend Block or Backend Block Reference (if defined).	-

Response Block

The response block creates and sends a client response.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`response`	Endpoint Block	no label	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`body`	string	-	-	Creates implicit default `Content-Type: text/plain` header field.	-
`json_body`	null, bool, number, string, map, list	-	-	Creates implicit default `Content-Type: application/json` header field.	-
`status`	integer	`200`	HTTP status code.	-	-
`headers`	map	-	Same as `set_response_headers` in Request Header.	-	-

Backend Block

The backend block defines the connection to a local/remote backend service.

⚠ Backends can be defined in the Definitions Block and referenced by label.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`backend`	Definitions Block, Proxy Block, Request Block	⚠ required, when defined in Definitions Block	OpenAPI Block, OAuth2 CC Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`basic_auth`	string	-	Basic auth for the upstream request.	format is `username:password`	-
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	-	-
`hostname`	string	-	Value of the HTTP host header field for the origin request.	Since `hostname` replaces the request host the value will also be used for a server identity check during a TLS handshake with the origin.	-
`origin`	string	-	URL to connect to for backend requests.	⚠ required. ⚠ Must start with the scheme `http://...`.	-
`path`	string	-	Changeable part of upstream URL.	-	-
`path_prefix`	string	-	Prefixes all backend request paths with the given prefix	-	-
`connect_timeout`	duration	`10s`	The total timeout for dialing and connect to the origin.	-	-
`disable_certificate_validation`	bool	`false`	Disables the peer certificate validation.	-	-
`disable_connection_reuse`	bool	`false`	Disables reusage of connections to the origin.	-	-
`http2`	bool	`false`	Enables the HTTP2 support.	-	-
`max_connections`	integer	`0` (unlimited)	The maximum number of concurrent connections in any state (active or idle) to the origin.	-	-
`proxy`	string	-	A proxy URL for the related origin request.	-	`http://SERVER-IP_OR_NAME:PORT`
`timeout`	duration	`300s`	The total deadline duration a backend request has for write and read/pipe.	-	-
`ttfb_timeout`	duration	`60s`	The duration from writing the full request to the origin and receiving the answer.	-	-
Modifiers	-	-	All Modifiers	-	-

Duration

Duration units	Description
`ns`	nanoseconds
`us` (or `µs`)	microseconds
`ms`	milliseconds
`s`	seconds
`m`	minutes
`h`	hours

OpenAPI Block

The openapi block configures the backends proxy behavior to validate outgoing and incoming requests to and from the origin. Preventing the origin from invalid requests, and the Couper client from invalid answers. An example can be found here. To do so Couper uses the OpenAPI 3 standard to load the definitions from a given document defined with the file attribute.

⚠ While ignoring request violations an invalid method or path would lead to a non-matching route which is still required for response validations. In this case the response validation will fail if not ignored too.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`openapi`	Backend Block	-	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`file`	string	-	OpenAPI yaml definition file.	⚠ required	`file = "openapi.yaml"`
`ignore_request_violations`	bool	`false`	Log request validation results, skip error handling.	-	-
`ignore_response_violations`	bool	`false`	Log response validation results, skip error handling.	-	-

CORS Block

The cors block configures the CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) behavior in Couper.

⚠ Overrides the CORS behavior of the parent block.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`cors`	Server Block, Files Block, SPA Block, API Block.	no label	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`allowed_origins`	list	-	A list of allowed origin(s).	Can be either of: a string with a single specific origin, `"*"` (all origins are allowed) or an array of specific origins	`allowed_origins = ["https://www.example.com", "https://www.another.host.org"]`
`allow_credentials`	bool	`false`	Set to `true` if the response can be shared with credentialed requests (containing `Cookie` or `Authorization` HTTP header fields).	-	-
`disable`	bool	`false`	Set to `true` to disable the inheritance of CORS from the Server Block in Files Block, SPA Block and API Block contexts.	-	-
`max_age`	duration	-	Indicates the time the information provided by the `Access-Control-Allow-Methods` and `Access-Control-Allow-Headers` response HTTP header fields.	⚠ Can be cached	`max_age = "1h"`

Note: Access-Control-Allow-Methods is only sent in response to a CORS preflight request, if the method requested by Access-Control-Request-Method is an allowed method (see the allowed_method attribute for api or endpoint blocks).

OAuth2 CC Block

The oauth2 block in the Backend Block context configures the OAuth2 Client Credentials flow to request a bearer token for the backend request.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`oauth2`	Backend Block	no label	Backend Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`backend`	string	-	Backend Block Reference	-	-
`grant_type`	string	-	-	⚠ required, to be set to: `client_credentials`	`grant_type = "client_credentials"`
`token_endpoint`	string	-	URL of the token endpoint at the authorization server.	⚠ required	-
`client_id`	string	-	The client identifier.	⚠ required	-
`client_secret`	string	-	The client password.	⚠ required.	-
`retries`	integer	`1`	The number of retries to get the token and resource, if the resource-request responds with `401 Unauthorized` HTTP status code.	-	-
`token_endpoint_auth_method`	string	`client_secret_basic`	Defines the method to authenticate the client at the token endpoint.	If set to `client_secret_post`, the client credentials are transported in the request body. If set to `client_secret_basic`, the client credentials are transported via Basic Authentication.	-
`scope`	string	-	A space separated list of requested scopes for the access token.	-	`scope = "read write"`

The HTTP header field Accept: application/json is automatically added to the token request. This can be modified with request header modifiers in a backend block.

Websockets Block

The websockets block activates support for websocket connections in Couper.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`websockets`	Proxy Block	no label	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`timeout`	duration	-	The total deadline duration a websocket connection has to exists.	-	`timeout = 600s`
`set_request_headers`	-	-	-	Same as `set_request_headers` in Request Header.	-

Definitions Block

Use the definitions block to define configurations you want to reuse.

⚠ Access Control is always defined in the definitions block.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`definitions`	-	no label	Backend Block(s), Basic Auth Block(s), JWT Block(s), JWT Signing Profile Block(s), SAML Block(s), OAuth2 AC Block(s), OIDC Block(s)

Basic Auth Block

The basic_auth block lets you configure basic auth for your gateway. Like all Access Control types, the basic_auth block is defined in the Definitions Block and can be referenced in all configuration blocks by its required label.

⚠ If both user/password and htpasswd_file are configured, the incoming credentials from the Authorization request HTTP header field are checked against user/password if the user matches, and against the data in the file referenced by htpasswd_file otherwise.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`basic_auth`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	Error Handler Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`user`	string	`""`	The user name.	-	-
`password`	string	`""`	The corresponding password.	-	-
`htpasswd_file`	string	`""`	The htpasswd file.	Couper uses Apache's httpasswd file format. `apr1`, `md5` and `bcrypt` password encryptions are supported. The file is loaded once at startup. Restart Couper after you have changed it.	-
`realm`	string	`""`	The realm to be sent in a `WWW-Authenticate` response HTTP header field.	-	-
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

The user is accessable via request.context.<label>.user for successfully authenticated requests.

JWT Block

The jwt block lets you configure JSON Web Token access control for your gateway. Like all Access Control types, the jwt block is defined in the Definitions Block and can be referenced in all configuration blocks by its required label.

Since responses from endpoints protected by JWT access controls are not publicly cacheable, a Cache-Control: private header field is added to the response, unless this feature is disabled with disable_private_caching = true.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`jwt`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	JWKS `backend`, Error Handler Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`cookie`	string	-	Read token value from a cookie.	cannot be used together with `header` or `token_value`	`cookie = "AccessToken"`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-
`header`	string	-	Read token value from a request header field.	⚠ Implies `Bearer` if `Authorization` (case-insensitive) is used, otherwise any other header name can be used. Cannot be used together with `cookie` or `token_value`.	`header = "Authorization"`
`token_value`	string	-	expression to obtain the token	cannot be used together with `cookie` or `header`	`token_value = request.form_body.token[0]`
`key`	string	-	Public key (in PEM format) for `RS` and `ES` variants or the secret for `HS*` algorithm.	-	-
`key_file`	string	-	Optional file reference instead of `key` usage.	-	-
`signature_algorithm`	string	-	-	Valid values: `RS256` `RS384` `RS512` `HS256` `HS384` `HS512` `ES256` `ES384` `ES512`	-
`claims`	object	-	Object with claims that must be given for a valid token (equals comparison with JWT payload).	The claim values are evaluated per request.	`claims = { pid = request.path_params.pid }`
`required_claims`	string	-	List of claim names that must be given for a valid token	-	`required_claims = ["roles"]`
`beta_scope_claim`	string	-	name of claim specifying the scope of token	The claim value must either be a string containing a space-separated list of scope values or a list of string scope values	`beta_scope_claim = "scope"`
`beta_scope_map`	map	-	mapping of scope values to additional scope values	Maps values from `beta_scope_claim` and those created from `beta_roles_map`. The map is called recursively.	`beta_scope_map = { sc1 = ["sc3", "sc4"], sc2 = ["sc5"] }`
`beta_roles_claim`	string	-	name of claim specifying the roles of the user represented by the token	The claim value must either be a string containing a space-separated list of role values or a list of string role values	`beta_roles_claim = "roles"`
`beta_roles_map`	map	-	mapping of roles to scope values	Non-mapped roles can be assigned with `*` to specific claims.	`beta_roles_map = { role1 = ["scope1", "scope2"], role2 = ["scope3"], "*" = ["public"] }`
`jwks_url`	string	-	URI pointing to a set of JSON Web Keys (RFC 7517)	-	`jwks_url = "http://identityprovider:8080/jwks.json"`
`jwks_ttl`	duration	`"1h"`	Time period the JWK set stays valid and may be cached.	-	`jwks_ttl = "1800s"`
`backend`	string	-	backend reference for enhancing JWKS requests	-	`backend = "jwks_backend"`
`disable_private_caching`	bool	`false`	If set to `true`, Couper does not add the `private` directive to the `Cache-Control` HTTP header field value.	-	-

The attributes header, cookie and token_value are mutually exclusive. If all three attributes are missing, header = "Authorization" will be implied, i.e. the token will be read from the incoming Authorization header.

If the key to verify the signatures of tokens does not change over time, it should be specified via either key or key_file (together with signature_algorithm). Otherwise, a JSON web key set should be referenced via jwks_url; in this case, the tokens need a kid header.

A JWT access control configured by this block can extract scope values from

the value of the claim specified by beta_scope_claim and
the result of mapping the value of the claim specified by beta_roles_claim using the beta_roles_map.

The jwt block may also be referenced by the jwt_sign() function, if it has a signing_ttl defined. For HS* algorithms the signing key is taken from key/key_file, for RS* and ES* algorithms, signing_key or signing_key_file have to be specified.

Note: A jwt block with signing_ttl cannot have the same label as a jwt_signing_profile block.

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`signing_key`	string	-	Private key (in PEM format) for `RS` and `ES` variants.	-	-
`signing_key_file`	string	-	Optional file reference instead of `signing_key` usage.	-	-
`signing_ttl`	duration	-	The token's time-to-live (creates the `exp` claim).	-	-

JWT Signing Profile Block

The jwt_signing_profile block lets you configure a JSON Web Token signing profile for your gateway. It is referenced in the jwt_sign() function by its required label.

An example can be found here.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`jwt_signing_profile`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`key`	string	-	Private key (in PEM format) for `RS` and `ES` variants or the secret for `HS*` algorithm.	-	-
`key_file`	string	-	Optional file reference instead of `key` usage.	-	-
`signature_algorithm`	-	-	-	⚠ required. Valid values: `RS256` `RS384` `RS512` `HS256` `HS384` `HS512` `ES256` `ES384` `ES512`	-
`ttl`	duration	-	The token's time-to-live (creates the `exp` claim).	-	-
`claims`	object	-	Default claims for the JWT payload.	The claim values are evaluated per request.	`claims = { iss = "https://the-issuer.com" }`
`headers`	object	-	Additional header fields for the JWT.	`alg` and `typ` cannot be set.	`headers = { kid = "my-key-id" }`

OAuth2 AC Block (Beta)

The beta_oauth2 block lets you configure the oauth2_authorization_url() function and an access control for an OAuth2 Authorization Code Grant Flow redirect endpoint. Like all Access Control types, the beta_oauth2 block is defined in the Definitions Block and can be referenced in all configuration blocks by its required label.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`beta_oauth2`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	Backend Block, Error Handler Block(s)

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`backend`	string	-	Backend Block Reference	⚠ Do not disable the peer certificate validation with `disable_certificate_validation = true`!	-
`authorization_endpoint`	string	-	The authorization server endpoint URL used for authorization.	⚠ required	-
`token_endpoint`	string	-	The authorization server endpoint URL used for requesting the token.	⚠ required	-
`token_endpoint_auth_method`	string	`client_secret_basic`	Defines the method to authenticate the client at the token endpoint.	If set to `client_secret_post`, the client credentials are transported in the request body. If set to `client_secret_basic`, the client credentials are transported via Basic Authentication.	-
`redirect_uri`	string	-	The Couper endpoint for receiving the authorization code.	⚠ required. Relative URL references are resolved against the origin of the current request URL. The origin can be changed with the `accept_forwarded_url` attribute if Couper is running behind a proxy.	-
`grant_type`	string	-	The grant type.	⚠ required, to be set to: `authorization_code`	`grant_type = "authorization_code"`
`client_id`	string	-	The client identifier.	⚠ required	-
`client_secret`	string	-	The client password.	⚠ required.	-
`scope`	string	-	A space separated list of requested scopes for the access token.	-	`scope = "read write"`
`verifier_method`	string	-	The method to verify the integrity of the authorization code flow	⚠ required, available values: `ccm_s256` (`code_challenge` parameter with `code_challenge_method` `S256`), `state` (`state` parameter)	`verifier_method = "ccm_s256"`
`verifier_value`	string or expression	-	The value of the (unhashed) verifier.	⚠ required; e.g. using cookie value created with `oauth2_verifier()` function	`verifier_value = request.cookies.verifier`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

If the authorization server supports the code_challenge_method S256 (a.k.a. PKCE, see RFC 7636), we recommend verifier_method = "ccm_s256".

The HTTP header field Accept: application/json is automatically added to the token request. This can be modified with request header modifiers in a backend block.

OIDC Block

The oidc block lets you configure the oauth2_authorization_url() function and an access control for an OIDC Authorization Code Grant Flow redirect endpoint. Like all Access Control types, the oidc block is defined in the Definitions Block and can be referenced in all configuration blocks by its required label.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`oidc`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	Backend Block, Error Handler Block(s)

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`backend`	string	-	Backend Block Reference	⚠ Do not disable the peer certificate validation with `disable_certificate_validation = true`!	-
`configuration_url`	string	-	The OpenID configuration URL.	⚠ required	-
`configuration_ttl`	duration	`1h`	The duration to cache the OpenID configuration located at `configuration_url`.	-	`configuration_ttl = "1d"`
`token_endpoint_auth_method`	string	`client_secret_basic`	Defines the method to authenticate the client at the token endpoint.	If set to `client_secret_post`, the client credentials are transported in the request body. If set to `client_secret_basic`, the client credentials are transported via Basic Authentication.	-
`redirect_uri`	string	-	The Couper endpoint for receiving the authorization code.	⚠ required. Relative URL references are resolved against the origin of the current request URL. The origin can be changed with the `accept_forwarded_url` attribute if Couper is running behind a proxy.	-
`client_id`	string	-	The client identifier.	⚠ required	-
`client_secret`	string	-	The client password.	⚠ required.	-
`scope`	string	-	A space separated list of requested scopes for the access token.	`openid` is automatically added.	`scope = "profile read"`
`verifier_method`	string	-	The method to verify the integrity of the authorization code flow	available values: `ccm_s256` (`code_challenge` parameter with `code_challenge_method` `S256`), `nonce` (`nonce` parameter)	`verifier_method = "nonce"`
`verifier_value`	string or expression	-	The value of the (unhashed) verifier.	⚠ required; e.g. using cookie value created with `oauth2_verifier()` function	`verifier_value = request.cookies.verifier`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

If the OpenID server supports the code_challenge_method S256 the default value for verifier_methodis ccm_s256, nonce otherwise.

The HTTP header field Accept: application/json is automatically added to the token request. This can be modified with request header modifiers in a backend block.

SAML Block

The saml block lets you configure the saml_sso_url() function and an access control for a SAML Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) endpoint. Like all Access Control types, the saml block is defined in the Definitions Block and can be referenced in all configuration blocks by its required label.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`saml`	Definitions Block	⚠ required	Error Handler Block

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`idp_metadata_file`	string	-	File reference to the Identity Provider metadata XML file.	⚠ required	-
`sp_acs_url`	string	-	The URL of the Service Provider's ACS endpoint.	⚠ required. Relative URL references are resolved against the origin of the current request URL. The origin can be changed with the `accept_forwarded_url` attribute if Couper is running behind a proxy.	-
`sp_entity_id`	string	-	The Service Provider's entity ID.	⚠ required	-
`array_attributes`	string	`[]`	A list of assertion attributes that may have several values.	Results in at least an empty array in `request.context.<label>.attributes.<name>`	`array_attributes = ["memberOf"]`
`custom_log_fields`	map	-	Defines log fields for Custom Logging.	⚠ Inherited by nested blocks.	-

Some information from the assertion consumed at the ACS endpoint is provided in the context at request.context.<label>:

the NameID of the assertion's Subject (request.context.<label>.sub)
the session expiry date SessionNotOnOrAfter (as UNIX timestamp: request.context.<label>.exp)
the attributes (request.context.<label>.attributes.<name>)

Settings Block

The settings block lets you configure the more basic and global behavior of your gateway instance.

Context	Label	Nested block(s)
-	no label	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`accept_forwarded_url`	list	`[]`	Which `X-Forwarded-*` request headers should be accepted to change the request variables `url`, `origin`, `protocol`, `host`, `port`. Valid values: `proto`, `host`, `port`. The port in `X-Forwarded-Port` takes precedence over a port in `X-Forwarded-Host`.	Affects relative url values for `sp_acs_url` attribute and `redirect_uri` attribute within beta_oauth2 & oidc.	`["proto","host","port"]`
`default_port`	number	`8080`	Port which will be used if not explicitly specified per host within the `hosts` list.	-	-
`health_path`	string	`/healthz`	Health path which is available for all configured server and ports.	-	-
`https_dev_proxy`	list	`[]`	List of tls port mappings to define the tls listen port and the target one. A self-signed certificate will be generated on the fly based on given hostname.	Certificates will be hold in memory and are generated once.	`["443:8080", "8443:8080"]`
`log_format`	string	`common`	Switch for tab/field based colored view or json log lines.	-	-
`log_level`	string	`info`	Set the log-level to one of: `info`, `panic`, `fatal`, `error`, `warn`, `debug`, `trace`.	-	-
`log_pretty`	bool	`false`	Global option for `json` log format which pretty prints with basic key coloring.	-	-
`no_proxy_from_env`	bool	`false`	Disables the connect hop to configured proxy via environment.	-	-
`request_id_accept_from_header`	string	`""`	Name of a client request HTTP header field that transports the `request.id` which Couper takes for logging and transport to the backend (if configured).	-	`X-UID`
`request_id_backend_header`	string	`Couper-Request-ID`	Name of a HTTP header field which Couper uses to transport the `request.id` to the backend.	-	-
`request_id_client_header`	string	`Couper-Request-ID`	Name of a HTTP header field which Couper uses to transport the `request.id` to the client.	-	-
`request_id_format`	string	`common`	If set to `uuid4` a rfc4122 uuid is used for `request.id` and related log fields.	-	-
`secure_cookies`	string	`""`	If set to `"strip"`, the `Secure` flag is removed from all `Set-Cookie` HTTP header fields.	-	-
`xfh`	bool	`false`	Option to use the `X-Forwarded-Host` header as the request host.	-	-
`beta_metrics`	bool	`false`	Option to enable the Prometheus metrics exporter.	-	-
`beta_metrics_port`	number	`9090`	Prometheus exporter listen port.	-	-
`beta_service_name`	string	`couper`	The service name which applies to the `service_name` metric labels.	-	-
`ca_file`	string	`""`	Option for adding the given PEM encoded ca-certificate to the existing system certificate pool for all outgoing connections.	-	-

Defaults Block

The defaults block lets you define default values.

Block name	Context	Label	Nested block(s)
`defaults`	-	-	-

Attribute(s)	Type	Default	Description	Characteristic(s)	Example
`environment_variables`	map	–	One or more environment variable assigments	-	`environment_variables = {ORIGIN = "https://httpbin.org" ...}`

Examples:

environment_variables.

Access Control

The configuration of access control is twofold in Couper: You define the particular type (such as jwt or basic_auth) in definitions, each with a distinct label (must not be one of the reserved names: scopes). Anywhere in the server block those labels can be used in the access_control list to protect that block. ⚠ access rights are inherited by nested blocks. You can also disable access_control for blocks. By typing disable_access_control = ["bar"], the access_control type bar will be disabled for the corresponding block context.

All access controls have an option to handle related errors. Please refer to Errors.

Health-Check

The health check will answer a status 200 OK on every port with the configured health_path. As soon as the gateway instance will receive a SIGINT or SIGTERM the check will return a status 500 StatusInternalServerError. A shutdown delay of 5s for example allows the server to finish all running requests and gives a load-balancer time to pick another gateway instance. After this delay the server goes into shutdown mode with a deadline of 5s and no new requests will be accepted. The shutdown timings defaults to 0 which means no delaying with development setups. Both durations can be configured via environment variable. Please refer to the docker document.

Variables

`couper`

Variable	Type	Description	Example
`version`	string	Couper's version number	`1.3.1`

`env`

Environment variables can be accessed everywhere within the configuration file since these references get evaluated at start.

You may provide default values by means of environment_variables in the defaults block:

// ...
   origin = env.ORIGIN
// ...
defaults {
  environment_variables = {
    ORIGIN = "http://localhost/"
    TIMEOUT = "3s"
  }
}

`request`

Variable	Type	Description	Example
`id`	string	Unique request id
`method`	string	HTTP method	`GET`
`headers.<name>`	string	HTTP request header value for requested lower-case key
`cookies.<name>`	string	Value from `Cookie` request header for requested key (⚠ last wins!)
`query.<name>`	tuple of string	Query parameter values
`path_params.<name>`	string	Value from a named path parameter defined within an endpoint path label
`body`	string	Request message body
`form_body.<name>`	tuple of string	Parameter in a `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` body
`json_body.<name>`	various	Access json decoded object properties. Media type must be `application/json` or `application/*+json`.
`context.<name>.<property_name>`	various	Request context containing information from the Access Control.
`url`	string	Request URL	`https://www.example.com/path/to?q=val&a=1`
`origin`	string	Origin of the request URL	`https://www.example.com`
`protocol`	string	Request protocol	`https`
`host`	string	Host of the request URL	`www.example.com`
`port`	integer	Port of the request URL	`443`
`path`	string	Request URL path	`/path/to`

The value of context.<name> depends on the type of block referenced by <name>.

For a Basic Auth and successfully authenticated request the variable contains the user name.

For a JWT Block the variable contains claims from the JWT used for Access Control.

For a SAML Block the variable contains

sub: the NameID of the SAML assertion
exp: optional expiration date (value of SessionNotOnOrAfter of the SAML assertion)
attributes: a map of attributes from the SAML assertion

For an OAuth2 AC Block, the variable contains the response from the token endpoint, e.g.

access_token: the access token retrieved from the token endpoint
token_type: the token type
expires_in: the token lifetime
scope: the granted scope (if different from the requested scope)

and for OIDC additionally:

id_token: the ID token
id_token_claims: a map of claims from the ID token
userinfo: a map of claims retrieved from the userinfo endpoint

`backend_request`

backend_request holds information about the current backend request. It is only available in a Backend Block, and has the same attributes as a backend request in backend_requests.<label> (see backend_requests below).

`backend_requests`

backend_requests is an object with all backend requests and their attributes. To access a specific request use the related label. Request and Proxy blocks without a label will be available as default. To access the HTTP method of the default request use backend_requests.default.method .

Variable	Type	Description	Example
`id`	string	Unique request id
`method`	string	HTTP method	`GET`
`headers.<name>`	string	HTTP request header value for requested lower-case key
`cookies.<name>`	string	Value from `Cookie` request header for requested key (⚠ last wins!)
`query.<name>`	tuple of string	Query parameter values
`body`	string	Backend request message body
`form_body.<name>`	tuple of string	Parameter in a `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` body
`json_body.<name>`	various	Access json decoded object properties. Media type must be `application/json` or `application/*+json`.
`context.<name>.<property_name>`	various	Request context containing claims from JWT used for Access Control or information from a SAML assertion, `<name>` being the JWT Block's or SAML Block's label and `property_name` being the claim's or assertion information's name
`url`	string	Backend request URL	`https://www.example.com/path/to?q=val&a=1`
`origin`	string	Origin of the backend request URL	`https://www.example.com`
`protocol`	string	Backend request protocol	`https`
`host`	string	Host of the backend request URL	`www.example.com`
`port`	integer	Port of the backend request URL	`443`
`path`	string	Backend request URL path	`/path/to`

`backend_response`

backend_response represents the current backend response. It is only available in a Backend Block, and has the same attributes as a backend response in backend_responses.<label> (see backend_responses below).

`backend_responses`

backend_responses is an object with all backend responses and their attributes. Use the related label to access a specific response. Request and Proxy blocks without a label will be available as default. To access the HTTP status code of the default response use backend_responses.default.status .

Variable	Type	Description	Example
`status`	integer	HTTP status code	`200`
`headers.<name>`	string	HTTP response header value for requested lower-case key
`cookies.<name>`	string	Value from `Set-Cookie` response header for requested key (⚠ last wins!)
`body`	string	The response message body
`json_body.<name>`	various	Access json decoded object properties. Media type must be `application/json` or `application/*+json`.

Functions

Name	Type	Description	Arguments	Example
`base64_decode`	string	Decodes Base64 data, as specified in RFC 4648.	`encoded` (string)	`base64_decode("Zm9v")`
`base64_encode`	string	Encodes Base64 data, as specified in RFC 4648.	`decoded` (string)	`base64_encode("foo")`
`contains`	bool	Determines whether a given list contains a given single value as one of its elements.	`list` (tuple or list), `value` (various)	`contains([1,2,3], 2)`
`default`	string	Returns the first of the given arguments that is not null or an empty string. If no argument matches, the last argument is returned.	`arg...` (various)	`default(request.cookies.foo, "bar")`
`join`	string	Concatenates together the string elements of one or more lists with a given separator.	`sep` (string), `lists...` (tuples or lists)	`join("-", [0,1,2,3])`
`json_decode`	various	Parses the given JSON string and, if it is valid, returns the value it represents.	`encoded` (string)	`json_decode("{\"foo\": 1}")`
`json_encode`	string	Returns a JSON serialization of the given value.	`val` (various)	`json_encode(request.context.myJWT)`
`jwt_sign`	string	jwt_sign creates and signs a JSON Web Token (JWT) from information from a referenced JWT Signing Profile Block (or JWT Block with `signing_ttl`) and additional claims provided as a function parameter.	`label` (string), `claims` (object)	`jwt_sign("myJWT")`
`keys`	list	Takes a map and returns a sorted list of the map keys.	`inputMap` (object or map)	`keys(request.headers)`
`length`	integer	Returns the number of elements in the given collection.	`collection` (tuple, list or map; no object)	`length([0,1,2,3])`
`lookup`	various	Performs a dynamic lookup into a map. The default (third argument) is returned if the key (second argument) is not found in the inputMap (first argument).	`inputMap` (object or map), `key` (string), `default` (various)	`lookup({a = 1}, "b", "def")`
`merge`	object or tuple	Deep-merges two or more of either objects or tuples. `null` arguments are ignored. A `null` attribute value in an object removes the previous attribute value. An attribute value with a different type than the current value is set as the new value. `merge()` with no parameters returns `null`.	`arg...` (object or tuple)	`merge(request.headers, { x-additional = "myval" })`
`oauth2_authorization_url`	string	Creates an OAuth2 authorization URL from a referenced OAuth2 AC Block or OIDC Block.	`label` (string)	`oauth2_authorization_url("myOAuth2")`
`oauth2_verifier`	string	Creates a cryptographically random key as specified in RFC 7636, applicable for all verifier methods; e.g. to be set as a cookie and read into `verifier_value`. Multiple calls of this function in the same client request context return the same value.		`oauth2_verifier()`
`relative_url`	string	Returns a relative URL by retaining `path`, `query` and `fragment` components. The input URL `s` must begin with `/<path>`, `//<authority>`, `http://` or `https://`, otherwise an error is thrown.	s (string)	`relative_url("https://httpbin.org/anything?query#fragment") // returns "/anything?query#fragment"`
`saml_sso_url`	string	Creates a SAML SingleSignOn URL (including the `SAMLRequest` parameter) from a referenced SAML Block.	`label` (string)	`saml_sso_url("mySAML")`
`set_intersection`	list or tuple	Returns a new set containing the elements that exist in all of the given sets.	`sets...` (tuple or list)	`set_intersection(["A", "B", "C"], ["B", D"])`
`split`	tuple	Divides a given string by a given separator, returning a list of strings containing the characters between the separator sequences.	`sep` (string), `str` (string)	`split(" ", "foo bar qux")`
`substr`	string	Extracts a sequence of characters from another string and creates a new string. The "`offset`" index may be negative, in which case it is relative to the end of the given string. The "`length`" may be `-1`, in which case the remainder of the string after the given offset will be returned.	`str` (string), `offset` (integer), `length` (integer)	`substr("abcdef", 3, -1)`
`to_lower`	string	Converts a given string to lowercase.	`s` (string)	`to_lower(request.cookies.name)`
`to_number`	number	Converts its argument to a number value. Only numbers, `null`, and strings containing decimal representations of numbers can be converted to number. All other values will produce an error.	`num` (string or number)	`to_number("1,23")`, `to_number(env.PI)`
`to_upper`	string	Converts a given string to uppercase.	`s` (string)	`to_upper("CamelCase")`
`unixtime`	integer	Retrieves the current UNIX timestamp in seconds.		`unixtime()`
`url_encode`	string	URL-encodes a given string according to RFC 3986.	`s` (string)	`url_encode("abc%&,123")`

Modifiers

Request Header
Response Header
Set Response Status
Query Parameter
Form Parameter

Request Header

Couper offers three attributes to manipulate the request header fields. The header attributes can be defined unordered within the configuration file but will be executed ordered as follows:

Modifier	Contexts	Description
`remove_request_headers`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	list of request header to be removed from the upstream request.
`set_request_headers`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to set request header in the upstream request.
`add_request_headers`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to add request header to the upstream request.

All *_request_headers are executed from: endpoint, proxy, backend and error_handler.

Response Header

Couper offers three attributes to manipulate the response header fields. The header attributes can be defined unordered within the configuration file but will be executed ordered as follows:

Modifier	Contexts	Description
`remove_response_headers`	Server Block, Files Block, SPA Block, API Block, Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	list of response header to be removed from the client response.
`set_response_headers`	Server Block, Files Block, SPA Block, API Block, Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to set response header in the client response.
`add_response_headers`	Server Block, Files Block, SPA Block, API Block, Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to add response header to the client response.

All *_response_headers are executed from: server, files, spa, api, endpoint, proxy, backend and error_handler.

Set Response Status

The set_response_status attribute allows to modify the HTTP status code to the given value.

Modifier	Contexts	Description
`set_response_status`	Endpoint Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	HTTP status code to be set to the client response.

If the HTTP status code ist set to 204, the response body and the HTTP header field Content-Length is removed from the client response, and a warning is logged.

Parameters

Query Parameter

Couper offers three attributes to manipulate the query parameter. The query attributes can be defined unordered within the configuration file but will be executed ordered as follows:

Modifier	Contexts	Description
`remove_query_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	list of query parameters to be removed from the upstream request URL.
`set_query_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to set query parameters in the upstream request URL.
`add_query_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to add query parameters to the upstream request URL.

All *_query_params are executed from: endpoint, proxy, backend and error_handler.

server "my_project" {
  api {
    endpoint "/" {
      proxy {
        backend = "example"
      }
    }
  }
}

definitions {
  backend "example" {
    origin = "http://example.com"

    remove_query_params = ["a", "b"]

    set_query_params = {
      string = "string"
      multi = ["foo", "bar"]
      "${request.headers.example}" = "yes"
    }

    add_query_params = {
      noop = request.headers.noop
      null = null
      empty = ""
    }
  }
}

Form Parameter

Couper offers three attributes to manipulate the form parameter. The form attributes can be defined unordered within the configuration file but will be executed ordered as follows:

Modifier	Contexts	Description
`remove_form_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	list of form parameters to be removed from the upstream request body.
`set_form_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to set form parameters in the upstream request body.
`add_form_params`	Endpoint Block, Proxy Block, Backend Block, Error Handler	Key/value(s) pairs to add form parameters to the upstream request body.

All *_form_params are executed from: endpoint, proxy, backend and error_handler.

The *_form_params apply only to requests with the POST method and the Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded HTTP header field.

server "my_project" {
  api {
    endpoint "/" {
      proxy {
        backend = "example"
      }
    }
  }
}

definitions {
  backend "example" {
    origin = "http://example.com"

    remove_form_params = ["a", "b"]

    set_form_params = {
      string = "string"
      multi = ["foo", "bar"]
      "${request.headers.example}" = "yes"
    }

    add_form_params = {
      noop = request.headers.noop
      null = null
      empty = ""
    }
  }
}

Path Parameter

An endpoint label could be defined as endpoint "/app/{section}/{project}/view" { ... } to access the named path parameter section and project via request.path_params.*. The values would map as following for the request path: /app/nature/plant-a-tree/view:

Variable	Value
`request.path_params.section`	`nature`
`request.path_params.project`	`plant-a-tree`

Files

REFERENCE.md

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REFERENCE.md

File metadata and controls

Reference

Block Reference

Server Block

Files Block

SPA Block

API Block

Endpoint Block

Endpoint Sequence

Proxy Block

Request Block

Response Block

Backend Block

Duration

OpenAPI Block

CORS Block

OAuth2 CC Block

Websockets Block

Definitions Block

Basic Auth Block

JWT Block

JWT Signing Profile Block

OAuth2 AC Block (Beta)

OIDC Block

SAML Block

Settings Block

Defaults Block

Access Control

Health-Check

Variables

couper

env

request

backend_request

backend_requests

backend_response

backend_responses

Functions

Modifiers

Request Header

Response Header

Set Response Status

Parameters

Query Parameter

Form Parameter

Path Parameter

`couper`

`env`

`request`

`backend_request`

`backend_requests`

`backend_response`

`backend_responses`