---
title: "Gateway"
sidebarTitle: "Overview"
description: "How to access private network resources from Infisical"
---

![Alt text](/documentation/platform/gateways/images/gateway-highlevel-diagram.png)

The Infisical Gateway provides secure access to private resources within your network without needing direct inbound connections to your environment.
This method keeps your resources fully protected from external access while enabling Infisical to securely interact with resources like databases.
Common use cases include generating dynamic credentials or rotating credentials for private databases.

<Info>
  **Note:** Gateway is a paid feature. - **Infisical Cloud users:** Gateway is
  available under the **Enterprise Tier**. - **Self-Hosted Infisical:** Please
  contact [sales@infisical.com](mailto:sales@infisical.com) to purchase an
  enterprise license.
</Info>

## How It Works

The Gateway serves as a secure intermediary that facilitates direct communication between the Infisical server and your private network.
It’s a lightweight daemon packaged within the Infisical CLI, making it easy to deploy and manage. Once set up, the Gateway establishes a connection with a relay server, ensuring that all communication between Infisical and your Gateway is fully end-to-end encrypted.
This setup guarantees that only the platform and your Gateway can decrypt the transmitted information, keeping communication with your resources secure, private and isolated.

## Deployment

The Infisical Gateway is seamlessly integrated into the Infisical CLI under the `gateway` command, making it simple to deploy and manage.
You can install the Gateway in all the same ways you install the Infisical CLI—whether via npm, Docker, or a binary.
For detailed installation instructions, refer to the Infisical [CLI Installation instructions](/cli/overview).

To function, the Gateway must authenticate with Infisical. This requires a machine identity configured with the appropriate permissions to create and manage a Gateway.
Once authenticated, the Gateway establishes a secure connection with Infisical to allow your private resources to be reachable.

### Get started

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a Gateway Identity">
    1. Navigate to **Organization Access Control** in your Infisical dashboard.
    2. Create a dedicated machine identity for your Gateway.
    3. **Best Practice:** Assign a unique identity to each Gateway for better security and management.
    ![Create Gateway Identity](../../../images/platform/gateways/create-identity-for-gateway.png)
  </Step>
  
  <Step title="Configure Authentication Method">
    You'll need to choose an authentication method to initiate communication with Infisical. View the available machine identity authentication methods [here](/documentation/platform/identities/machine-identities).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Deploy the Gateway">
    Use the Infisical CLI to deploy the Gateway. You can run it directly or install it as a systemd service for production:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Production (systemd)">
        For production deployments on Linux, install the Gateway as a systemd service:
        ```bash
        sudo infisical gateway install --token <your-machine-identity-token> --domain <your-infisical-domain>
        sudo systemctl start infisical-gateway
        ```
        This will install and start the Gateway as a secure systemd service that:
        - Runs with restricted privileges:
          - Runs as root user (required for secure token management)
          - Restricted access to home directories
          - Private temporary directory
        - Automatically restarts on failure
        - Starts on system boot
        - Manages token and domain configuration securely in `/etc/infisical/gateway.conf`

        <Warning>
          The install command requires:
          - Linux operating system
          - Root/sudo privileges
          - Systemd
        </Warning>
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Production (Helm)">

        The Gateway can be installed via [Helm](https://helm.sh/). Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that allows you to define, install, and upgrade Kubernetes applications.

        For production deployments on Kubernetes, install the Gateway using the Infisical Helm chart:

        ### Install the latest Helm Chart repository
        ```bash
        helm repo add infisical-helm-charts 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/infisical/helm-charts/helm/charts/' 
        ```

        ### Update the Helm Chart repository
        ```bash
        helm repo update
        ```

        ### Create a Kubernetes Secret containing gateway environment variables

        The gateway supports all identity authentication methods through the use of environment variables.
        The environment variables must be set in the `infisical-gateway-environment` Kubernetes secret.


        #### Supported authentication methods

        <AccordionGroup>
          <Accordion title="Universal Auth">
            The Universal Auth method is a simple and secure way to authenticate with Infisical. It requires a client ID and a client secret to authenticate with Infisical.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                <ParamField query="INFISICAL_UNIVERSAL_AUTH_CLIENT_ID" type="string" required>
                  Your machine identity client ID.
                </ParamField>
                <ParamField query="INFISICAL_UNIVERSAL_AUTH_CLIENT_SECRET" type="string" required>
                  Your machine identity client secret.
                </ParamField>
                <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                  The authentication method to use. Must be `universal-auth` when using Universal Auth.
                </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

              ```bash
                kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=universal-auth --from-literal=INFISICAL_UNIVERSAL_AUTH_CLIENT_ID=<client-id> --from-literal=INFISICAL_UNIVERSAL_AUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=<client-secret>
              ```

          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="Native Kubernetes">
            The Native Kubernetes method is used to authenticate with Infisical when running in a Kubernetes environment. It requires a service account token to authenticate with Infisical.

              <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                  Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_KUBERNETES_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN_PATH" type="string" optional>
                    Path to the Kubernetes service account token to use. Default: `/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token`.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `kubernetes` when using Native Kubernetes.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>


              ```bash
                kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=kubernetes --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id>
              ```

          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="Native Azure">
            The Native Azure method is used to authenticate with Infisical when running in an Azure environment.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                    Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `azure` when using Native Azure.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

            ```bash
              kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=azure --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id>
            ```
          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="Native GCP ID Token">
            The Native GCP ID Token method is used to authenticate with Infisical when running in a GCP environment.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                    Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `gcp-id-token` when using Native GCP ID Token.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

            ```bash
              kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=gcp-id-token --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id>
            ```

          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="GCP IAM">
            The GCP IAM method is used to authenticate with Infisical with a GCP service account key.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                  Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY_FILE_PATH" type="string" required>
                    Path to your GCP service account key file _(Must be in JSON format!)_
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `gcp-iam` when using GCP IAM.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

              ```bash
                kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=gcp-iam --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id> --from-literal=INFISICAL_GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY_FILE_PATH=<service-account-key-file-path>
              ```


          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="Native AWS IAM">
            The AWS IAM method is used to authenticate with Infisical with an AWS IAM role while running in an AWS environment like EC2, Lambda, etc.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                    Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `aws-iam` when using Native AWS IAM.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

              ```bash
                kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=aws-iam --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id>
              ```

          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="OIDC Auth">
            The OIDC Auth method is used to authenticate with Infisical via identity tokens with OIDC.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                    Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_JWT" type="string" required>
                    The OIDC JWT from the identity provider.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `oidc-auth` when using OIDC Auth.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

            ```bash
              kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=oidc-auth --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id> --from-literal=INFISICAL_JWT=<oidc-jwt>
            ```
          </Accordion>

          <Accordion title="JWT Auth">
            The JWT Auth method is used to authenticate with Infisical via a JWT token.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_JWT" type="string" required>
                    The JWT token to use for authentication.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID" type="string" required>
                    Your machine identity ID.
                  </ParamField>
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD" type="string" required>
                    The authentication method to use. Must be `jwt-auth` when using JWT Auth.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

              ```bash
                kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_AUTH_METHOD=jwt-auth --from-literal=INFISICAL_JWT=<jwt> --from-literal=INFISICAL_MACHINE_IDENTITY_ID=<machine-identity-id>
              ```
          </Accordion>
          <Accordion title="Token Auth">
            You can use the `INFISICAL_TOKEN` environment variable to authenticate with Infisical with a raw machine identity access token.

            <ParamField query="Environment Variables">
              <Expandable title="properties">
                  <ParamField query="INFISICAL_TOKEN" type="string" required>
                    The machine identity access token to use for authentication.
                  </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>

            ```bash
              kubectl create secret generic infisical-gateway-environment --from-literal=INFISICAL_TOKEN=<token>
            ```
          </Accordion>
        </AccordionGroup>


        #### Other environment variables

        <AccordionGroup>
          <Accordion title="INFISICAL_API_URL">
            The API URL to use for the gateway. By default, `INFISICAL_API_URL` is set to `https://app.infisical.com`.
          </Accordion>
        </AccordionGroup>


        ### Install the Infisical Gateway Helm Chart
        ```bash
        helm install infisical-gateway infisical-helm-charts/infisical-gateway
        ```

        ### Check the gateway logs
        After installing the gateway, you can check the logs to ensure it's running as expected.

        ```bash
        kubectl logs deployment/infisical-gateway
        ```

        You should see the following output which indicates the gateway is running as expected.
        ```bash
        $ kubectl logs deployment/infisical-gateway                  
        INF Provided relay port 5349. Using TLS
        INF Connected with relay
        INF 10.0.101.112:56735
        INF Starting relay connection health check
        INF Gateway started successfully
        INF New connection from: 10.0.1.8:34051
        INF Gateway is reachable by Infisical
        ```

      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Local Installation (testing)">
        For development or testing, you can run the Gateway directly. Log in with your machine identity and start the Gateway in one command:
        ```bash
        infisical gateway --token $(infisical login --method=universal-auth --client-id=<> --client-secret=<> --plain)
        ```

        Alternatively, if you already have the token, use it directly with the `--token` flag:
        ```bash
        infisical gateway --token <your-machine-identity-token>
        ```

        Or set it as an environment variable:
        ```bash
        export INFISICAL_TOKEN=<your-machine-identity-token>
        infisical gateway
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    For detailed information about the gateway command and its options, see the [gateway command documentation](/cli/commands/gateway).

    <Note>
      Ensure the deployed Gateway has network access to the private resources you intend to connect with Infisical.
    </Note>
  </Step>
  
  <Step title="Verify Gateway Deployment">
    To confirm your Gateway is working, check the deployment status by looking for the message **"Gateway started successfully"** in the Gateway logs. This indicates the Gateway is running properly. Next, verify its registration by opening your Infisical dashboard, navigating to **Organization Access Control**, and selecting the **Gateways** tab. Your newly deployed Gateway should appear in the list.
    ![Gateway List](../../../images/platform/gateways/gateway-list.png)
  </Step>
</Steps>