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agentgateway

Definition

agentgateway is an open-source AI / MCP gateway — the network component that agents use as their MCP endpoint and through which every tool call is routed. Zalando builds its Kubernetes agent platform on agentgateway together with kagent (agent runtime) and the Agentic Identity Broker (delegated access). (Source: sources/2026-09-24-zalando-agentic-platform-open-sourcing-the-agentic-identity-broker)

What it does (as deployed at Zalando)

At runtime agentgateway + the broker act as a gate that splits the world into two spheres: agents and tools. Its load-bearing responsibilities:

  1. Central choke-point for tool calls. Agents are configured to use agentgateway as their MCP endpoint; every downstream tool call flows through it — the MCP-as-centralized-integration-proxy / central-proxy-choke-point deployment shape.
  2. Token validation + exchange orchestration. For each tool call the agent sends only its user-agent token to the (trusted) gateway. Agentgateway validates the token and asks the broker to exchange (RFC 8693) it for a provider access token. The provider token returns only to the gateway, which replaces the Authorization header before forwarding to the target — so the agent never sees a provider token (confused-deputy defense).
  3. Policy enforcement via ExtProc. Zalando integrated Open Policy Agent (OPA) into agentgateway through its external processing (ExtProc) extension point to authorize individual tool calls against enterprise access management — the out-of-band policy layer. "Both broker exchange policy and gateway tool-call policy must permit a request." The same ExtProc extension will enforce central tool approvals regardless of where the agent runs.
  4. Central observability + audit point. Routing every tool call through one gate gives Zalando "a central audit point and shields agents from integration work."

The ExtProc extension point is Envoy's external- processing model, indicating agentgateway's Envoy/proxy lineage; the wiki records this as prose (the post does not spell out the internals beyond "external processing (ExtProc)").

Seen in

  • Zalando — the AI/MCP gateway in Zalando's Kubernetes agent platform; the runtime "gate" that pairs with the Agentic Identity Broker to validate user-agent tokens, orchestrate token exchange (provider token returns only to the gateway), and enforce OPA/ExtProc tool-call policy. Central MCP gateways are auto-spawned from CRD abstractions via kro. (Source: sources/2026-09-24-zalando-agentic-platform-open-sourcing-the-agentic-identity-broker)
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