consul/website/content/docs/api-gateway/configuration/gatewayclass.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: Consul API Gateway GatewayClass
description:  >-
  Consul API Gateway GatewayClass
---

# GatewayClass

This topic provides full details about the `GatewayClass` resource

## Introduction

The `GatewayClass` resource is used as a template for creating `Gateway` resources.
The specification includes the name of the controller (`controllerName`) and an API object containing controller-specific configuration resources within the cluster (`parametersRef`).
The value of the `controllerName` field must be set to `hashicorp.com/consul-api-gateway-controller`.

When gateways are created from a `GatewayClass`, they use the parameters specified in the `GatewayClass` at the time of instantiation.

The `GatewayClass` resource is a generic Kubernetes gateway object. For configuration specific to Consul API Gateway, see [GatewayClassConfig](/docs/api-gateway/configuration/gatewayclassconfig).

## Configuration model
The following outline shows how to format the configurations in the `GatewayClass` object. Click on a property name to view details about the configuration.

* [`controllerName`](#controllername): string | required
* [`parametersRef`](#parametersref): object | optional
  * [`group`]([#parametersref-group): string | required is `parametersRef` is set
  * [`kind`](#parametersref-kind): string | required is `parametersRef` is set
  * [`name`](#parametersref-name): string | required is `parametersRef` is set
* [`description`](#description): string | optional

## Specification

This topic provides details about the configuration parameters.

### controllerName
Specifies the name of the controller that manages the gateways generated by this class. The value must alwasy be `'hashicorp.com/consul-api-gateway-controller'`.

* Type: string
* Required: required

### parametersRef
Defines an object that specifies additional configurations required by the gateway controller.
* Type: object
* Required: required

### parametersRef.group
Specifies the Kubernetes group that the `parametersRef` is a member of. The value must always be `api-gateway.consul.hashicorp.com`.

The `parametersRef.group` is always the same across all deployments of Consul API Gateway.

* Type: string
* Required: required

### parametersRef.kind
Specifies the Kubernetes kind of entity that the `parametersRef` is. The value must always be `GatewayClassConfig`. 

This `parametersRef.kind` is always the same across all deployments of Consul API Gateway.

* Type: string
* Required: required

### parametersRef.name
Specfies the name of the `GatewayClassConfig` object.
* Type: object
* Required: required

### description
Specifies a human-readable description of the gateway class. We recommend including a description so that a record exists that describes the gateway class's purpose.
* Type: string
* Required: optional

## Complete Configuration
The following example creates a gateway class called `test-gateway-class`:

<CodeBlockConfig filename="gateway.yaml">

  ```yaml
  apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2
  kind: GatewayClass
  metadata:
    name: test-gateway-class
  spec:
    controllerName: 'hashicorp.com/consul-api-gateway-controller'
    parametersRef:
      group: api-gateway.consul.hashicorp.com
      kind: GatewayClassConfig
      name: test-gateway-class-config
```
</CodeBlockConfig>

Refer to the [Kubernetes Gateway API documentation](https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/v1alpha2/references/spec/#gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2.GatewayClass) for details about configuring gateway classes.