---
layout: docs
page_title: Sentinel in Consul
description: >-
  Consul Enterprise uses Sentinel to augment the built-in ACL system to provide
  advanced policy enforcement. Sentinel policies can currently execute on KV
  modify and service registration.
---

# Sentinel in Consul

<EnterpriseAlert>
  This feature requires
  HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) or self-managed Consul Enterprise.
  Refer to the{' '}
  <a href="/docs/enterprise#consul-enterprise-feature-availability">enterprise feature matrix</a>
  {' '}for additional information.
</EnterpriseAlert>

Sentinel policies extend the ACL system in Consul beyond static "read", "write",
and "deny" policies to support full conditional logic and integration with
external systems. Reference the [Sentinel documentation](https://docs.hashicorp.com/sentinel/concepts/) for high-level Sentinel concepts.

To get started with Sentinel in Consul,
[read the general documentation](https://docs.hashicorp.com/sentinel/consul/) or
[Consul documentation](/docs/agent/sentinel).
