Service setup

A service represents a single API you want to monetize through the proxy. Each service gets a unique gateway URL that forwards traffic to your backend.

Creating a service

Go to Services in the Kobaru Console

Click Create Service

Fill in the details:

Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Weather API")

Type: Select Proxy

Base URL: Our console helps you construct your base URL

Building your base URL

The console helps you construct a validated base URL from your verified domains:

Field	Example	Description
Domain	`example.com`	Dropdown of your verified domains
Subdomain	`api`	Optional prefix (e.g., `api`, `v2`)
Path	`/v3`	Optional path suffix

The builder shows a live preview:

https://access.kobaru.io/example/* --> https://api.example.com/v3/*

If you only have one verified domain, it's selected automatically.

How slugs work

Every service gets a slug - a URL-safe identifier that appears in your gateway URL:

https://access.kobaru.io/{slug}/*

The system generates slugs automatically from your base URL by extracting the core domain name:

Base URL	Generated slug
`https://api.example.com`	`example`
`https://shop.example.com.br`	`example`
`https://api.weather-service.com`	`weather-service`

If the generated slug is already taken, the system falls back to the full domain with hyphens (e.g., api-example-com), or appends a counter if needed.

Enterprise customers can choose and design their own custom slugs.

Important: Changing the base URL automatically regenerates the slug. This keeps the slug consistent with the actual target domain.

Base URL requirements

Your base URL must meet these requirements:

HTTPS only - We accept only HTTPS URLs

Verified domain - The domain must be verified in the Console

Security restrictions - We can block certain domain names for security reasons

For local development, use an HTTPS tunnel like ngrok to expose your local server.

See Constraints and security for complete details.

Managing services

Editing a service

Click the edit icon on the service row

Update the name or base URL

Changing the base URL regenerates the slug automatically

Deleting a service

Click the delete icon

Confirm deletion

You cannot delete a service that has routes depending on it. Delete the routes first.

Activating and deactivating

Services have an active/inactive status. Inactive services don't process traffic. Toggle the status from the service row to temporarily disable a service without deleting it.

How request forwarding works

When a request arrives at your gateway URL, the proxy:

Strips the slug prefix from the path

Appends the remaining path to your base URL

Forwards the request with all original headers (except payment headers)

Adds X-Kobaru-Payment-Hash for payment tracking

Returns the response from your backend to the client

Example:

Request:  GET https://access.kobaru.io/weather/forecast?city=London
Forwards: GET https://api.weather-service.com/v3/forecast?city=London

Headers removed before forwarding:

Header	Why
`Payment-Signature`	Contains the x402 payment token
`Authorization`	Stripped to prevent credential leakage to upstream

If you have upstream authentication configured, the proxy injects your API key after removing these headers.

Next steps

Your service is created but not yet accepting payments. Next, configure upstream authentication (optional) or go straight to setting up capabilities and routes.

Creating a service#

Building your base URL#

How slugs work#

Base URL requirements#

Managing services#

Editing a service#

Deleting a service#

Activating and deactivating#

How request forwarding works#

Next steps#