Response headers

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Response headers

Use the ResponseHeaderModifier filter to add, append, overwrite, or remove headers from a response before it is sent back to the client.

For more information, see the HTTPHeaderFilter specification.

Before you begin

Follow the Get started guide to install kgateway.
Follow the Sample app guide to create a gateway proxy with an HTTP listener and deploy the httpbin sample app.

Get the external address of the gateway and save it in an environment variable.

export INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS=$(kubectl get svc -n kgateway-system http -o jsonpath="{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0]['hostname','ip']}")
echo $INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS

kubectl port-forward deployment/http -n kgateway-system 8080:8080

Add response headers

Add headers to incoming requests before they are sent back to the client. If the response already has the header set, the value of the header in the ResponseHeaderModifier filter is appended to the value of the header in the response.

Set up a header modifier that adds a my-response: hello response header. Choose between the HTTPRoute for a Gateway API-native way, or TrafficPolicy for more flexible attachment options such as a gateway-level policy.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - filters:
        - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
          responseHeaderModifier:
            add: 
            - name: my-response
              value: hello
      backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Setting	Description
`spec.parentRefs`	The name and namespace of the gateway that serves this HTTPRoute. In this example, you use the `http` gateway that was created as part of the get started guide.
`spec.rules.filters.type`	The type of filter that you want to apply to incoming requests. In this example, the `ResponseHeaderModifier` filter is used.
`spec.rules.filters.responseHeaderModifier.add`	The name and value of the response header that you want to add.
`spec.rules.backendRefs`	The backend destination you want to forward traffic to. In this example, all traffic is forwarded to the httpbin app that you set up as part of the get started guide.

Note: The steps in this section use the Envoy-based kgateway proxy. The steps do not work with the agentgateway proxy.

Create an HTTPRoute resource for the route that you want to modify. Note that the example selects the http Gateway that you created before you began.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Create a TrafficPolicy that adds a my-response: hello header to a response. The following example attaches the TrafficPolicy to the http Gateway.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.kgateway.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPolicy
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: kgateway-system
spec:
  targetRefs:
  - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: http
  headerModifiers:
    response:
      add:
      - name: my-response
        value: hello
EOF

Send a request to the httpbin app on the headers.example domain. Verify that you get back a 200 HTTP response code and that you see the my-response header in the response.

curl -vi http://$INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example:8080"

curl -vi localhost:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example"

Example output:

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* Mark bundle as not supporting multiuse
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< access-control-allow-credentials: true
access-control-allow-credentials: true
< access-control-allow-origin: *
access-control-allow-origin: *
< content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
< content-length: 3
content-length: 3
< x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
< my-response: hello
my-response: hello
< server: envoy
server: envoy

Optional: Remove the resources that you created.

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin
kubectl delete TrafficPolicy httpbin-headers -n kgateway-system

Set response headers

Setting headers is similar to adding headers. If the response does not include the header, it is added by the ResponseHeaderModifier filter. However, if the request already contains the header, its value is overwritten with the value from the ResponseHeaderModifier filter.

Set up a header modifier that sets a my-response: custom response header. Choose between the HTTPRoute for a Gateway API-native way, or TrafficPolicy for more flexible attachment options such as a gateway-level policy.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - filters:
        - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
          responseHeaderModifier:
            set: 
            - name: my-response
              value: custom
      backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Setting	Description
`spec.parentRefs`	The name and namespace of the gateway that serves this HTTPRoute. In this example, you use the `http` Gateway that was created as part of the get started guide.
`spec.rules.filters.type`	The type of filter that you want to apply to incoming requests. In this example, the `ResponseHeaderModifier` filter is used.
`spec.rules.filters.responseHeaderModifier.set`	The name and value of the response header that you want to set.
`spec.rules.backendRefs`	The backend destination you want to forward traffic to. In this example, all traffic is forwarded to the httpbin app that you set up as part of the get started guide.

Note: The steps in this section use the Envoy-based kgateway proxy. The steps do not work with the agentgateway proxy.

Create an HTTPRoute resource for the route that you want to modify. Note that the example selects the http Gateway that you created before you began.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Create a TrafficPolicy that sets the my-response header to a custom value on a response. The following example attaches the TrafficPolicy to the http Gateway.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.kgateway.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPolicy
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: kgateway-system
spec:
  targetRefs:
  - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: http
  headerModifiers:
    response:
      set:
      - name: my-response
        value: custom
EOF

Send a request to the httpbin app on the headers.example domain. Verify that you get back a 200 HTTP response code and that the my-response: custom header was set.

curl -vi http://$INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example:8080"

curl -vi localhost:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example"

Example output:

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...
* Request completely sent off
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< access-control-allow-credentials: true
access-control-allow-credentials: true
< access-control-allow-origin: *
access-control-allow-origin: *
...
< my-response: custom
my-response: custom
< server: envoy
server: envoy

Optional: Remove the resources that you created.

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin
kubectl delete TrafficPolicy httpbin-headers -n kgateway-system

Remove response headers

You can remove HTTP headers from a response before the response is sent back to the client.

Send a request to the httpbin app and find the content-length header.

curl -vi http://$INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS:8080/response-headers -H "host: www.example.com:8080"

curl -vi localhost:8080/response-headers -H "host: www.example.com"

Example output:

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...
* Mark bundle as not supporting multiuse
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< access-control-allow-credentials: true
access-control-allow-credentials: true
< access-control-allow-origin: *
access-control-allow-origin: *
< content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
< content-length: 3
content-length: 3
< x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
< server: envoy
server: envoy

Set up a header modifier that removes the content-length header from the response. Choose between the HTTPRoute for a Gateway API-native way, or TrafficPolicy for more flexible attachment options such as a gateway-level policy.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - filters:
        - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
          responseHeaderModifier:
            remove: 
            - content-length
      backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Setting	Description
`spec.parentRefs`	The name and namespace of the gateway that serves this HTTPRoute. In this example, you use the `http` gateway that was created as part of the get started guide.
`spec.rules.filters.type`	The type of filter that you want to apply. In this example, the `ResponseHeaderModifier` filter is used.
`spec.rules.filters.responseHeaderModifier.remove`	The name of the response header that you want to remove.
`spec.rules.backendRefs`	The backend destination you want to forward traffic to. In this example, all traffic is forwarded to the httpbin app that you set up as part of the get started guide.

Note: The steps in this section use the Envoy-based kgateway proxy. The steps do not work with the agentgateway proxy.

Create an HTTPRoute resource for the route that you want to modify. Note that the example selects the http Gateway that you created before you began.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Create a TrafficPolicy that removes the content-length header from a response. The following example attaches the TrafficPolicy to the http Gateway.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.kgateway.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPolicy
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: kgateway-system
spec:
  targetRefs:
  - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: http
  headerModifiers:
    response:
      remove:
      - content-length
EOF

Send a request to the httpbin app on the headers.example domain . Verify that the content-length response header is removed.

curl -vi http://$INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example:8080"

curl -vi localhost:8080/response-headers -H "host: headers.example"

Example output:

* Mark bundle as not supporting multiuse
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< access-control-allow-credentials: true
access-control-allow-credentials: true
< access-control-allow-origin: *
access-control-allow-origin: *
< content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
< x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
< server: envoy
server: envoy
< transfer-encoding: chunked
transfer-encoding: chunked

Optional: Remove the resources that you created.

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin
kubectl delete TrafficPolicy httpbin-headers -n kgateway-system

Dynamic response headers

You can return dynamic information about the response in the response header. For more information, see the Envoy docs for Custom request/response headers.

Keep in mind that some variables are available only at certain times. For example, response codes (%RESPONSE_CODE%) are only available after the response has been sent to the client. If you set a response code in a request header, the value is empty.

You might use some of the following common values in your request or response headers.

Request and response information:

%REQ(:METHOD)% - HTTP method
%REQ(:PATH)% - Request path
%REQ(:AUTHORITY)% - Host header
%REQ(HEADER_NAME)% - Any request header
%RESP(HEADER_NAME)% - Any response header
%RESPONSE_CODE% - HTTP response code
%RESPONSE_FLAGS% - Response flags

Connection information:

%DOWNSTREAM_REMOTE_ADDRESS% - Client IP address with port
%DOWNSTREAM_REMOTE_ADDRESS_WITHOUT_PORT% - Client IP address without port
%DOWNSTREAM_LOCAL_ADDRESS% - Local address
%DOWNSTREAM_CONNECTION_ID% - Connection ID

Timing information:

%START_TIME% - Request start time
%DURATION% - Request duration

Upstream information:

%UPSTREAM_HOST% - Upstream host
%UPSTREAM_CLUSTER% - Upstream Envoy cluster
%UPSTREAM_LOCAL_ADDRESS% - Upstream local address

Data transfer:

%BYTES_RECEIVED% - Bytes received
%BYTES_SENT% - Bytes sent

For more potential values, see Command operators in the Envoy docs.

The steps in this section use the Envoy-based kgateway proxy. The steps do not work with the agentgateway proxy.

Set up a header modifier that sets the X-Response-Code header with the value of the HTTP response code. Choose between the HTTPRoute for a Gateway API-native way, or TrafficPolicy for more flexible attachment options such as a gateway-level policy.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - filters:
        - type: ResponseHeaderModifier
          responseHeaderModifier:
            set: 
              - name: x-response-code
                value: "%RESPONSE_CODE%"
      backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Setting	Description
`spec.parentRefs`	The name and namespace of the gateway that serves this HTTPRoute. In this example, you use the `http` Gateway that was created as part of the get started guide.
`spec.rules.filters.type`	The type of filter that you want to apply to responses. In this example, the `ResponseHeaderModifier` filter is used.
`spec.rules.filters.responseHeaderModifier.set`	The response header that you want to set. In this example, the `x-response-code` header is set to the HTTP response code. For more potential values, see Command operators in the Envoy docs.
`spec.rules.backendRefs`	The backend destination you want to forward traffic to. In this example, all traffic is forwarded to the httpbin app that you set up as part of the get started guide.

Create an HTTPRoute resource for the route that you want to modify. Note that the example selects the http Gateway that you created before you began.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: httpbin
spec:
  parentRefs:
  - name: http
    namespace: kgateway-system
  hostnames:
    - headers.example
  rules:
    - backendRefs:
        - name: httpbin
          port: 8000
EOF

Create a TrafficPolicy that sets the x-response-code header to the HTTP response code. For more potential values, see Command operators in the Envoy docs. The following example attaches the TrafficPolicy to the http Gateway.

kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
apiVersion: gateway.kgateway.dev/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPolicy
metadata:
  name: httpbin-headers
  namespace: kgateway-system
spec:
  targetRefs:
  - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: http
  headerModifiers:
    response:
      set:
      - name: x-response-code
        value: "%RESPONSE_CODE%"
EOF

Send a request to the httpbin app on the headers.example domain. Verify that the x-response-code response header is set to the HTTP response code.

curl -vi http://$INGRESS_GW_ADDRESS:8080/headers -H "host: headers.example:8080"

curl -vi localhost:8080/headers -H "host: headers.example"

Example output:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
access-control-allow-credentials: true
access-control-allow-origin: *
content-type: application/json; encoding=utf-8
date: Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:05:29 GMT
content-length: 479
x-envoy-upstream-service-time: 0
x-response-code: 200
server: envoy

Optional: Clean up the resources that you created.

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin

kubectl delete httproute httpbin-headers -n httpbin
kubectl delete TrafficPolicy httpbin-headers -n kgateway-system

Request headers