> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/agentgateway/agentgateway/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Binds

> Configure the TCP ports agentgateway listens on and the listeners attached to each port.

The `binds` array is the top-level configuration that defines which TCP ports agentgateway listens on. Each bind maps a port number to one or more [listeners](/reference/listeners), which in turn contain [routes](/reference/routes) and [backends](/reference/backends).

<Note>
  Every valid agentgateway configuration must have at least one bind with at least one listener.
</Note>

## Structure

```yaml theme={null}
binds:
  - port: 3000
    listeners:
      - routes:
          - backends:
              - host: localhost:8080
```

The hierarchy flows as: **bind (port)** → **listeners** → **routes** → **backends**.

## Fields

<ParamField path="binds" type="array" required>
  Array of bind configurations. Each entry opens a listening TCP socket on the specified port.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="binds[].port" type="number" required>
  The TCP port to listen on. agentgateway binds to `0.0.0.0` on this port, accepting connections on all available network interfaces.

  Common values: `3000` (development), `8080` (HTTP proxy), `8443` (HTTPS proxy).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="binds[].listeners" type="array" required>
  Array of listener configurations attached to this port. Each listener can match traffic by hostname or protocol and apply a distinct set of routes.

  See [Listeners](/reference/listeners) for the full field reference.
</ParamField>

## Examples

### Single port, single listener

The minimal configuration — one port, one listener, and one route.

```yaml basic/config.yaml theme={null}
binds:
  - port: 3000
    listeners:
      - routes:
          - backends:
              - mcp:
                  targets:
                    - name: everything
                      stdio:
                        cmd: npx
                        args: ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"]
```

### Multiple ports

Serve different protocols on separate ports by defining multiple binds.

```yaml multi-port theme={null}
binds:
  # MCP proxy on port 3000
  - port: 3000
    listeners:
      - routes:
          - backends:
              - mcp:
                  targets:
                    - name: everything
                      stdio:
                        cmd: npx
                        args: ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"]

  # HTTP proxy on port 8080
  - port: 8080
    listeners:
      - protocol: HTTP
        routes:
          - backends:
              - host: 127.0.0.1:9090

  # HTTPS with TLS termination on port 8443
  - port: 8443
    listeners:
      - protocol: HTTPS
        tls:
          cert: /etc/certs/tls.crt
          key: /etc/certs/tls.key
        routes:
          - backends:
              - host: 127.0.0.1:9090
```

### Multiple listeners on one port

Multiple listeners on the same port can route traffic by hostname.

```yaml vhost theme={null}
binds:
  - port: 8080
    listeners:
      - hostname: api.example.com
        routes:
          - backends:
              - host: api-backend:9000
      - hostname: admin.example.com
        routes:
          - backends:
              - host: admin-backend:9001
      - hostname: "*"
        routes:
          - policies:
              directResponse:
                status: 404
                body: "not found"
```

## How binds map to network interfaces

agentgateway listens on all available network interfaces (`0.0.0.0`) for the configured port. To restrict to a specific interface, use a network policy at the operating system level or deploy agentgateway behind a load balancer that restricts source addresses.

Each bind is independent. Opening port `3000` and port `8080` creates two separate TCP listeners. Connections on port `3000` are never mixed with connections on port `8080`.

<Tip>
  For IPv6 support, set `config.enableIpv6: true` in the static configuration. When enabled, agentgateway also binds to `[::]` in addition to `0.0.0.0`.
</Tip>