# Apache Knox

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/providers/apache-knox/  
**APIs profiled:** 4

Apache Knox is a REST API and application gateway for the Apache Hadoop ecosystem. It provides a single access point for all REST and HTTP interactions with Apache Hadoop clusters, with authentication, authorization, SSO, and audit capabilities. Governed by the Apache Software Foundation under Apache 2.0.

## Kin Score — 39.9 / 100 (developing)

Scored 2026-08-20 under rubric 0.12.0. Trend: flat (+0.0 from 39.9).

| Facet | Score |
|---|---|
| Discoverability | 64.8 |
| Contract Quality | 54.8 |
| Governance | 25.0 |
| Contract Governance | 25.0 |
| Operational Transparency | 36.8 |
| Developer Ergonomics | 33.3 |
| Commercial Clarity | 26.3 |
| Access Clarity | 26.3 |

## Agent readiness — 35.0 (agent-ready)

| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Spec Presence | yes |
| Agentic Access | derived |
| Reversibility Documented | no |
| MCP Server | no |
| Auth Clarity | yes |
| Idempotency | no |
| Error Semantics | no |
| OpenAPI Examples | verified |
| Rate Limit Signal | documented |
| Event Surface Described | no |
| Agent Skills | no |
| Well Known Catalog | no |
| Consent Identity | no |
| Agent Card | no |
| Dry Run Mode | no |

## Access

Freemium · Self-serve signup — onboarding: self-serve, pricing: freemium, trial: no (confidence: high).

## APIs (4)

- **Apache Knox Gateway API** — The Knox gateway proxies and secures access to Hadoop ecosystem services including HDFS WebHDFS, Hive, HBase REST, YARN, Oozie, Ambari, and Ranger with authentication and author...
- **Apache Knox Descriptors API** — Simple descriptor management
- **Apache Knox Providers API** — Provider configuration management
- **Apache Knox Topologies API** — Gateway topology management

## Agentic access (1)

- **Apache Knox Agentic Access** — 12 operations · 5 acting

## Security (3)

- **Apache Knox Authentication** — http · 1 scheme
- **Apache Knox Domain Security** — TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC
- **Apache Knox Vulnerability Disclosure** — security.txt · contact published

## Plans (1)

- **Apache Knox Plans Pricing**

## Use cases (4)

- **Hadoop Cluster Security** — Secure and centralize access to all Hadoop REST APIs through Knox.
- **Cloud Hadoop Access** — Provide secure REST access to EMR, HDInsight, and Dataproc clusters.
- **Hadoop SSO** — Enable single sign-on across Ambari, Hue, Spark UI, and other Hadoop UIs.
- **REST API Proxying** — Proxy WebHDFS, Hive JDBC/REST, HBase REST, and YARN REST through Knox.

## Tags

API Gateway, Authentication, Hadoop, Open-Source, Security, SSO

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/providers/apache-knox/). Scores are computed from the provider's own public artifacts under a published rubric.