Etcd

etcd is a CNCF graduated distributed, reliable key-value store used as the backing store for all Kubernetes cluster data. It provides strong consistency guarantees using the Raft consensus algorithm, supporting watch operations, lease-based TTLs, and atomic compare-and-swap transactions. etcd is designed for high availability and stores critical configuration data for distributed systems.

Etcd publishes 6 APIs on the APIs.io network, including Auth API, Cluster API, KV API, and 3 more. Tagged areas include Cloud-Native, Consensus, Distributed Systems, Graduated, and Key-Value Store.

The Etcd catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 1 Spectral governance ruleset.

Etcd’s developer surface includes authentication, documentation, getting-started guide, engineering blog, changelog, support, Stack Overflow tag, and 15 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub

51.2/100 developing ▬ flat Agent 26/100 agent aware self hosted · Apache-2.0 Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

AccessFreeSelf serve⚡ Free to try

1 APIs

Cloud-Native Consensus Distributed Systems Graduated Key-Value Store Kubernetes

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

Composite quality — 51.2/100 · developing

Contract Quality 11.8 / 20

Developer Ergonomics 7.6 / 16

Access Clarity 2.1 / 16

Operational Transparency 4.9 / 10

Contract Governance 0.9 / 10

Discoverability 5.3 / 8

Open Source Surface 10.0 / 10

Create-or-Update Ergonomics 5.0 / 10

Agent readiness — 26/100 · agent aware

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 0 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10

Idempotency 0 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 8 / 8

Request/Response Examples 0 / 7

Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7

Typed Event Surface 0 / 6

Agent Skills 0 / 5

Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4

Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3

A2A Agent Card 0 / 8

Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4

Delegated User Identity 0 / 6

Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5

Registration Without a Human 0 / 6

Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5

Open Source Surface applies to this provider. This product is open source and we read its repository directly, so Open Source Surface carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from what the repository actually publishes — a security policy, a contribution guide, a release history, a code of conduct — read live from the provider rather than inferred from our own catalog pointers. This facet adds; nothing was taken away to make room for it. An open-source project is not excused from the commercial facets, because exemption would strip it of the points it does earn. If we have the wrong repository, or this product is not open source, say so on your provider repo and we will drop the facet rather than have you publish against it.

Create-or-Update Ergonomics applies to this provider. This API accepts writes, so it carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from the published contracts themselves: whether a caller can create-or-update in one call, whether the write accepts a key the caller already holds, and whether the response says which branch ran. Without that, every write needs a search-and-branch in front of it, and the first time that check is skipped a duplicate record is created. Scored against the observed mean rather than raw — a provider at the catalog average is unchanged by this facet, not penalised by it.

The six quality facets above are damped to 80 points between them, because the conditional facet above carries the other 20. That is why each facet's contribution is shown against a damped maximum: raising a quality facet moves the composite by 80% of its nominal weight, not 100%. The full arithmetic is at apis.io/rating/.

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/etcd: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

APIs 10

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

etcd gRPC API

The etcd v3 API is a gRPC-based interface providing key-value operations (put, get, delete, range), watch streams for change notifications, lease management for TTL-based keys, ...

etcd Concurrency API

The etcd concurrency API provides distributed primitives built on top of the core key-value store, including distributed mutexes (locks), leader election, and software transacti...

etcd Metrics API

etcd exposes a Prometheus-compatible metrics endpoint that provides operational insights into the etcd cluster, including request rates, latency histograms, disk I/O statistics,...

etcd v2 HTTP API

The original etcd v2 API exposed a RESTful HTTP interface for key-value operations using a hierarchical directory structure. This API has been deprecated in favor of the v3 gRPC...

Etcd Auth API

Authentication and authorization management for users and roles

Etcd Cluster API

Cluster membership management including member add, remove, and list

Etcd KV API

Key-value store operations including put, get, delete, and range queries

Etcd Lease API

Lease management for TTL-based key expiration

Etcd Maintenance API

Maintenance operations including snapshots, defragmentation, and status

Etcd Watch API

Watch operations for streaming key change notifications

Scroll for all 10

etcd HTTP Gateway Auth Watch API

OPEN COLLECTION

Scroll for all 8

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Etcd Plans Pricing

1 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Etcd Rate Limits

4 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Etcd Finops

FINOPS

Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Etcd Context

0 classes · 9 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 1

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

Etcd API Rules

6 rules · 4 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

8 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Scroll for all 76

JSON Structure 1

JSON Structure definitions describing this provider's data shapes.

Etcd Structure

0 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Etcd Authentication

http · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Etcd Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Etcd Agentic Access

38 operations · 38 acting · 4 human-in-the-loop

38 operations · 38 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Get Started 1

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

GettingStarted

GettingStarted

Documentation 3

Reference material describing how the API behaves

ContributionGuide

ContributionGuide

JSONSchema

JSONSchema

Documentation

Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Design & Contract 1

Pagination, idempotency, versioning, errors, and events

JSONLD

JSONLD

Build 3

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

CodeOfConduct

CodeOfConduct

GitHubOrganization

GitHubOrganization

GitHubRepository

GitHubRepository

Access & Security 4

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

SecurityPolicy

DomainSecurity

Authentication

Security

Operate 6

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

IssueTracker

Releases

Community

ChangeLog

Support

StackOverflow

Commercial 1

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

License

License

Company 2

The organization behind the API

Website

Website

Blog

Blog

Source (apis.yml)

aid: etcd
name: Etcd
description: etcd is a CNCF graduated distributed, reliable key-value store used as the backing store for all Kubernetes cluster
  data. It provides strong consistency guarantees using the Raft consensus algorithm, supporting watch operations, lease-based
  TTLs, and atomic compare-and-swap transactions. etcd is designed for high availability and stores critical configuration
  data for distributed systems.
url: https://etcd.io
deliveryModel:
  model: self-hosted
  license: Apache-2.0
  open_source: true
  commercial: false
  callable_host: false
  label: Self-hosted open source · you run it yourself
  confidence: high
  source:
  - license
  - openapi
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: false
  label: Free · Self-serve signup
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  - security
  generated: '2026-09-03'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/etcd.png
tags:
- Cloud-Native
- Consensus
- Distributed Systems
- Graduated
- Key-Value Store
- Kubernetes
tags_raw:
- Cloud Native
- Consensus
- Distributed Systems
- Graduated
- Key-Value Store
- Kubernetes
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-05-19'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
type: Index
apis:
- aid: etcd:etcd-grpc-api
  name: etcd gRPC API
  description: The etcd v3 API is a gRPC-based interface providing key-value operations (put, get, delete, range), watch streams
    for change notifications, lease management for TTL-based keys, cluster membership management, maintenance operations including
    snapshots and defragmentation, and authentication and authorization controls.
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api_guarantees/
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/op-guide/authentication/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/interacting_v3/
  - type: Client Libraries
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/integrations/
  tags:
  - Cluster Management
  - gRPC
  - Key-Value
  - Lease
  - Watch
- aid: etcd:etcd-concurrency-api
  name: etcd Concurrency API
  description: The etcd concurrency API provides distributed primitives built on top of the core key-value store, including
    distributed mutexes (locks), leader election, and software transactional memory (STM). These primitives are used to coordinate
    between distributed processes and implement consensus patterns in clustered applications.
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_concurrency_reference_v3/
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_concurrency_reference_v3/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_concurrency_reference_v3/
  tags:
  - Concurrency
  - Coordination
  - Distributed Locking
  - Leader Election
- aid: etcd:etcd-metrics-api
  name: etcd Metrics API
  description: etcd exposes a Prometheus-compatible metrics endpoint that provides operational insights into the etcd cluster,
    including request rates, latency histograms, disk I/O statistics, Raft state, and cluster health indicators. This endpoint
    is used for monitoring and alerting in production etcd deployments.
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/op-guide/monitoring/
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/op-guide/monitoring/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/metrics/
  tags:
  - Metrics
  - Monitoring
  - Observability
  - Prometheus
- aid: etcd:etcd-v2-api
  name: etcd v2 HTTP API
  description: The original etcd v2 API exposed a RESTful HTTP interface for key-value operations using a hierarchical directory
    structure. This API has been deprecated in favor of the v3 gRPC API and was removed from the default etcd build in later
    versions. Existing users should migrate to the v3 API.
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v2.3/api/
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v2.3/api/
  - type: Deprecation Notice
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/op-guide/v2-migration/
  - type: Migration Guide
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/op-guide/v2-migration/
  tags:
  - Deprecated
  - HTTP
  - Key-Value
  - REST
- aid: etcd:etcd-auth-api
  name: Etcd Auth API
  description: Authentication and authorization management for users and roles
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - Authentication
  tags_raw:
  - Auth
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-auth-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
- aid: etcd:etcd-cluster-api
  name: Etcd Cluster API
  description: Cluster membership management including member add, remove, and list
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - Cluster
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-cluster-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
- aid: etcd:etcd-kv-api
  name: Etcd KV API
  description: Key-value store operations including put, get, delete, and range queries
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - KV
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-kv-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
- aid: etcd:etcd-lease-api
  name: Etcd Lease API
  description: Lease management for TTL-based key expiration
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - Lease
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-lease-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
- aid: etcd:etcd-maintenance-api
  name: Etcd Maintenance API
  description: Maintenance operations including snapshots, defragmentation, and status
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - Maintenance
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-maintenance-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
- aid: etcd:etcd-watch-api
  name: Etcd Watch API
  description: Watch operations for streaming key change notifications
  humanURL: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/learning/api/
  tags:
  - Watch
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/etcd-watch-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/dev-guide/api_grpc_gateway/
common:
- type: IssueTracker
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/issues
- type: Releases
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases
- type: SecurityPolicy
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/.github/SECURITY.md
- type: CodeOfConduct
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/code-of-conduct.md
- type: ContributionGuide
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
- type: License
  name: Apache-2.0
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/LICENSE
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/etcd-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/etcd-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/etcd-authentication.yml
- type: JSONSchema
  url: json-schema/etcd-key-value-schema.json
- type: JSONLD
  url: json-ld/etcd-context.jsonld
- type: Website
  name: etcd Website
  description: Official etcd project website.
  url: https://etcd.io
- type: Documentation
  name: etcd Documentation
  description: Official etcd documentation.
  url: https://etcd.io/docs/
- type: GettingStarted
  name: etcd Getting Started
  description: Guide to installing and using etcd for the first time.
  url: https://etcd.io/docs/v3.5/quickstart/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  name: etcd GitHub Organization
  description: Source code and related repositories for the etcd project.
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io
- type: GitHubRepository
  name: etcd GitHub Repository
  description: Main etcd source code repository.
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd
- type: Blog
  name: etcd Blog
  description: Project blog and announcements.
  url: https://etcd.io/blog/
- type: Community
  name: etcd Community
  description: Community resources and contribution guidelines for the etcd project.
  url: https://etcd.io/community/
- type: ChangeLog
  name: etcd Changelog
  description: Release notes and version history for etcd.
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/CHANGELOG/
- type: Security
  name: etcd Security
  description: Security disclosure policy and advisories for etcd.
  url: https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/security/SECURITY.md
- type: Support
  name: etcd Support
  description: Community support channels including mailing lists and Slack.
  url: https://etcd.io/community/
- type: StackOverflow
  name: etcd Stack Overflow
  description: etcd-tagged questions and answers on Stack Overflow.
  url: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/etcd
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

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