Set policies

Replace an environment’s gateway policies in a single atomic request. Policies run at the edge before requests reach your app: verify API keys, rate limit, block requests outright, or validate them against your OpenAPI spec.

Policies are an ordered list: the gateway evaluates them top to bottom and the first rejection short-circuits the request.

Each policy sets exactly one of keyauth, ratelimit, firewall or openapi, plus optional match expressions restricting which requests it applies to.

Every call is a full replace: the environment’s policies become exactly the request list in the given order, and the server generates a fresh id for each one. An empty list removes all policies. The operation is atomic: if any policy is invalid, nothing is written.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

environment.*.set_policies (for any environment)
environment.<environment_id>.set_policies (for a specific environment)

POST

gateway.setPolicies

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey, models


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.gateway.set_policies(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", policies=[
        {
            "name": "Block internal paths",
            "enabled": True,
            "match": [
                models.MatchExpr(
                    path=models.PathMatch(
                        path=models.StringMatch(
                            prefix="/internal/",
                        ),
                    ),
                ),
            ],
            "firewall": {
                "action": models.Action.ACTION_DENY,
            },
        },
    ])

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.gateway.setPolicies({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    policies: [
      {
        name: "Block internal paths",
        enabled: true,
        match: [
          {
            path: {
              path: {
                prefix: "/internal/",
              },
            },
          },
        ],
        firewall: {
          action: "ACTION_DENY",
        },
      },
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Gateway.SetPolicies(ctx, components.V2GatewaySetPoliciesRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        Policies: []components.Policy{
            components.Policy{
                Name: "Block internal paths",
                Enabled: true,
                Match: []components.MatchExpr{
                    components.MatchExpr{
                        Path: &components.PathMatch{
                            Path: components.StringMatch{
                                Prefix: unkey.Pointer("/internal/"),
                            },
                        },
                    },
                },
                Firewall: &components.FirewallPolicy{
                    Action: components.ActionActionDeny,
                },
            },
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2GatewaySetPoliciesResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "policies": [
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "firewall": {
        "action": "ACTION_DENY"
      },
      "match": [
        {
          "path": {
            "path": {
              "prefix": "/internal/"
            }
          }
        }
      ],
      "name": "Block internal paths"
    }
  ],
  "project": "payments"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    policies: [
      {
        enabled: true,
        firewall: {action: 'ACTION_DENY'},
        match: [{path: {path: {prefix: '/internal/'}}}],
        name: 'Block internal paths'
      }
    ],
    project: 'payments'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'policies' => [
        [
                'enabled' => true,
                'firewall' => [
                                'action' => 'ACTION_DENY'
                ],
                'match' => [
                                [
                                                                'path' => [
                                                                                                                                'path' => [
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                'prefix' => '/internal/'
                                                                                                                                ]
                                                                ]
                                ]
                ],
                'name' => 'Block internal paths'
        ]
    ],
    'project' => 'payments'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"policies\": [\n    {\n      \"enabled\": true,\n      \"firewall\": {\n        \"action\": \"ACTION_DENY\"\n      },\n      \"match\": [\n        {\n          \"path\": {\n            \"path\": {\n              \"prefix\": \"/internal/\"\n            }\n          }\n        }\n      ],\n      \"name\": \"Block internal paths\"\n    }\n  ],\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"policies\": [\n    {\n      \"enabled\": true,\n      \"firewall\": {\n        \"action\": \"ACTION_DENY\"\n      },\n      \"match\": [\n        {\n          \"path\": {\n            \"path\": {\n              \"prefix\": \"/internal/\"\n            }\n          }\n        }\n      ],\n      \"name\": \"Block internal paths\"\n    }\n  ],\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

Authorizations

Authorization

string

header

required

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs. To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key. Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

project

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

app

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

environment

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

policies

object[]

required

The environment's complete policy list, in evaluation order. Every call replaces all stored policies with exactly this list; an empty list removes every policy. The operation is atomic: if any policy is invalid, nothing is written. An environment can hold at most 50 policies.

Maximum array length: 50

Show child attributes

Response

Successfully set the policies.

meta

object

required

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

data

object

required

Empty response object by design. A successful response indicates this operation was successfully executed.

Last modified on July 22, 2026

Update policyUpdate a single policy in place without resending the environment's full policy list. The policy keeps its id and its position in the evaluation order, and all other policies are untouched. Omitted fields keep their stored values; at least one updatable field must be provided. Setting `match` to null removes all match expressions so the policy applies to every request. Providing one of `keyauth`, `ratelimit`, `firewall` or `openapi` replaces the policy's rule entirely, including switching its type; at most one may be set. Policy ids are regenerated whenever `gateway.setPolicies` replaces the list, so fetch current ids via `gateway.listPolicies` first. **Required Permissions** Your root key must have one of the following permissions: - `environment.*.update_policy` (for any environment) - `environment.<environment_id>.update_policy` (for a specific environment)

⌘I

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey, models


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.gateway.set_policies(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", policies=[
        {
            "name": "Block internal paths",
            "enabled": True,
            "match": [
                models.MatchExpr(
                    path=models.PathMatch(
                        path=models.StringMatch(
                            prefix="/internal/",
                        ),
                    ),
                ),
            ],
            "firewall": {
                "action": models.Action.ACTION_DENY,
            },
        },
    ])

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.gateway.setPolicies({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    policies: [
      {
        name: "Block internal paths",
        enabled: true,
        match: [
          {
            path: {
              path: {
                prefix: "/internal/",
              },
            },
          },
        ],
        firewall: {
          action: "ACTION_DENY",
        },
      },
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Gateway.SetPolicies(ctx, components.V2GatewaySetPoliciesRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        Policies: []components.Policy{
            components.Policy{
                Name: "Block internal paths",
                Enabled: true,
                Match: []components.MatchExpr{
                    components.MatchExpr{
                        Path: &components.PathMatch{
                            Path: components.StringMatch{
                                Prefix: unkey.Pointer("/internal/"),
                            },
                        },
                    },
                },
                Firewall: &components.FirewallPolicy{
                    Action: components.ActionActionDeny,
                },
            },
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2GatewaySetPoliciesResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "policies": [
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "firewall": {
        "action": "ACTION_DENY"
      },
      "match": [
        {
          "path": {
            "path": {
              "prefix": "/internal/"
            }
          }
        }
      ],
      "name": "Block internal paths"
    }
  ],
  "project": "payments"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    policies: [
      {
        enabled: true,
        firewall: {action: 'ACTION_DENY'},
        match: [{path: {path: {prefix: '/internal/'}}}],
        name: 'Block internal paths'
      }
    ],
    project: 'payments'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'policies' => [
        [
                'enabled' => true,
                'firewall' => [
                                'action' => 'ACTION_DENY'
                ],
                'match' => [
                                [
                                                                'path' => [
                                                                                                                                'path' => [
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                'prefix' => '/internal/'
                                                                                                                                ]
                                                                ]
                                ]
                ],
                'name' => 'Block internal paths'
        ]
    ],
    'project' => 'payments'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"policies\": [\n    {\n      \"enabled\": true,\n      \"firewall\": {\n        \"action\": \"ACTION_DENY\"\n      },\n      \"match\": [\n        {\n          \"path\": {\n            \"path\": {\n              \"prefix\": \"/internal/\"\n            }\n          }\n        }\n      ],\n      \"name\": \"Block internal paths\"\n    }\n  ],\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.setPolicies")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"policies\": [\n    {\n      \"enabled\": true,\n      \"firewall\": {\n        \"action\": \"ACTION_DENY\"\n      },\n      \"match\": [\n        {\n          \"path\": {\n            \"path\": {\n              \"prefix\": \"/internal/\"\n            }\n          }\n        }\n      ],\n      \"name\": \"Block internal paths\"\n    }\n  ],\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}