API Gateway
AWS API Gateway reference: REST/HTTP CLI recipes, CORS, JWT auth, 502/504 troubleshooting
Test report
- Verdict
- Works with setup
- Score
- Tested
- Jul 21, 2026
- Environment
- Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
- Upstream re-checked
- Aug 10, 2026 · dacae2c
Located skills/api-gateway/SKILL.md via the GitHub tree API (343 lines, frontmatter has name + description + last_updated 2026-01-07); spot-fetched integration-patterns.md (HTTP 200) and .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (HTTP 200), which lists ./skills/api-gateway, so the install path is derivable and no machine paths are hardcoded; grep for curl|sh, base64 -d, eval and injection text found nothing. Trigger phrasings I judged: SHOULD — "Set up an HTTP API in front of my Lambda with a Cognito JWT authorizer" (load), "My API Gateway endpoint returns 502 Bad Gateway, help me debug" (load), "Add a usage plan and API key throttling to our REST API stage" (load); SHOULD NOT — "Add rate limiting middleware to my Express app running on ECS" (skip), "Design a REST API resource naming scheme for our internal service" (skip); 5/5 correct, the "AWS API Gateway" anchor keeps the otherwise generic phrases like "troubleshooting API issues" from over-firing. For output I wrote both artifacts (apigw-baseline.md vs skillrun.md in scratchpad) for one task: HTTP API POST /orders backed by Lambda, Cognito JWT auth, CORS for one origin. My baseline covered all 6 steps needed for a working endpoint; following the SKILL.md body strictly covered about 3 — the body only shows the `create-api --target` quick-create shortcut and never gives a `create-route` or `create-integration` example (`create-route` appears only as a one-line row in a CLI table), never mentions `--payload-format-version 2.0`, and `aws lambda add-permission` appears nowhere in SKILL.md or integration-patterns.md, so a literal follow deploys an API that 500s. The skill did add two things my baseline missed: isBase64Encoded body decoding in the handler and the 502 "missing statusCode" / 504 29s-vs-30s timeout notes. Net wash, hence 5/10. Docs docked to 3: integration-patterns.md is never linked from SKILL.md so progressive disclosure is dead, the README's Codex install example points at a nonexistent `rlhf` skill in this repo, and "deep expertise / real-world patterns, edge cases" oversells what is a competent but incomplete cheat sheet; the "18 services" and weekly doc-check claims did check out against the tree and .github/workflows/weekly-aws-doc-check.yml.
Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works
- Installs cleanly 5/5
- Triggers reliably 5/5
- Output vs. baseline 5/10
- Docs & honesty 3/5
What API Gateway does
A reference skill for Amazon API Gateway that supplies CLI recipes for REST and HTTP APIs, a SAM template, Lambda proxy handler shape, CORS configuration for both API flavors, JWT authorizer setup, and a troubleshooting section covering 403, 502, 504 and CORS failures. It triggers when you ask about creating an API Gateway API, wiring Lambda or AWS-service integrations, setting up authorizers, managing stages and deployments, adding usage plans or throttling, or debugging API Gateway error codes. Part of the aws-agent-skills plugin, which bundles 18 AWS service skills installed together.
How to install API Gateway
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills.git /tmp/api-gateway-src
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -R /tmp/api-gateway-src/skills/api-gateway ~/.claude/skills/api-gateway
# Plugin instead (installs all 18 AWS skills): /plugin marketplace add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills
# then /plugin install aws-agent-skills
# The skill body is pure reference text; the AWS CLI is only needed if you run the commands it shows.
Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/
(per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.
Commands — how to trigger API Gateway
-
/api-gatewayAWS API Gateway reference: REST/HTTP CLI recipes, CORS, JWT auth, 502/504 troubleshooting
It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:
-
Set up rate limiting on this API Gateway -
Configure a Lambda integration for this endpoint -
Troubleshoot this API Gateway 403 error
Frequently asked questions
- Is the API Gateway skill free?
- Yes. The skill itself is free from itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
- Does API Gateway work with Claude Code?
- We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 21, 2026. Verdict: Works with setup. Located skills/api-gateway/SKILL.md via the GitHub tree API (343 lines, frontmatter has name + description + last_updated 2026-01-07); spot-fetched integration-patterns.md (HTTP 200) and .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (HTTP 200), which lists ./skills/api-gateway, so the install path is derivable and no machine paths are hardcoded; grep for curl|sh, base64 -d, eval and injection text found nothing. Trigger phrasings I judged: SHOULD — "Set up an HTTP API in front of my Lambda with a Cognito JWT authorizer" (load), "My API Gateway endpoint returns 502 Bad Gateway, help me debug" (load), "Add a usage plan and API key throttling to our REST API stage" (load); SHOULD NOT — "Add rate limiting middleware to my Express app running on ECS" (skip), "Design a REST API resource naming scheme for our internal service" (skip); 5/5 correct, the "AWS API Gateway" anchor keeps the otherwise generic phrases like "troubleshooting API issues" from over-firing. For output I wrote both artifacts (apigw-baseline.md vs skillrun.md in scratchpad) for one task: HTTP API POST /orders backed by Lambda, Cognito JWT auth, CORS for one origin. My baseline covered all 6 steps needed for a working endpoint; following the SKILL.md body strictly covered about 3 — the body only shows the `create-api --target` quick-create shortcut and never gives a `create-route` or `create-integration` example (`create-route` appears only as a one-line row in a CLI table), never mentions `--payload-format-version 2.0`, and `aws lambda add-permission` appears nowhere in SKILL.md or integration-patterns.md, so a literal follow deploys an API that 500s. The skill did add two things my baseline missed: isBase64Encoded body decoding in the handler and the 502 "missing statusCode" / 504 29s-vs-30s timeout notes. Net wash, hence 5/10. Docs docked to 3: integration-patterns.md is never linked from SKILL.md so progressive disclosure is dead, the README's Codex install example points at a nonexistent `rlhf` skill in this repo, and "deep expertise / real-world patterns, edge cases" oversells what is a competent but incomplete cheat sheet; the "18 services" and weekly doc-check claims did check out against the tree and .github/workflows/weekly-aws-doc-check.yml.
- What is the API Gateway SkillProof Score?
- 7.2/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 5/10, docs & honesty 3/5.
- How do I install API Gateway?
- Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- Can I use API Gateway with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?
- The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.