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Local API

The Local API (LAPI) is a core component of crowdsec-agent and has a few essential missions :

  • Allow crowdsec machines to push alerts & decisions to a database
  • Allow bouncers to consume said alerts & decisions from database
  • Allow cscli to view add or delete decisions

You can find the swagger documentation here.

Authentication

There is two kinds of authentication to the local API :

  • Bouncers : they authenticate with a simple API key and can only read decisions

  • Machines : they authenticate with a login&password and can not only read decisions, but create new ones

Bouncers

To register a bouncer to your API, you need to run the following command on the server where the API is installed:

$ sudo cscli bouncers add testBouncer

and keep the generated API token to use it in your Bouncers configuration file.

Machines

To allow a machine to communicate with the local API, the machine need to be validated by an administrator of the local API.

There is two ways to register a crowdsec to a local API.

  • You can create a machine directly on the API server that will be automatically validated, by running the following command on the server where the API is installed:
$ sudo cscli machines add testMachine

If your crowdsec run on the same server that the local API, then your credentials file will be generated automatically, else you will have to copy/paste them in your remote crowdsec credentials file (/etc/crowdsec/local_api_credentials.yaml)

  • You can use cscli to register to the API server:
sudo cscli lapi register -u <api_url>

And validate it with cscli on the server where the API is installed:

sudo cscli machines validate <machineName>

Tips

You can use cscli machines list to list all the machines registered to the API, and view the ones that are not validated yet.

Configuration

Client

By default, crowdsec and cscli use 127.0.0.1:8080 as a default local API. But you might want to use a remote API and so configure a different endpoint for your api client.

Register to a remote API server

  • On the remote crowdsec server, run:
$ sudo cscli lapi register -u http://<remote_api>:<port>
  • On the local API server, validate the machine by running the command:
$ sudo cscli machines list # to get the name of the new registered machine

$ sudo cscli machines validate <machineName>

Server

Configure listen URL

If you want your local API to be used by a remote crowdsec, it is possible to modify the URL it listen on. You just have to modify the listen_uri option in the main configuration file. Then see how to configure your crowdsec to use a remote API.

Enable SSL

The most common use case of the local API is to listen on 127.0.0.1. In that case there's no need for configuring any ssl layer. In some cases, the local API will listen for other crowdsec installation that will report its triggered scenarios. In that case, the endpoint may be configured with ssl. You can see how to configure SSL on your local API here.

See the Local API public documentation.