I Built Relay_: The Open-Source Layer Between Your API and the Internet

Description and use

Relay is a lightweight Go gateway that simplifies authentication and rate limiting for public APIs, reducing cost and complexity.

Problem

Developers building public APIs face expensive, complex, or DIY gateway solutions that add latency, cost, and maintenance overhead.

Outcome

Relay reduces API gateway complexity, cuts costs, and improves performance, enabling developers to focus on core business logic.

Workflow

• 1. Deploy Relay in front of your backend API.
• 2. Configure API keys and rate limits via the Relay dashboard.
• 3. Relay intercepts incoming requests, validates keys in memory, applies Redis rate limits, and forwards clean requests to your API.
• 4. Monitor traffic and analytics through the built‑in dashboard.

Evidence

I almost rage‑quit my own side project last month because I spent 14 hours fighting AWS API Gateway just to validate a single API key.

Source

Relay is a lightweight, open‑source API infrastructure layer. It sits right in front of your actual backend and handles all the annoying stuff automatically.

Source