Piko

Spec sheet

What it does

Piko is a reverse proxy that tunnels traffic to services that are not publicly routable.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Purpose

Piko is an open-source reverse proxy for tunneling traffic to services that are not publicly routable.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Deployment

Piko can be downloaded as a binary, built from source, or run as a Docker image.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Integrations

Piko provides a Go SDK and documents hosting behind a Kubernetes Gateway or HTTP load balancer.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Security

The maker describes Piko as providing a secure way to connect to services that are not publicly routable, and documents TLS support for Piko forward.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Support

The project directs users to GitHub Discussions for questions, help, and ideas.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

License

The project is released under the MIT License.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Authentication

Piko can verify client JWTs using HMAC, RSA, or ECDSA keys, with optional endpoint access restrictions in JWT claims.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Getting started

The maker's getting-started guide demonstrates a three-node Piko cluster behind an NGINX load balancer using Docker Compose.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

HTTP routing

HTTP(S) requests select an endpoint using either the Host header or the x-piko-endpoint header.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Intended use

The project describes use cases including exposing services in a customer network, bring-your-own-cloud services, and connecting to user devices.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Kubernetes hosting

Piko is designed to run behind an HTTP load balancer or Kubernetes Gateway, including as a StatefulSet.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Load balancing

Requests are load balanced among available upstreams listening on the same endpoint.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Notable TCP limit

Raw TCP requests cannot identify a target endpoint at the Piko server, so they must connect through Piko forward or the Go SDK.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Observability

Piko provides a Prometheus endpoint, access logging, and a status API for monitoring and debugging.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Outbound tunnels

Upstream services open outbound-only connections to Piko, which forwards incoming traffic through those connections.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Production scaling

Piko is designed to run as a cluster for fault tolerance, horizontal scaling, and zero-downtime deployments.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Production use

The server can run as a cluster of nodes for fault tolerance, horizontal scaling, and zero-downtime deployments.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Protocols

Piko supports HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP traffic.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Routing

Requests can target endpoints using the Host header or x-piko-endpoint header, and requests to endpoints with multiple upstreams are load balanced.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

TCP routing

TCP traffic can be forwarded with Piko forward or the Go SDK, and Piko forward can authenticate to the server and use TLS.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Traffic types

The Piko agent supports HTTP and TCP upstreams, and a Go SDK can create listeners directly from an application.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Upstream connections

Upstream services connect outbound to Piko, so they do not need a publicly accessible route.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Where Specifiction places it

• Reverse Proxy Software#22 of 337.2