# ExaBGP Wiki

Welcome to the comprehensive ExaBGP documentation. This wiki covers everything from beginner setup to advanced features and production deployments.

## 🚨 Common Problem - Pipe Filling

> **Many online ExaBGP script examples DO NOT read ACK responses ("done") from the API.**
> Your own code MUST read the response message to your command as otherwise:
> - The STDIN pipe will fill up
> - ExaBGP will block and stop processing
> - Your BGP session will hang
>
> **ExaBGP 4.x and 5.0.0+ have ACK enabled by default.** Your scripts MUST either:
> 1. **Read ACK responses** with `select()` or equivalent (recommended)
> 2. **Disable ACK** via `export exabgp.api.ack=false` (simpler but less reliable)
> 3. **Use runtime control** (5.0.0+ only): `disable-ack`, `enable-ack`, `silence-ack`
>
> See [ACK Feature Documentation](API-Overview#command-acknowledgment-ack-feature) for correct implementation patterns.


## Important Notice

**ExaBGP does NOT manipulate the RIB (Routing Information Base) or FIB (Forwarding Information Base).**

ExaBGP is a pure BGP protocol implementation that:
- Implements the BGP-4 protocol and modern extensions
- Provides JSON/text API for external process communication
- Maintains internal routing information
- **Does NOT** install routes into the kernel routing table
- **Does NOT** modify forwarding tables

If you need FIB manipulation, consider alternatives like [BIRD](http://bird.network.cz/) or [FRRouting](https://frrouting.org/).

## Version Compatibility

- **6.0.0 (main):** Active development. Async reactor, enhanced CLI, shell completion, health monitoring API. **Python 3.12+ required**. See [5.x → 6.0.0 Migration](From-5.x-to-6.x).
- **5.0.0 (LTS):** Stable release. SRv6, BGP-MUP, security fixes. Python 3.8+.
- **4.x (End of Life):** Critical fixes only. Python 3.6+. See [4.x → 5.0.0 Migration Guide](From-4.x-to-5.x).

**New users:** Install from `main` (6.0.0) — it is production-tested and has the best tooling.

**Existing 5.x users:** 6.0.0 has breaking changes (Python 3.12+, BGP-LS JSON). See [5.x → 6.0.0 Migration Guide](From-5.x-to-6.x).

## Quick Navigation

### New to ExaBGP?
- **[5-Minute Quick Start](Quick-Start)** - Get your first BGP session running
- **[Installation Guide](Installation-Guide)** - Detailed installation instructions
- **[Building From Source](Building-From-Source)** - Compile ExaBGP, create .deb/.rpm packages
- **[First BGP Session](First-BGP-Session)** - Step-by-step walkthrough with version differences
- **[Common Pitfalls](Common-Pitfalls)** - Avoid frequent mistakes

### ⭐ Most Popular Feature: Health Checks

**Zero-Code Health Checks Built-In!** ExaBGP includes a production-ready `exabgp healthcheck` module - no custom scripting required:

```bash
# Automatically announce/withdraw routes based on service health
exabgp healthcheck --cmd "curl -sf http://localhost/health" --ip 10.0.0.1/32
```

- **[Healthcheck Module](Healthcheck-Module)** - **Built-in healthcheck tool (zero code required!)** ⭐
- **[Service High Availability](Service-High-Availability)** - HA with automatic failover
- **[Anycast Management](Anycast-Management)** - Anycast with health-based route control
- **[Vincent Bernat's Health Check Guide](https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2013-exabgp-highavailability)** - Excellent real-world patterns

**Why health checks matter:** ExaBGP's killer feature is automatic route announcement/withdrawal based on service health. Your application controls its own BGP routing - announce when healthy, withdraw when failing. No manual intervention, no external monitoring required.

### Configuration
- **[Configuration Syntax](Configuration-Syntax)** - File format and syntax
- **[Neighbor Configuration](Neighbor-Configuration)** - Neighbor settings
- **[Templates & Inheritance](Templates-and-Inheritance)** - Template system
- **[Directives Reference](Directives-Reference)** - A-Z directive listing

### API Documentation
- **[API Overview](API-Overview)** - API concepts, architecture, and ACK feature
- **[Text API Reference](Text-API-Reference)** - Text format complete reference
- **[JSON API Reference](JSON-API-Reference)** - JSON format complete reference
- **[API Commands](API-Commands)** - All commands documented
- **[Writing API Programs](Writing-API-Programs)** - Best practices for all versions
- **[Error Handling](Error-Handling)** - API error handling
- **[Production Best Practices](Production-Best-Practices)** - Production deployment

### Address Families

#### Basic Address Families
- **[IPv4 Unicast](IPv4-Unicast)** - IPv4 unicast routing
- **[IPv6 Unicast](IPv6-Unicast)** - IPv6 unicast routing

#### FlowSpec
- **[FlowSpec Overview](FlowSpec-Overview)** - Introduction to FlowSpec
- **[Match Conditions](Match-Conditions)** - All match types
- **[Actions Reference](Actions-Reference)** - All actions

#### L3VPN
- **[L3VPN Overview](L3VPN-Overview)** - L3VPN/MPLS VPN introduction

#### EVPN
- **[EVPN Overview](EVPN-Overview)** - EVPN introduction and route types

#### BGP-LS
- **[BGP-LS Overview](BGP-LS-Overview)** - Link-State introduction and topology collection

#### Other Address Families
- **[VPLS](VPLS-Overview)** - VPLS/L2VPN guide
- **[IPv4 Multicast](IPv4-Multicast)** - IPv4 multicast routing
- **[IPv6 Multicast](IPv6-Multicast)** - IPv6 multicast routing
- **[RT Constraint](RT-Constraint)** - Route Target filtering

### Use Cases
- **[DDoS Mitigation](DDoS-Mitigation)** - Complete DDoS walkthrough with FlowSpec
- **[Anycast Management](Anycast-Management)** - Anycast patterns with health checks
- **[Service High Availability](Service-High-Availability)** - HA with health checks
- **[Load Balancing](Load-Balancing)** - BGP-based load balancing patterns
- **[Traffic Engineering](Traffic-Engineering)** - Traffic engineering patterns
- **[SDN Integration](SDN-Integration)** - SDN controller integration

### Features

#### Capabilities
- **[ADD-PATH](ADD-PATH)** - Multi-path advertisement (RFC 7911)
- **[Graceful Restart](Graceful-Restart)** - Graceful restart implementation (RFC 4724)
- **[Route Refresh](Route-Refresh)** - Route refresh capability (RFC 2918)

#### Communities
- **[Communities](Communities)** - Standard, Extended, and Large Communities (RFC 1997, 4360, 8092)

#### Attributes & Other
- **[Segment Routing](Segment-Routing)** - SRv6 and SR-MPLS support (RFC 9514)

### Tools
- **[Healthcheck Module](Healthcheck-Module)** - **Built-in healthcheck tool (zero code!)** ⭐⭐⭐
- **[Configuration Examples](Examples-Index#health-checks--high-availability)** - Health check configuration examples

### Operations
- **[Debugging](Debugging)** - Complete debugging and troubleshooting guide
- **[Monitoring](Monitoring)** - Prometheus and Grafana integration
- **[Performance Tuning](Performance-Tuning)** - Optimization guide
- **[Security Hardening](Security-Hardening)** - Production security best practices
- **[Log Analysis](Log-Analysis)** - Log interpretation and analysis

### Integration
- **[Docker](Docker)** - Docker deployment best practices
- **[Kubernetes](Kubernetes)** - K8s deployment patterns and DaemonSets
- **[Prometheus](Prometheus)** - Metrics and monitoring setup
- **[Cloud Platforms](Cloud-Platforms)** - AWS, Azure, GCP integration
- **[MRT Format](MRT-Format)** - Working with MRT BGP dumps (mrtparse, IOS2ExaBGP)

### Reference
- **[Architecture](Architecture)** - ExaBGP architecture deep-dive
- **[BGP State Machine](BGP-State-Machine)** - RFC 4271 Finite State Machine
- **[BGP Communities](Communities)** - RFC fundamentals (how communities affect BGP)
- **[Extended Communities](Extended-Communities)** - RFC 4360 specifications and encoding
- **[BGP Ecosystem](BGP-Ecosystem)** - Alternative BGP implementations comparison
- **[Capabilities](Capabilities)** - AFI/SAFI support (IPv4/IPv6, Unicast/FlowSpec/EVPN/etc.)
- **[Command Reference](Command-Reference)** - Complete command reference
- **[Attribute Reference](Attribute-Reference)** - All BGP attributes
- **[Examples Index](Examples-Index)** - Browse configuration examples
- **[Glossary](Glossary)** - Technical terms and definitions

### Migration
- **[Migration Guide](Migration-Guide)** - Complete upgrade guide for all versions
- **[From 5.x to 6.0.0](From-5.x-to-6.x)** - ⚠️ **Breaking changes** (Python 3.12+, async reactor, BGP-LS JSON)
- **[From 4.x to 5.0.0](From-4.x-to-5.x)** - Breaking changes (Python 3.8+, JSON API, config syntax)
- **[From 3.x to 4.x](From-3.4-to-4.x)** - Major breaking changes (configuration, JSON, ACK)
- **[Breaking Changes](Breaking-Changes)** - Complete breaking changes reference

### Community
- **[Community Projects](Projects)** - Third-party tools and integrations
- **[Production Users](Production-Users)** - Organizations using ExaBGP (Facebook, Cloudflare, BBC, etc.)

## External Resources

- **[GitHub Repository](https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp)** - Source code
- **[Issue Tracker](https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp/issues)** - Report bugs
- **[Slack Community](https://join.slack.com/t/exabgp/shared_invite/enQtNTM3MTU5NTg5NTcyLTMwNmZlMGMyNTQyNWY3Y2RjYmQxODgyYzY2MGFkZmYwODMxNDZkZjc4YmMyM2QzNzA1YWM0MmZjODhlYThjNTQ)** - Live chat
- **[Twitter](https://twitter.com/search?q=exabgp)** - Updates and news
- **[Vincent Bernat's Blog](https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2013-exabgp-highavailability)** - Excellent production health check patterns

## Configuration Examples

Browse **[configuration examples](Examples-Index)** organized by:
- User experience level (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
- Use case (DDoS/Anycast/VPN/etc)
- Feature (FlowSpec/EVPN/BGP-LS/etc)
- Protocol family (IPv4/IPv6/VPN/etc)

## About This Documentation

This documentation is organized to help users at all levels:
- **Beginners**: Start with Getting Started
- **Operators**: Focus on Use Cases and Operations
- **Developers**: Explore API and Development sections
- **Reference**: Use the A-Z indices for quick lookups

Every document includes:
- Clear table of contents
- Practical examples from the configuration files
- Cross-references to related docs
- Common errors and solutions
- Version compatibility notes

## RFC Compliance

ExaBGP implements **55+ RFCs** including:
- Core BGP-4 (RFC 4271) - Protocol only, no RIB/FIB manipulation
- Multiprotocol BGP (RFC 4760) - Multiple address families
- FlowSpec (RFC 5575) - Traffic filtering
- EVPN (RFC 7432) - Ethernet VPN
- BGP-LS (RFC 7752) - Link State distribution
- SRv6 (RFC 9514) - Segment Routing over IPv6
- And many more...

See [RFC Information](RFC-Information) for the complete list.

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**Need Help?** Join our [Slack community](https://join.slack.com/t/exabgp/shared_invite/enQtNTM3MTU5NTg5NTcyLTMwNmZlMGMyNTQyNWY3Y2RjYmQxODgyYzY2MGFkZmYwODMxNDZkZjc4YmMyM2QzNzA1YWM0MmZjODhlYThjNTQ) or [file an issue](https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp/issues).

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