# Reference Overview

This document provides an index of the technical reference documentation for API7 Gateway components and tools.

## Manage API7 Gateway[​](#manage-api7-gateway "Direct link to Manage API7 Gateway")

To compare these management options and their common use cases, see [Management Options](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/getting-started/management-options.md).

* [Admin API Reference](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/admin-api.md): Look up API7 Gateway control-plane and gateway management endpoints.
* [API Declarative CLI (ADC)](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/adc.md): Manage gateway configuration declaratively from YAML or JSON files.
* [a7 CLI](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/a7-cli.md): Create, inspect, update, and delete gateway groups and gateway resources with CLI commands.
* [Obtain a Token from the Dashboard](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/obtain-dashboard-token.md): Create a token for API7 Gateway APIs, ADC, and a7.

## Configuration[​](#configuration "Direct link to Configuration")

* [Configuration Files](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/configuration.md): Default and custom configuration files for the Data Plane, including `config-default.yaml` and `config.yaml`.
* [Helm Chart](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/helm-chart.md): Helm chart values for Kubernetes deployments, including plugin attributes and static gateway configuration.
* [Environment Variables](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/environment-variables.md): Reserved and custom environment variables for configuring gateway instances.

## Security[​](#security "Direct link to Security")

* [Security Hardening Reference](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/hardening.md): Reference for understanding where sensitive information is stored and how it is protected.
* [Permission Policy Actions and Resources](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/permission-policy-action-and-resource.md): Available actions and resource types for permission policies.
* [Permission Policy Examples](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/permission-policy-examples.md): Example permission policies for common access control scenarios, grouped by use case.

## Developer Portal[​](#developer-portal "Direct link to Developer Portal")

* [Developer Portal API Reference](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/developer-portal-api.md): Look up endpoints for the standalone Developer Portal backend.

## Other[​](#other "Direct link to Other")

* [Built-in Variables](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/built-in-variables.md): Variables available for use in plugin configurations and route matching.
* [Expressions](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/expressions.md): Expression syntax for advanced route matching and plugin configuration.
* [Alert Template](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/alert-template.md): Template configuration for alerts.
* [Approval Notification Variables and Templates](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/reference/approval-variables.md): Variables for customizing API product subscription notification email content and webhook messages.