Fusio – Self-Hosted API Management Platform

TL;DR

TL;DR: Fusio is an open-source, self-hosted API gateway and management platform that turns your backend logic into production-ready REST APIs with a developer portal, SDK generation, and native MCP integration for AI agents.

Source and Accuracy Notes

⚠️ This section is MANDATORY. All links must be verified from actual source, not guessed.

• Project page: fusio-project.org — verified via direct visit
• Source repository: github.com/apioo/fusio — README read on master branch
• License: Apache-2.0 — verified via GitHub API
• HN launch thread: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40552549 (Fusio 5.0, 47 points)
• Current version: v7.0.0 (verified via GitHub Releases API, 2026-06-04)
• Stars: 2,099 (GitHub API, 2026-06-28)

What Is Fusio?

Fusio is a self-hosted, open-source backend platform and API gateway written in PHP that bridges the gap between your internal infrastructure and the outside world. Whether you are exposing legacy databases, orchestrating microservices, or building custom business logic, Fusio handles the heavy lifting.

It transforms your services into a professional API product, complete with an automated developer portal, SDK generation, and monetization tools. With native MCP support, Fusio also acts as a bridge to the AI ecosystem, allowing you to expose your backend logic as tools for autonomous agents.

The official description from the project:

Turn your business logic into scalable API products for humans and AI agents.

Key Features

From the official README:

• Database API Gateway — Instantly expose legacy SQL/NoSQL databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.) as REST APIs.
• Microservice Gateway — Securely route, orchestrate, and load-balance traffic between your distributed services.
• Custom API Logic — Build powerful backend logic using reusable actions in PHP or JavaScript.
• Agent Development — Use your custom API logic as tools to build and power autonomous AI agents.
• AI-Assisted Development — Generate custom backend logic and schemas using natural language prompts.
• MCP Integration — Native support for the Model Context Protocol to expose APIs to AI ecosystems.
• API Developer Portal — A self-service portal for third-party developers with docs, testing tools, and API keys.
• SDK Automation — Zero-effort generation of client SDKs for all major programming languages.
• API Monetization — Turn your API into a product with subscription plans, quotas, and automated billing.
• Analytics & Monitoring — Real-time tracking of API usage, performance metrics, and error logging.

Installation

Docker (Recommended)

The fastest way to get Fusio running locally is with Docker and docker-compose. Create a compose.yaml:

services:
  fusio:
    image: fusio/fusio
    restart: always
    environment:
      FUSIO_PROJECT_KEY: "42eec18ffdbffc9fda6110dcc705d6ce"
      FUSIO_CONNECTION: "pdo-mysql://fusio:***@mysql-fusio/fusio"
      FUSIO_BACKEND_USER: "test"
      FUSIO_BACKEND_EMAIL: "[email protected]"
      FUSIO_BACKEND_PW: "test1234"
    ports:
      - "8080:80"

  mysql-fusio:
    image: mysql:8.0
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: "1"
      MYSQL_USER: "fusio"
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: "61ad6c605975"
      MYSQL_DATABASE: "fusio"
    volumes:
      - ./db:/var/lib/mysql

Then start the containers:

docker compose up -d

After startup, the backend is available at http://localhost:8080/apps/fusio. Log in with the credentials you configured, then follow the Getting Started guide for first steps.

Manual Installation

1. Download a official release or clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/apioo/fusio.git

2. Configure the .env file with your database credentials:

APP_CONNECTION=pdo-mysql://root:***@localhost/fusio
APP_URL=http://localhost:8080

3. Follow the full installation docs for PHP/Composer requirements.

MCP Integration

Fusio v5.0+ includes native Model Context Protocol support. This means you can expose your Fusio API endpoints as MCP tools, allowing AI agents (built with Claude, GPT, or any MCP-compatible agent framework) to interact directly with your backend logic.

The platform’s action system lets you define custom PHP or JavaScript actions that become callable tools. For example, the AgentCall action creates an API endpoint specifically designed for agentic consumption.

Key MCP-related features:

• AgentCall action — New in v7.0, creates API endpoints purpose-built for custom agents
• New agent concept — v7.0 added a framework for building custom agents on top of Fusio
• Tool registration — Expose any Fusio endpoint as an MCP tool

Practical Evaluation Checklist

Installation:

• [x] Docker installation works (official docker-compose.yaml verified)
• [x] Database connection configurable via environment variables
• [x] Backend reachable at /apps/fusio after startup

Core features:

• [x] Database to REST API conversion (MySQL, PostgreSQL supported)
• [x] Developer portal with docs and API key management
• [x] SDK generation for client libraries
• [x] MCP server integration (native, v5.0+)
• [x] Custom actions in PHP and JavaScript
• [x] API monetization (subscriptions, quotas)

AI/Agent readiness:

• [x] AgentCall action (v7.0)
• [x] Custom agent framework (v7.0)
• [x] MCP protocol support
• [x] Natural language prompt-based API logic generation

Security Notes

• Fusio is self-hosted — you control the infrastructure and data
• API keys and user credentials are environment-variable configured, not hardcoded
• The system includes rate limiting and quota management out of the box
• As a PHP application, standard PHP security practices apply (keep PHP and Fusio updated)
• The project is actively maintained (latest commit 2026-06-04)

FAQ

Q: What API format does Fusio support? A: Fusio primarily produces REST APIs. It supports OpenAPI import/export, so you can define your schema in OpenAPI (Swagger) format and Fusio handles the routing, validation, and documentation automatically.

Q: Can I self-host Fusio on a VPS? A: Yes. Fusio requires PHP 8.1+, a database (MySQL/PostgreSQL recommended), and a web server (Nginx or Apache). A basic VPS with 1 to 2 GB RAM is sufficient for moderate traffic.

Q: How does Fusio compare to Postman? A: Postman is primarily a client-side API testing and documentation tool. Fusio is a server-side API gateway and management platform — it actually hosts, protects, monetizes, and documents your APIs. They serve different but complementary roles.

Q: Does Fusio work with AI agent frameworks? A: Yes. Fusio v5.0+ has native MCP integration, meaning your Fusio API endpoints can be registered as tools in MCP-compatible agent frameworks. The v7.0 release expanded this with dedicated agent actions and a custom agent building framework.

Conclusion

Fusio fills the gap between “I have backend services” and “I have a production-ready API product.” Its combination of database exposure, custom action scripting, developer portal, SDK generation, and native MCP integration makes it a compelling self-hosted alternative to commercial API management platforms.

If you need to expose internal services as professional APIs — whether for human developers or AI agents — Fusio is worth a look. The Docker setup gets you a working instance in under five minutes.

• Project page: fusio-project.org
• Documentation: docs.fusio-project.org
• GitHub: github.com/apioo/fusio (Apache-2.0, v7.0.0, 2,099 stars)