:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT

[id='con-accessing-http-bridge-from-outside-{context}']
= Accessing the HTTP Bridge outside of Kubernetes

[role="_abstract"]
By default, the HTTP Bridge is accessible only within the Kubernetes cluster.

Applications running in the same cluster access the HTTP Bridge using the `_<kafka_bridge_name>_-bridge-service` service.

To make the HTTP Bridge accessible to applications outside the cluster, expose its service using one of the following Kubernetes features:

* A `Service` of type `LoadBalancer` or `NodePort`
* An `Ingress` resource (Kubernetes)
* An OpenShift `Route` (OpenShift)

When creating a custom `Service`, use the same label selectors as the existing `_<kafka_bridge_name>_-bridge-service` service so that traffic is routed to the correct pods:

[source,yaml,subs=attributes+]
----
selector:
  strimzi.io/cluster: kafka-bridge-name
  strimzi.io/kind: KafkaBridge
----

* `selector.strimzi.io/cluster` defines the name of the `KafkaBridge` resource.

When running multiple HTTP Bridge instances, ensure that requests for the same consumer instance are routed consistently to the same HTTP Bridge instance.
For more information, see xref:con-config-http-bridge-multiple-instances-{context}[Running multiple HTTP Bridge instances].