Traefik Cloud-Native Edge Router AI Skill Guide (Claude)

Overview & Engine Architecture

Traefik is a dynamic HTTP reverse proxy / ingress: EntryPoints (ports) → Routers (rules + TLS) → Middlewares → Services (upstreams). Providers (Docker, Kubernetes IngressRoute/CRDs, Consul, Nomad) discover backends without static upstream reloads. ACME (Let's Encrypt) stores certs in acme.json (mode 600)—persist it or crash-loops burn LE rate limits. Always set exposedByDefault=false on Docker hosts so unlabeled containers stay private.