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Install Middleware on Tyk Pro

In some cases middleware references can’t be directly embedded in API Definitions (for example, when using the Tyk Dashboard in an On-Premises Pro installation). However, there is an easy way to distribute and enable custom middleware for an API in a Tyk node by adding them as a directory structure.

Tyk will load the middleware plugins dynamically on host-reload without needing a direct reference to them in the API Definition.

The directory structure should look like this:

  / {API Id}
    / pre
    / {middlewareObject1Name}.js
    /  {middlewareObject2Name}.js
    / post
      / {middlewareObject1Name}_with_session.js
      / {middlewareObject2Name}.js

Tyk will check for a folder that matches the API Id being loaded, and then load the pre and post middleware from the respective directories.


The filename MUST match the object to be loaded exactly.

If your middleware requires session injection, then append _with_session to the filename.

Enable the JSVM

Before you can use Javascript Middleware you will need to enable the JSVM.

You can do this by setting enable_jsvm to true in your tyk.conf file.