Create cluster and destinations

Goal

Create a cluster and at least one destination so YARP knows where to forward.

Prerequisites

• Host created (not strictly required for the cluster object, but needed for the full path).
• Upstream reachable from the Proxy process (Docker networking matters in Compose).

Steps (console)

1. Open Topology → Clusters.
2. Create a cluster (name it after the app, for example web-app).
3. Configure load balancing if prompted (defaults are fine for one destination).
4. Open the cluster’s Destinations and add an address such as http://host.docker.internal:5000 or http://127.0.0.1:5000.
5. Optionally enable active health checks and timeouts.
6. Save.

What destinations represent

Each destination is an upstream endpoint. Multiple destinations enable load balancing and failover according to cluster settings.

Verify

• Cluster shows one healthy (or at least configured) destination.
• From the Proxy host, curl the destination URL to confirm network reachability.

Pitfalls

• localhost inside a container is the container itself—not your laptop. Prefer service names or host.docker.internal on Docker Desktop.
• HTTPS upstreams need valid certs or appropriate transform/skip settings for labs.

Next

Create a route