---
title: "Understand Services"
url: "https://docs.caracal.run/services/"
markdown_url: "https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/services.md"
description: "Service-by-service map for the current Caracal runtime, authority path, management plane, evidence pipeline, and automation surface."
page_type: "landing"
concepts: []
requires: []
---

# Understand Services

Canonical URL: https://docs.caracal.run/services/
Markdown URL: https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/services.md
Description: Service-by-service map for the current Caracal runtime, authority path, management plane, evidence pipeline, and automation surface.
Page type: landing
Concepts: none
Requires: none

---

Caracal services are small, explicit runtime components. Each service owns a bounded part of the authority lifecycle and exposes health/readiness endpoints for operations.

## Service Map

| Service | Port | Owns |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Manage Product State](/services/api/) | `3000` | Product state, management routes, policy/grant resources, admin audit, API outbox. |
| [Coordinate Agent State](/services/coordinator/) | `4000` | Agent sessions, service leases, delegation edges, invocations, Coordinator outbox. |
| [Issue Mandates](/services/sts/) | `8080` | Token exchange, mandate issuance, JWKS, policy evaluation, step-up status. |
| [Protect Upstreams](/services/gateway/) | `8081` | Protected reverse proxy, per-request exchange, revocation checks, upstream safety. |
| [Ingest Audit Evidence](/services/audit/) | `9090` | Audit ingestion, DLQ, tamper checks, retention, search. |
| [Automate Management](/services/control/) | API `3000` | Optional in-process remote management invocation through shared engine dispatch. |

## Dependency Map

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  API --> Postgres[(Postgres)]
  API --> Redis[(Redis)]
  Coordinator --> Postgres
  Coordinator --> Redis
  STS --> Postgres
  STS --> Redis
  Gateway --> Postgres
  Gateway --> Redis
  Gateway --> STS
  Audit --> Postgres
  Audit --> Redis
  Control --> API
  Control --> Redis
```

## Service Reading Path

| Path | Pages |
| --- | --- |
| Management plane | [Manage Product State](/services/api/) → [Coordinate Agent State](/services/coordinator/) |
| Authority path | [Issue Mandates](/services/sts/) → [Protect Upstreams](/services/gateway/) |
| Evidence and automation | [Ingest Audit Evidence](/services/audit/) → [Automate Management](/services/control/) |

## Next Step

Start with [Manage Product State](/services/api/) to understand where Caracal product objects are owned.

## Related Sections

- [Understand Architecture](/architecture/)
- [Operations](/operations/)
- [Use API Reference](/api/)