How to define a new origin for your application

Create an application with Azion by setting up an origin. Your origin can be an application, a web server, or storage.

Important — We’re releasing a significant update to our platform. To learn more about the changes and required migration steps, see the API v4 rollout page.

This guide explains how to configure an origin. An origin, also known as a backend, is the server from which Azion retrieves your content. Origins can include object storage services, cloud servers, or other infrastructure that hosts your application assets or data.

There are separate instructions for API v3 using legacy Origin settings and API v4 using the new Connectors product.

In this guide, there are separate instructions for API v3 and API v4. If you’re not sure which steps apply to your account, see the Verify Your Account Migration guide to determine if your account has already been migrated.

Access Azion Console > Connectors.
Click the + Connector button.
In the General section, give your connector a unique and descriptive name (My Object Storage Connector).
In the Connector Type section, select HTTP.

To implement the load balancing algorithm for multiple origins, see the guide on multiple origins with Load Balancer.

In the Connection Options section, locate the Transport Protocol Policy field and select Force HTTPS.
In the Address Management section, locate the Address field and add httpbin.org.
Under Host, add customhost.com.
Click the Save button.

If your origin is under a host followed by a path, such as https://bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/applications/your-app, you must separate the URL and add the host bucket.s3.amazonaws.com into the Address field. Then add the path /applications/your-app into the Origin path field.

To activate the Connector in your application:

Access the Rules Engine tab.
Edit the default rule or add a new request rule.
Give your rule a name.
Select Request Phase.
Under the Criteria section, select the variable ${uri}.
As a comparison operator, select is equal.
As an argument, add /httpbin.
In the Behaviors section, select Set Connector from the behavior list.
Select the new Connector you created.
Click the Save button.
Wait a few minutes for the changes to propagate, then access xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/httpbin.

When you create an application, a default origin is created and activated automatically. This guide shows you how to create and activate a new origin with different configurations without removing or editing the default origin.

Access Azion Console > Applications.
Click the application for which you want to configure a new origin.
Select the Origins tab.
Click the + Origin button.
Give your new origin a name. For example: httpbin.org.
Under Type, keep Single Origin selected.

To implement load balancing algorithm for multiple origins, see the guide on multiple origins with Load Balancer.

Under Protocol Policy, select Enforce HTTPS.
Under Address, add httpbin.org.
Under Host Header, add customhost.com.

Choosing the right Host Header value — The Host Header controls which value Azion sends in the Host HTTP header when connecting to your origin.

Specific domain (e.g., customhost.com): Azion always sends this fixed value to the origin, regardless of the domain the user requested. Use this when your origin serves a single virtualhost or requires a specific hostname to route requests correctly.
${host} variable: Azion forwards the Host header received from the user’s request directly to the origin. Use this when your origin serves multiple virtualhosts from the same address.

Important: if your origin enforces Host-based access controls, IP allowlists tied to a specific hostname, or CDN configurations that validate the Host header, changing this value may cause the origin to reject requests. Verify your origin’s virtualhost configuration before modifying this field.

Leave Origin Path blank.
Click Save.

If your origin is under a host followed by a path, such as https://bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/applications/your-app, you must separate the URL and add the host bucket.s3.amazonaws.com into the Address field and add the path /applications/your-app into the Origin path field.

The origin is created, but it isn’t active yet. You need to create a Rules Engine rule to route requests to it.

Navigate to the Rules Engine tab.
Click the + Rule button.
Give your rule a name.
Select Request Phase.
Under the Criteria section, select the variable ${uri}.

The ${uri} variable may already be selected by default if you haven’t activated Application Accelerator. For more information on application modules, see the Applications documentation.

As a comparison operator, select is equal.
As an argument, add /httpbin.
In the Behaviors section, select Set Origin from the behavior list.
Select the new origin you created.
Click Save.
Wait a few minutes for the changes to propagate, then access xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/httpbin.

Run the following POST request in your terminal. Replace [TOKEN VALUE] with your personal token and <application_id> with your application ID:

curl --request POST --url https://api.azion.com/v4/edge_connector/connectors --header 'Accept: application/json' --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --data {

"name": "httpbin.org SO HTTPS Host:customhost.com",

"active": true,

"type": "http",

"attributes": {

"addresses": [

{

"active": true,

"address": "httpbin.org",

"http_port": 80,

"https_port": 443

}

],

"connection_options": {

"dns_resolution": "preserve",

"transport_policy": "force_https",

"http_version_policy": "http1_1",

"host": "customhost.com",

"path_prefix": "",

"following_redirect": false,

"real_ip_header": "X-Real-IP",

"real_port_header": "X-Real-PORT"

},

"modules": {

"load_balancer": {

"enabled": false,

"config": {

"method": "round_robin",

"max_retries": 0,

"connection_timeout": 60,

"read_write_timeout": 120

}

},

"origin_shield": {

"enabled": false,

"config": null

}

Key	Description
`name`	Name of the Connector.
`type`	Connector type. Set to `http` for HTTP/HTTPS origins. For load balancing across multiple addresses, see Work with multiple origins.
`addresses`	List of origin address objects. For a single origin, you can only send one object in the array.
`transport_policy`	Connection protocol between edge nodes and the origin. When set to `force_https`, enforces HTTPS regardless of the protocol used by the end user.
`host`	Value sent in the `Host` header to the origin. Use a specific FQDN (e.g., `customhost.com`) for a single virtualhost. Use `${host}` to forward the end user’s `Host` header, useful when your origin serves multiple virtualhosts.

You’ll receive a response similar to this:

{

"state": "pending",

"data": {

"id": <connector_id>,

"name": "httpbin.org SO HTTPS Host:customhost.com",

"last_editor": "your-email@example.com",

"last_modified": "2025-08-14T18:12:20.161667Z",

"active": true,

"product_version": "1.0",

"type": "http",

"attributes": {

"addresses": [

{

"active": true,

"address": "httpbin.org",

"http_port": 80,

"https_port": 443,

"modules": null

}

],

"connection_options": {

"dns_resolution": "preserve",

"transport_policy": "force_https",

"http_version_policy": "http1_1",

"host": "customhost.com",

"path_prefix": "",

"following_redirect": false,

"real_ip_header": "X-Real-IP",

"real_port_header": "X-Real-PORT"

},

"modules": {

"load_balancer": {

"enabled": false,

"config": null

},

"origin_shield": {

"enabled": false,

"config": null

}

Run the following POST request in your terminal to bind the new Connector to your application. Replace [TOKEN VALUE] with your personal token, <application_id> with your application ID, and <connector_id> with the Connector ID returned in the previous step:

curl --request POST --url https://api.azion.com/v4/edge_application/applications/<application_id>/request_rules --header 'Accept: application/json' --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --data {

"name": "string",

"active": true,

"criteria":

[

{

"conditional": "if",

"variable": "${uri}",

"operator": "is_equal",

"argument": "/httpbin"

}

]

],

"behaviors": [

{

"type": "set_edge_connector",

"attributes": {

"value": "<connector_id>"

}

]

}

A successful response confirms the rule was created.
Wait a few minutes for the changes to propagate, then access xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/httpbin. Try accessing any other unconfigured URI — you should receive a 404 error.

Run the following POST request in your terminal. Replace [TOKEN VALUE] with your personal token and <application_id> with your application ID:

curl --location 'https://api.azionapi.net/edge_applications/<application_id>/origins' --header 'Accept: application/json; version=3' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' --data {

"name": "httpbin.org SO HTTPS Host:customhost.com",

"origin_type": "single_origin",

"addresses": [

{

"address": "httpbin.org"

}

],

"origin_protocol_policy": "https",

"host_header": "customhost.com"

}

Key	Description
`name`	Name of the origin.
`origin_type`	Origin type. Set to `single_origin` for a single address. For load balancing across multiple addresses, see Work with multiple origins.
`addresses`	List of origin address objects. For `single_origin`, you can only send one object in the array.
`origin_protocol_policy`	Connection protocol between edge nodes and the origin. When set to `https`, enforces HTTPS regardless of the protocol used by the end user.
`host_header`	Value sent in the `Host` header to the origin. Use a specific FQDN (e.g., `customhost.com`) for a single virtualhost. Use `${host}` to forward the end user’s `Host` header, useful when your origin serves multiple virtualhosts.

You’ll receive a response similar to this:

{

"results": {

"origin_id": <origin_id>,

"origin_key": <origin_key>,

"name": "httpbin.org SO HTTPS Host:customhost.com",

"origin_type": "single_origin",

"addresses": [

{

"address": "httpbin.org",

"weight": null,

"server_role": "primary",

"is_active": true

}

],

"origin_protocol_policy": "https",

"is_origin_redirection_enabled": false,

"host_header": "customhost.com",

"method": "",

"origin_path": "",

"connection_timeout": 60,

"timeout_between_bytes": 120,

"hmac_authentication": false,

"hmac_region_name": "",

"hmac_access_key": "",

"hmac_secret_key": ""

}

Endpoints that require origin identification use the origin_key value, not the origin_id. For example, a PATCH request must target https://api.azionapi.net/edge_applications/<application_id>/origins/<origin_key>. The exception is when referencing an origin outside the /origins/ endpoints — such as when creating a Rules Engine rule — where origin_id is used instead.

Run the following POST request in your terminal. Replace [TOKEN VALUE] with your personal token, <application_id> with your application ID, and <origin_id> with the origin ID returned in the previous step:

curl --location 'https://api.azionapi.net/edge_applications/<application_id>/rules_engine/request/rules' --header 'Accept: application/json; version=3' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' --data {

"name": "Set httpbin /httpbin",

"behaviors": [

{

"name": "set_origin",

"target": "<origin_id>"

}

],

"criteria": [

[

{

"variable": "${uri}",

"operator": "is_equal",

"conditional": "if",

"input_value": "/httpbin"

}

]

}

A successful response confirms the rule was created.
Wait a few minutes for the changes to propagate, then access xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/httpbin. Try accessing any other unconfigured URI — you should receive a 404 error.

Check the Azion API documentation to know more about all features available via API.

Host Header behavior — The Host Header field controls which value Azion sends in the Host header when forwarding requests to your origin.

${host}: passes the Host header received from the end user directly to the origin. Use this when your origin serves multiple virtualhosts from the same address and needs to distinguish between them.
A specific domain name (for example, customhost.com): sends a fixed value regardless of what the user requested. Use this when your origin responds to a virtualhost at an address different from the one configured in DNS, or when you need to enforce a specific hostname for origin-side routing, SSL certificate matching, or access control.

Leaving the field blank causes Azion to use the value set in the Address field as the default Host header.

Origin configuration restrictions — Keep the following constraints in mind when configuring an origin:

The Address field must be a valid FQDN or IPv4/IPv6 address. Do not include the protocol (http:// or https://) in this field; use the Origin Protocol Policy setting instead.
If your origin content lives under a subpath (for example, bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/apps/my-app), place the hostname in Address and the path in Origin Path. Combining both in the Address field will cause request failures.
Changing the origin address or Host Header of an active origin affects all rules that reference it. Review your Rules Engine configuration before making changes in production.
For origins that require HMAC authentication (such as private object storage buckets), you must provide valid Region, Access Key, and Secret Key credentials. Incorrect or missing credentials will result in 403 errors from the origin.