gRPC Connector 1.0

Anypoint Connector for gRPC (gRPC Connector) enables you to connect to the gRPC API. gRPC Connector enables Mule applications to communicate with gRPC services, providing both client and server capabilities for high-performance, cross-platform RPC communication.

For information about compatibility and fixed issues, refer to the gRPC Connector Release Notes.

Before You Begin

To use this connector, you must be familiar with:

The gRPC Connector’s API
Anypoint Connectors
Mule runtime engine (Mule)
Elements and global elements in a Mule flow
How to create a Mule app using Anypoint Code Builder or Anypoint Studio

Before creating an app, you must have:

Credentials to access the gRPC target resource
Anypoint Platform
The latest versions of Anypoint Code Builder or Anypoint Studio

Supported gRPC Patterns

This connector supports all four gRPC communication patterns.

Pattern	Description
Unary	Single request, single response
Server Streaming	Single request, multiple responses streamed from server
Client Streaming	Multiple requests from client, single response
Bidirectional Streaming	Multiple requests and responses streamed in both directions

Pattern

Description

Unary

Single request, single response

Server Streaming

Single request, multiple responses streamed from server

Client Streaming

Multiple requests from client, single response

Bidirectional Streaming

Multiple requests and responses streamed in both directions

Key Capabilities

Protocol Buffer Support

Native support for protobuf descriptor files (.desc)
Dynamic Metadata Resolution

Automatic type resolution based on IDL definitions
Connection Management

Managed channels with connection pooling and validation
Conversation Management

Support for stateful streaming conversations
Async Operations

Non-blocking asynchronous operation execution
TLS Support

Configurable TLS/SSL for secure connections
Custom Headers

Support for default headers on connections
Custom Status Codes

Server sources can return a specific gRPC status code and description to the client

Architecture

Component Diagram

Conversation Management

The connector maintains stateful conversations for streaming operations:

Server Conversations

Maps conversationId to ServerConversation containing shared FrameWrapperQueue for multiple streaming requests
Client Conversations

Maps conversationId to ClientConversation with request observer and response future
Bidirectional Conversations

Maps conversationId to BidiConversation for bidirectional streaming with request or response observers

Next Step

After you complete the prerequisites, you’re ready to create an app and configure the connector using Anypoint Studio or Anypoint Code Builder.