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Ktor is a Kotlin framework for building asynchronous server-side applications. Rather than providing one fixed, all-inclusive stack, it lets a project choose a server engine, configure the application, and add the plugins it needs. A request is matched to a route, handled by application logic, and returned as a response, with installed plugins able to act along the way.
This guide focuses on Ktor’s server side: creating a project, understanding request handling, and choosing how to run and deploy it. Ktor also supports client applications, but that is a separate use of the framework. The current documentation is for Ktor 3.6.0, released September 17, 2026.
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What Ktor provides
Ktor is a framework for asynchronous applications written in Kotlin. On the server, it supplies the pieces for receiving HTTP requests and building responses, while leaving important choices to the application team: which engine to run, how to configure the app, and which capabilities to include.
Those capabilities are commonly added as plugins. Depending on the application, they can cover content negotiation and serialization, compression, response headers, cookies, CORS, authentication, sessions, WebSockets, or server-sent events. These are options, not a bundle that every Ktor application automatically enables. See the Ktor overview for the framework’s documented capabilities.
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The project creation route determines which setup options you see. Ktor’s tutorial describes a web project generator, a Ktor plugin for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, and the Ktor CLI. In the generator, documented build-system choices include Gradle Kotlin DSL, Gradle Groovy, Maven, and Amper; the available choices are not necessarily identical across creation tools. The tutorial specifically notes that YAML configuration is unsupported for Maven-based projects.
- Choose a project creation route. Use the Ktor project tutorial to follow the generator, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate plugin, or CLI route.
- Select a build system and server engine. Choose from the options offered by your selected route and build. The engine is the server implementation that accepts connections and runs the application.
- Choose how to configure the application. The documented options include configuration in Kotlin code, HOCON, or YAML where supported.
- Add only the plugins the application needs. Include the relevant dependency and install the plugin during application initialization.
- Run the generated project and add application features incrementally. The tutorial proceeds through request handling, REST and JSON, templated websites, WebSockets, and database integration with Exposed.
Keeping the initial project small makes its responsibilities easier to see: the engine starts the server, application initialization installs functionality, and routes connect requests to handlers.
How a request moves through a Ktor application
A useful mental model is: an engine receives a request, routing selects a handler, installed plugin behavior can run around the application logic, and Ktor sends the resulting response. Plugins may act before a handler receives the request or before the response leaves. Exact behavior depends on which plugins are installed and how they are configured; routing itself is a plugin.
- The engine accepts the connection. The selected engine handles server-level work such as connections and passes requests into the Ktor application.
- Routing matches the request. The routing configuration maps a request path and method to an appropriate handler.
- Application logic handles it. The handler performs the work needed for that request and constructs a result or response.
- Plugins and the server complete the response path. Installed behavior can shape request processing or the outgoing response before it is sent.
For example, a JSON API may install content negotiation and serialization so handlers can work with Kotlin objects, while an application that needs cross-origin access may separately configure CORS. Neither capability should be assumed to be active merely because the application uses Ktor. The server plugins documentation explains installation and available plugin concerns.
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Optional type-safe routes
Basic routing does not require resource classes. For teams that prefer to represent routes as Kotlin types, Ktor’s optional Resources plugin supports type-safe routing. Its resource classes have serialization behavior, and setup requires the ktor-server-resources artifact together with Kotlin serialization configuration. Follow the type-safe routing guide for the required setup.
Choose how the server will run
Deployment choice affects who controls lifecycle and connection settings, which artifact the host needs, and where TLS is terminated. Ktor documents two broad server arrangements: a self-contained application that starts a network engine, or an application deployed to a servlet container that manages lifecycle and connections.
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| Approach | Lifecycle and connection settings | Packaging direction | TLS considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-contained Ktor server | The Ktor application starts its selected network engine and can control engine settings, connections, and SSL options. | Documented options include a fat JAR, an executable JVM application, a GraalVM native image, or a containerized packaged application. | Ktor can configure SSL directly using a Java KeyStore, or TLS can be handled at a reverse proxy. |
| Servlet-container deployment | The servlet container manages application lifecycle and connection settings through Ktor’s servlet engine. | A WAR is a documented option for servlet-container use. | TLS may be configured at the servlet container or a reverse proxy. Ktor’s own SSL configuration does not apply in this deployment arrangement. |
Ktor’s deployment documentation names Netty, Jetty, and Tomcat as examples of engines. The right fit depends on the target environment and how much server behavior the application or host is expected to own. A packaged application can also be containerized with Docker for an environment such as Kubernetes or a cloud container service. Consult Ktor deployment documentation when selecting the engine, package, and TLS arrangement.
What to decide before deployment
- Lifecycle owner: Decide whether the Ktor application or a servlet container owns startup and connection settings.
- Runtime and engine: Match the engine and runtime to the target host rather than assuming every option works on every platform.
- Accepted artifact: Check whether the deployment environment expects a JAR or executable, WAR, native image, or container image.
- TLS termination: Decide whether certificates and HTTPS are managed by Ktor, a reverse proxy, or a servlet container.
Kotlin/Native is a constrained server option
Ktor documents server use on Kotlin/Native with embeddedServer; CIO is the only supported engine for this path, and direct HTTPS is not supported without a reverse proxy. Treat this as a platform-specific option rather than a drop-in replacement for the usual JVM deployment choices. Details are in the Kotlin/Native server documentation.
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What is new in Ktor 3.6.0
The Ktor 3.6.0 release notes, dated September 17, 2026, list experimental HTTP/3 support in the Netty server engine, an experimental OpenID Connect plugin, and experimental typed authentication support. These are explicitly experimental, version-specific additions—not stable defaults, and not features to assume in earlier Ktor versions. Check the Ktor 3.6.0 release notes before relying on them.
A practical way to think about the stack
For a first server, start with a project configuration and engine that match the intended runtime, then add routes and the plugins required by the application’s actual needs. Keep the deployment decision in view: a self-contained server and a servlet-container deployment place operational control in different hands. Once those choices are explicit, Ktor’s modular structure makes it possible to add capabilities without treating every available feature as mandatory.
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