Datadog AAP is built on top of APM. While Datadog recommends using AAP with APM and adopting DevSecOps practices, you can also use these security products without using APM. This configuration is referred to as Standalone App and API Protection. This guide explains how to set up Standalone App and API Protection.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes you have the following:

• Datadog Agent: Install the Datadog Agent and configure it for your application’s operating system, container, cloud, or virtual environment. Infrastructure Monitoring is enabled by default in the Datadog Agent; disabling it requires version 7.77.0 or newer.
• Supported SDK: The Datadog SDK used by your application or service supports App and API Protection. For more details, see the guide for App and API Protection.

Compatibility

Standalone App and API Protection is supported for the following SDK versions:

Setup

Agent configuration

Standalone App and API Protection uses the same Datadog Agent setup as APM. For more details, see the guide for installing the Datadog Agent.

To disable Infrastructure Monitoring, set the Datadog Agent infrastructure mode to none using either:

• The DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE=none environment variable
• The infrastructure_mode: none setting in the datadog.yaml configuration file

For more details, see the configuration page for the Datadog Agent infrastructure mode.

SDK configuration

Standalone App and API Protection is configured at the SDK level using the following environment variables on the instrumented service: DD_APM_TRACING_ENABLED=false and DD_APPSEC_ENABLED=true.

DD_APM_TRACING_ENABLED=false limits the amount of APM data sent to the minimum required by App and API Protection. The environment variable can be combined with other App and API Protection configuration options.