diff --git a/.github/workflows/container-smoke-test.yml b/.github/workflows/container-smoke-test.yml
index cced926bd..b875f51c3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/container-smoke-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/container-smoke-test.yml
@@ -37,3 +37,6 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Smoke test REST proxy
         run: bin/smoke-test-rest.sh
+
+      - name: Smoke test REST proxy standalone
+        run: bin/smoke-test-rest-proxy.sh
diff --git a/bin/smoke-test-rest-proxy.sh b/bin/smoke-test-rest-proxy.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..1dcc265f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/smoke-test-rest-proxy.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+retries=5
+
+for ((i = 0; i <= retries; i++)); do
+    response=$(curl --silent --verbose --fail http://localhost:8086/topics)
+
+    if [[ $response == '["_schemas","__consumer_offsets"]' ]]; then
+        echo "Ok!"
+        break
+    fi
+
+    if ((i == retries)); then
+        echo "Still failing after $i retries, giving up."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    echo "Smoke test failed, retrying in 5 seconds ..."
+    sleep 5
+done
diff --git a/container/compose.yml b/container/compose.yml
index fa2c53265..500e4d0c5 100644
--- a/container/compose.yml
+++ b/container/compose.yml
@@ -111,6 +111,24 @@ services:
       KARAPACE_KAFKA_SCHEMA_READER_STRICT_MODE: false
       KARAPACE_KAFKA_RETRIABLE_ERRORS_SILENCED: true
 
+  karapace-rest-new:
+    image: ghcr.io/aiven-open/karapace:develop
+    build:
+      context: ..
+      dockerfile: container/Dockerfile
+    entrypoint:
+      - python3
+      - -m
+      - rest_proxy
+      - /opt/karapace/rest.config.json
+    depends_on:
+      - kafka
+      - karapace-registry
+    volumes:
+    - ./rest.config.json:/opt/karapace/rest.config.json
+    ports:
+      - "8086:8086"
+
   prometheus:
     image: prom/prometheus
     volumes:
diff --git a/container/rest.config.json b/container/rest.config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3bed9d2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/container/rest.config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+    "rest": 1,
+    "advertised_hostname": "karapace-rest-proxy",
+    "bootstrap_uri": "kafka:29092",
+    "registry_host": "karapace-registry",
+    "registry_port": 8081,
+    "host": "0.0.0.0",
+    "port": 8086,
+    "admin_metadata_max_age": 0,
+    "log_level": "DEBUG",
+    "statsd_host": "statsd-exporter",
+    "statsd_port": 8125,
+    "kafka_schema_reader_strict_mode": false,
+    "kafka_retriable_errors_silenced": true
+}
diff --git a/mypy.ini b/mypy.ini
index c4ef8efd1..26963e571 100644
--- a/mypy.ini
+++ b/mypy.ini
@@ -65,10 +65,10 @@ ignore_errors = True
 [mypy-karapace.serialization]
 ignore_errors = True
 
-[mypy-karapace.kafka_rest_apis.consumer_manager]
+[mypy-rest_proxy.consumer_manager]
 ignore_errors = True
 
-[mypy-karapace.kafka_rest_apis]
+[mypy-rest_proxy]
 ignore_errors = True
 
 # Third-party libraries with no stubs available. Before adding libraries here,
diff --git a/src/karapace/karapace_all.py b/src/karapace/karapace_all.py
index ccdb96915..049d07c9c 100644
--- a/src/karapace/karapace_all.py
+++ b/src/karapace/karapace_all.py
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@
 from karapace import version as karapace_version
 from karapace.config import Config, read_config
 from karapace.instrumentation.prometheus import PrometheusInstrumentation
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis import KafkaRest
 from karapace.rapu import RestApp
 from karapace.schema_registry_apis import KarapaceSchemaRegistryController
 from karapace.utils import DebugAccessLogger
+from rest_proxy import KafkaRest
 
 import argparse
 import logging
diff --git a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py b/src/rest_proxy/__init__.py
similarity index 99%
rename from src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
rename to src/rest_proxy/__init__.py
index 10675fb23..acf23cd55 100644
--- a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
+++ b/src/rest_proxy/__init__.py
@@ -23,14 +23,6 @@
 from karapace.errors import InvalidSchema
 from karapace.kafka.admin import KafkaAdminClient
 from karapace.kafka.producer import AsyncKafkaProducer
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.authentication import (
-    get_auth_config_from_header,
-    get_expiration_time_from_header,
-    get_kafka_client_auth_parameters_from_config,
-)
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.consumer_manager import ConsumerManager
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.error_codes import RESTErrorCodes
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.schema_cache import TopicSchemaCache
 from karapace.karapace import KarapaceBase
 from karapace.rapu import HTTPRequest, JSON_CONTENT_TYPE
 from karapace.schema_models import TypedSchema, ValidatedTypedSchema
@@ -44,6 +36,14 @@
 )
 from karapace.typing import NameStrategy, SchemaId, Subject, SubjectType
 from karapace.utils import convert_to_int, json_encode
+from rest_proxy.authentication import (
+    get_auth_config_from_header,
+    get_expiration_time_from_header,
+    get_kafka_client_auth_parameters_from_config,
+)
+from rest_proxy.consumer_manager import ConsumerManager
+from rest_proxy.error_codes import RESTErrorCodes
+from rest_proxy.schema_cache import TopicSchemaCache
 from typing import Callable, TypedDict
 
 import asyncio
diff --git a/src/rest_proxy/__main__.py b/src/rest_proxy/__main__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b0775131
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rest_proxy/__main__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+"""
+Copyright (c) 2023 Aiven Ltd
+See LICENSE for details
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from aiohttp.web_log import AccessLogger
+from contextlib import closing
+from karapace import version as karapace_version
+from karapace.config import Config, read_config
+from karapace.instrumentation.prometheus import PrometheusInstrumentation
+from karapace.utils import DebugAccessLogger
+from rest_proxy import KafkaRest
+from typing import Final
+
+import argparse
+import logging
+import sys
+
+PROGRAM_NAME: Final[str] = "karapace_rest_proxy"
+
+
+def _configure_logging(*, config: Config) -> None:
+    log_level = config.get("log_level", "DEBUG")
+    log_format = config.get("log_format", "%(name)-20s\t%(threadName)s\t%(levelname)-8s\t%(message)s")
+
+    root_handler: logging.Handler | None = None
+    log_handler = config.get("log_handler", None)
+    if "systemd" == log_handler:
+        from systemd import journal
+
+        root_handler = journal.JournalHandler(SYSLOG_IDENTIFIER="karapace")
+    elif "stdout" == log_handler or log_handler is None:
+        root_handler = logging.StreamHandler(stream=sys.stdout)
+    else:
+        logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format=log_format)
+        logging.getLogger().setLevel(log_level)
+        logging.warning("Log handler %s not recognized, root handler not set.", log_handler)
+
+    if root_handler is not None:
+        root_handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter(log_format))
+        root_handler.setLevel(log_level)
+        root_handler.set_name(name="karapace")
+        logging.root.addHandler(root_handler)
+
+    logging.root.setLevel(log_level)
+
+    if config.get("access_logs_debug") is True:
+        config["access_log_class"] = DebugAccessLogger
+        logging.getLogger("aiohttp.access").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+    else:
+        config["access_log_class"] = AccessLogger
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        prog=PROGRAM_NAME,
+        description="Karapace rest proxy: exposes an API over common Kafka operations, your Kafka essentials in one tool",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument("--version", action="version", help="show program version", version=karapace_version.__version__)
+    parser.add_argument("config_file", help="configuration file path", type=argparse.FileType())
+    arg = parser.parse_args()
+
+    with closing(arg.config_file):
+        config = read_config(arg.config_file)
+
+    logging.log(logging.INFO, "\n%s\\Co %s\n%s", ("=" * 50), PROGRAM_NAME, ("=" * 50))
+
+    _configure_logging(config=config)
+
+    app = KafkaRest(config=config)
+
+    logging.log(logging.INFO, "\n%s\nStarting %s\n%s", ("=" * 50), PROGRAM_NAME, ("=" * 50))
+
+    config_without_secrets = {}
+    for key, value in config.items():
+        if "password" in key:
+            value = "****"
+        config_without_secrets[key] = value
+    logging.log(logging.DEBUG, "Config %r", config_without_secrets)
+
+    try:
+        PrometheusInstrumentation.setup_metrics(app=app)
+        app.run()  # `close` will be called by the callback `close_by_app` set by `KarapaceBase`
+    except Exception as ex:  # pylint: disable-broad-except
+        app.stats.unexpected_exception(ex=ex, where=f"{PROGRAM_NAME}_main")
+        raise
+
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/authentication.py b/src/rest_proxy/authentication.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/authentication.py
rename to src/rest_proxy/authentication.py
diff --git a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/consumer_manager.py b/src/rest_proxy/consumer_manager.py
similarity index 99%
rename from src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/consumer_manager.py
rename to src/rest_proxy/consumer_manager.py
index 809478f4c..6c5b116a3 100644
--- a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/consumer_manager.py
+++ b/src/rest_proxy/consumer_manager.py
@@ -19,11 +19,11 @@
 from karapace.kafka.common import translate_from_kafkaerror
 from karapace.kafka.consumer import AsyncKafkaConsumer
 from karapace.kafka.types import DEFAULT_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS, Timestamp
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.authentication import get_kafka_client_auth_parameters_from_config
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.error_codes import RESTErrorCodes
 from karapace.karapace import empty_response, KarapaceBase
 from karapace.serialization import DeserializationError, InvalidMessageHeader, InvalidPayload, SchemaRegistrySerializer
 from karapace.utils import convert_to_int, json_decode, JSONDecodeError
+from rest_proxy.authentication import get_kafka_client_auth_parameters_from_config
+from rest_proxy.error_codes import RESTErrorCodes
 from struct import error as UnpackError
 from urllib.parse import urljoin
 
diff --git a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/error_codes.py b/src/rest_proxy/error_codes.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/error_codes.py
rename to src/rest_proxy/error_codes.py
diff --git a/src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/schema_cache.py b/src/rest_proxy/schema_cache.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/karapace/kafka_rest_apis/schema_cache.py
rename to src/rest_proxy/schema_cache.py
diff --git a/tests/integration/conftest.py b/tests/integration/conftest.py
index 1673445ba..3e68b5968 100644
--- a/tests/integration/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/integration/conftest.py
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
 from karapace.kafka.admin import KafkaAdminClient
 from karapace.kafka.consumer import AsyncKafkaConsumer, KafkaConsumer
 from karapace.kafka.producer import AsyncKafkaProducer, KafkaProducer
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis import KafkaRest
 from pathlib import Path
+from rest_proxy import KafkaRest
 from tests.conftest import KAFKA_VERSION
 from tests.integration.utils.cluster import RegistryDescription, RegistryEndpoint, start_schema_registry_cluster
 from tests.integration.utils.config import KafkaConfig, KafkaDescription, ZKConfig
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_rest.py b/tests/integration/test_rest.py
index ee504366b..6d406d04b 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_rest.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_rest.py
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@
 from karapace.client import Client
 from karapace.kafka.admin import KafkaAdminClient
 from karapace.kafka.producer import KafkaProducer
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis import KafkaRest, SUBJECT_VALID_POSTFIX
 from karapace.schema_type import SchemaType
 from karapace.version import __version__
+from rest_proxy import KafkaRest, SUBJECT_VALID_POSTFIX
 from tests.integration.conftest import REST_PRODUCER_MAX_REQUEST_BYTES
 from tests.utils import (
     new_random_name,
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_rest_consumer.py b/tests/integration/test_rest_consumer.py
index f0003dbdd..357601fab 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_rest_consumer.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_rest_consumer.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Copyright (c) 2023 Aiven Ltd
 See LICENSE for details
 """
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.consumer_manager import KNOWN_FORMATS
+from rest_proxy.consumer_manager import KNOWN_FORMATS
 from tests.utils import (
     consumer_valid_payload,
     new_consumer,
diff --git a/tests/unit/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py b/tests/unit/rest_proxy/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/unit/kafka_rest_apis/__init__.py
rename to tests/unit/rest_proxy/__init__.py
diff --git a/tests/unit/kafka_rest_apis/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py b/tests/unit/rest_proxy/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py
similarity index 99%
rename from tests/unit/kafka_rest_apis/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py
rename to tests/unit/rest_proxy/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py
index b47fb5e02..bc40c783a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/kafka_rest_apis/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py
+++ b/tests/unit/rest_proxy/test_rest_proxy_cluster_metadata_cache.py
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 See LICENSE for details
 """
 from karapace.config import DEFAULTS
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis import UserRestProxy
 from karapace.serialization import SchemaRegistrySerializer
+from rest_proxy import UserRestProxy
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import copy
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_authentication.py b/tests/unit/test_authentication.py
index 40abc5c01..e07b00384 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_authentication.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_authentication.py
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@
 
 from http import HTTPStatus
 from karapace.config import ConfigDefaults, set_config_defaults
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis.authentication import (
+from karapace.rapu import HTTPResponse, JSON_CONTENT_TYPE
+from rest_proxy.authentication import (
     get_auth_config_from_header,
     get_expiration_time_from_header,
     get_kafka_client_auth_parameters_from_config,
     SimpleOauthTokenProvider,
 )
-from karapace.rapu import HTTPResponse, JSON_CONTENT_TYPE
 
 import base64
 import datetime
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_rest_auth.py b/tests/unit/test_rest_auth.py
index 86bb14b8a..aee1b4b5e 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_rest_auth.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_rest_auth.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from karapace.config import set_config_defaults
-from karapace.kafka_rest_apis import AUTH_EXPIRY_TOLERANCE, KafkaRest, UserRestProxy
+from rest_proxy import AUTH_EXPIRY_TOLERANCE, KafkaRest, UserRestProxy
 from unittest.mock import call, Mock
 
 import asyncio