diff --git a/protocols/p4runtime/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/p4runtime/api/P4RuntimeController.java b/protocols/p4runtime/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/p4runtime/api/P4RuntimeController.java
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/protocols/p4runtime/api/src/main/java/org/onosproject/p4runtime/api/P4RuntimeController.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017-present Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.onosproject.p4runtime.api;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
+import io.grpc.ManagedChannelBuilder;
+import org.onosproject.event.ListenerService;
+import org.onosproject.net.DeviceId;
+
+/**
+ * Controller of P4Runtime devices.
+ */
+@Beta
+public interface P4RuntimeController extends ListenerService<P4RuntimeEvent, P4RuntimeEventListener> {
+
+    /**
+     * Instantiates a new client to operate on the device identified by the given information and reachable using the
+     * given gRPC channel builder. As a result of this method, a {@link P4RuntimeClient} can be later obtained by
+     * invoking {@link #getClient(DeviceId)}. Only one client can exist for the same device identifier. Returns true if
+     * the client was created and the channel to the device is open, false otherwise.
+     *
+     * @param deviceId       device identifier
+     * @param p4DeviceId     P4Runtime-specific device identifier
+     * @param channelBuilder gRPC channel builder pointing at the P4Runtime server in execution on the device
+     * @return true if the client was created and the channel to the device is open
+     * @throws IllegalStateException if a client already exists for the given device identifier
+     */
+    boolean createClient(DeviceId deviceId, int p4DeviceId, ManagedChannelBuilder channelBuilder);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a client to operate on the given device.
+     *
+     * @param deviceId device identifier
+     * @return client instance
+     * @throws IllegalStateException if no client exists for the given device identifier
+     */
+    P4RuntimeClient getClient(DeviceId deviceId);
+
+    /**
+     * Removes the client for the given device. If no client exists for the given device identifier, the
+     * result is a no-op.
+     *
+     * @param deviceId device identifier
+     */
+    void removeClient(DeviceId deviceId);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns true if a client exists for the given device identifier, false otherwise.
+     *
+     * @param deviceId device identifier
+     * @return true if client exists, false otherwise.
+     */
+    boolean hasClient(DeviceId deviceId);
+}