name: golang-web
description: Modern Go Web application architecture guide. Use when creating new Go web projects, APIs, or microservices. Covers project structure, tech stack selection, and best practices based on Go standards.

Go Web Architecture

Core Principles

• Standard layout — Follow cmd/internal/pkg convention
• Explicit dependencies — Wire dependencies in main.go, no globals
• Interface-driven — Define interfaces where you use them, not where you implement
• Error wrapping — Wrap errors with context, use error codes
• No backwards compatibility — Delete, don't deprecate. Change directly
• LiteLLM for LLM APIs — Use LiteLLM proxy for all LLM integrations

No Backwards Compatibility

Delete unused code. Change directly. No compatibility layers.

// ❌ BAD: Deprecated function kept around
// Deprecated: Use NewUserService instead
func CreateUserService() *UserService { ... }

// ❌ BAD: Alias for renamed types
type OldName = NewName // "for backwards compatibility"

// ❌ BAD: Unused parameters
func Process(_ context.Context, data Data) { ... }

// ✅ GOOD: Just delete and update all usages
func NewUserService(repo UserRepository) *UserService { ... }

LiteLLM for LLM APIs

Use LiteLLM proxy. Don't call provider APIs directly.

// adapters/llm/client.go
package llm

import (
    "github.com/sashabaranov/go-openai"
)

// Connect to LiteLLM proxy using OpenAI-compatible SDK
func NewClient(cfg Config) *openai.Client {
    config := openai.DefaultConfig(cfg.APIKey)
    config.BaseURL = cfg.BaseURL // LiteLLM proxy URL
    return openai.NewClientWithConfig(config)
}

Quick Start

1. Initialize Project

mkdir myapp && cd myapp
go mod init github.com/yourname/myapp

# Install core dependencies
go get github.com/gin-gonic/gin
go get github.com/spf13/viper
go get github.com/sirupsen/logrus
go get gorm.io/gorm

2. Apply Tech Stack

Version Strategy

Always get latest. Never pin in templates.

# Always fetch latest
go get -u github.com/gin-gonic/gin
go get -u ./...

# go.mod handles version locking
# go.sum ensures reproducible builds

3. Use Standard Structure

myapp/
├── cmd/
│   └── myapp/
│       └── main.go            # Entry point, dependency wiring
├── configs/
│   └── config.go              # Configuration struct + loader
├── internal/                  # Private application code
│   ├── handlers/              # HTTP handlers
│   ├── services/              # Business logic
│   ├── repositories/          # Data access
│   ├── models/                # Domain models
│   ├── middleware/            # HTTP middleware
│   └── router/                # Route definitions
├── pkg/                       # Public reusable packages
│   ├── errors/                # Error types
│   ├── logger/                # Logging setup
│   ├── response/              # Unified response format
│   └── database/              # Database connection
├── config.yaml                # Configuration file
├── Makefile                   # Build automation
├── Dockerfile
└── go.mod

Architecture Layers

cmd/ — Entry Point

Wire all dependencies here. No business logic.

// cmd/myapp/main.go
func main() {
    // Load config
    cfg := configs.Load()

    // Initialize infrastructure
    db := database.New(cfg.Database)
    cache := cache.New(cfg.Redis)
    logger := logger.New(cfg.Log)

    // Initialize repositories
    userRepo := repositories.NewUserRepository(db)

    // Initialize services
    userService := services.NewUserService(userRepo)

    // Initialize handlers
    userHandler := handlers.NewUserHandler(userService)

    // Setup router
    r := router.Setup(cfg, userHandler)

    // Start server with graceful shutdown
    server.Run(r, cfg.Server)
}

internal/ — Private Business Code

handlers/ — HTTP Layer

// internal/handlers/user.go
type UserHandler struct {
    service services.UserService
}

func NewUserHandler(s services.UserService) *UserHandler {
    return &UserHandler{service: s}
}

func (h *UserHandler) Create(c *gin.Context) {
    var input CreateUserInput
    if err := c.ShouldBindJSON(&input); err != nil {
        response.Error(c, errors.ErrInvalidParams)
        return
    }

    user, err := h.service.Create(c.Request.Context(), input)
    if err != nil {
        response.Error(c, err)
        return
    }

    response.Success(c, user)
}

services/ — Business Logic

// internal/services/user.go
type UserService interface {
    Create(ctx context.Context, input CreateUserInput) (*models.User, error)
    GetByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*models.User, error)
}

type userService struct {
    repo repositories.UserRepository
}

func NewUserService(repo repositories.UserRepository) UserService {
    return &userService{repo: repo}
}

func (s *userService) Create(ctx context.Context, input CreateUserInput) (*models.User, error) {
    existing, _ := s.repo.FindByEmail(ctx, input.Email)
    if existing != nil {
        return nil, errors.ErrUserExists
    }

    user := &models.User{
        ID:    uuid.New().String(),
        Email: input.Email,
        Name:  input.Name,
    }

    return s.repo.Save(ctx, user)
}

repositories/ — Data Access

// internal/repositories/user.go
type UserRepository interface {
    FindByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*models.User, error)
    FindByEmail(ctx context.Context, email string) (*models.User, error)
    Save(ctx context.Context, user *models.User) (*models.User, error)
    Delete(ctx context.Context, id string) error
}

type userRepository struct {
    db *gorm.DB
}

func NewUserRepository(db *gorm.DB) UserRepository {
    return &userRepository{db: db}
}

func (r *userRepository) FindByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*models.User, error) {
    var user models.User
    if err := r.db.WithContext(ctx).First(&user, "id = ?", id).Error; err != nil {
        if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
            return nil, nil
        }
        return nil, err
    }
    return &user, nil
}

pkg/ — Reusable Packages

errors/ — Error Handling

// pkg/errors/errors.go
type AppError struct {
    Code    int    `json:"code"`
    Message string `json:"message"`
    Cause   error  `json:"-"`
}

func (e *AppError) Error() string { return e.Message }
func (e *AppError) Unwrap() error { return e.Cause }

func New(code int, message string) *AppError {
    return &AppError{Code: code, Message: message}
}

func Wrap(err error, code int, message string) *AppError {
    return &AppError{Code: code, Message: message, Cause: err}
}

// Predefined errors
var (
    ErrInternal      = New(500, "internal server error")
    ErrInvalidParams = New(400, "invalid parameters")
    ErrNotFound      = New(404, "resource not found")
    ErrUnauthorized  = New(401, "unauthorized")
    ErrUserExists    = New(409, "user already exists")
)

response/ — Unified Response

// pkg/response/response.go
type Response struct {
    Code    int         `json:"code"`
    Message string      `json:"message"`
    Data    interface{} `json:"data,omitempty"`
}

func Success(c *gin.Context, data interface{}) {
    c.JSON(http.StatusOK, Response{
        Code:    0,
        Message: "success",
        Data:    data,
    })
}

func Error(c *gin.Context, err error) {
    var appErr *errors.AppError
    if errors.As(err, &appErr) {
        c.JSON(appErr.Code/100, Response{
            Code:    appErr.Code,
            Message: appErr.Message,
        })
        return
    }
    c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, Response{
        Code:    500,
        Message: "internal server error",
    })
}

Configuration

Viper + YAML + Environment Variables

// configs/config.go
type Config struct {
    Server   ServerConfig   `mapstructure:"server"`
    Database DatabaseConfig `mapstructure:"database"`
    Redis    RedisConfig    `mapstructure:"redis"`
    Log      LogConfig      `mapstructure:"log"`
    LLM      LLMConfig      `mapstructure:"llm"`
}

type LLMConfig struct {
    BaseURL      string `mapstructure:"base_url"`
    APIKey       string `mapstructure:"api_key"`
    DefaultModel string `mapstructure:"default_model"`
}

func Load() *Config {
    viper.SetConfigFile("config.yaml")
    viper.AutomaticEnv()
    viper.SetEnvPrefix("APP")
    viper.SetEnvKeyReplacer(strings.NewReplacer(".", "_"))

    // Defaults
    viper.SetDefault("server.port", 8080)
    viper.SetDefault("llm.base_url", "http://localhost:4000")
    viper.SetDefault("llm.default_model", "gpt-4o")

    viper.ReadInConfig()

    var cfg Config
    viper.Unmarshal(&cfg)
    return &cfg
}

Graceful Shutdown

// pkg/server/server.go
func Run(handler http.Handler, cfg ServerConfig) {
    srv := &http.Server{
        Addr:         fmt.Sprintf(":%d", cfg.Port),
        Handler:      handler,
        ReadTimeout:  cfg.ReadTimeout,
        WriteTimeout: cfg.WriteTimeout,
    }

    go func() {
        if err := srv.ListenAndServe(); err != http.ErrServerClosed {
            log.Fatalf("Server error: %v", err)
        }
    }()

    quit := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
    signal.Notify(quit, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
    <-quit

    ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
    defer cancel()

    srv.Shutdown(ctx)
}

Makefile

.PHONY: build run test lint clean

APP_NAME=myapp

build:
    go build -o bin/$(APP_NAME) ./cmd/$(APP_NAME)

run:
    go run ./cmd/$(APP_NAME)

dev:
    air

test:
    go test -v ./...

lint:
    golangci-lint run

clean:
    rm -rf bin/

tidy:
    go mod tidy

upgrade:
    go get -u ./...
    go mod tidy

Checklist

## Project Setup
- [ ] Go 1.21+ installed
- [ ] Standard directory structure (cmd/internal/pkg)
- [ ] go.mod initialized
- [ ] Makefile created

## Architecture
- [ ] Dependencies wired in main.go
- [ ] Handlers → Services → Repositories layers
- [ ] Interfaces defined at usage site
- [ ] No circular dependencies

## Infrastructure
- [ ] Configuration with Viper
- [ ] Structured logging
- [ ] Custom error types
- [ ] Unified response format
- [ ] Graceful shutdown

## Quality
- [ ] Tests for services
- [ ] golangci-lint configured
- [ ] go vet passes
- [ ] Race detection tested

See Also

• reference/architecture.md — Detailed architecture patterns
• reference/tech-stack.md — Tech stack comparison
• reference/patterns.md — Go design patterns