Quick Start

Five minutes, four commands, a working backend with REST + database + hot reload + observability + interactive controls.

Step 1: Create a Project

gofasta new myapp

Or with a full Go module path:

gofasta new github.com/myorg/myapp

This scaffolds a REST-only project. Add --graphql if you want gqlgen + a /graphql endpoint + playground generated alongside REST:

gofasta new myapp --graphql

The output narrates every step — Wire DI generation, go mod tidy, git init, the works. By the time it finishes you have a project that compiles, runs, has a starter User resource, and can be deployed as-is.

Step 2: Start the Dev Loop

cd myapp
gofasta dev

That single command brings up everything: the database (Postgres in Docker), the cache (Redis), the queue dashboard (asynqmon), runs pending migrations, then launches Air for hot-reload on the host. Everything tears down cleanly on Ctrl+C.

What’s actually happening under the hood:

Your app is live at:

If you scaffolded with --graphql:

Interactive controls while it’s running

gofasta dev puts your terminal in raw mode and listens for single-key shortcuts. You’ll see a banner the moment the loop starts:

⌨  press `r` to restart · `q` to quit · `h` for help

The listener auto-disables when stdin isn’t a TTY (CI runs, piped input). Pass --no-keyboard to disable it explicitly.

Useful flags

Full reference at /docs/cli-reference/dev.

Step 3: Generate a Resource

In a separate terminal (leave gofasta dev running):

gofasta g scaffold Product name:string price:float

This generates 11 files and patches 4 existing files in one shot:

Plus automatic patches to wire everything in:

• app/di/container.go — ProductService + ProductController fields
• app/di/wire.go — ProductSet added to the Wire build
• app/rest/routes/index.routes.go — /api/v1/products registered
• cmd/serve.go — controller wired into route config

If you scaffolded the project with --graphql, pass --graphql here too and the resolver + .gql schema get generated alongside.

Press r to apply

Back in the gofasta dev terminal, press r. The pipeline tears down, re-runs preflight, re-applies migrations (your new 000006_create_products runs), and Air rebuilds against the new generated code. Your /api/v1/products endpoint is now live — no manual gofasta migrate up, no separate restart cycle.

Air does pick up .go saves automatically. You only need r for things outside Air’s watch — migrations, config changes, .env edits.

Step 4: Test Your API

# Create a product
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/products \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Widget", "price": 9.99}'
 
# List
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/products
 
# Get one
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/products/{id}
 
# Update
curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/products/{id} \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Updated Widget", "price": 19.99}'
 
# Delete
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:8080/api/v1/products/{id}

Want to see every captured request, SQL query, and trace span live? Start gofasta dev --dashboard and open http://localhost:9090. Click a request row → see its trace waterfall, the SQL it ran, the response body, and a one-click Replay button.

Supported Field Types

SQL types are automatically adapted for MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, and ClickHouse based on the database.driver in your config.yaml.

What’s next

• gofasta dev — full reference — every flag, every event, the dashboard’s debug surfaces (trace waterfall, EXPLAIN-on-click, N+1 detection, HAR export)
• Code generation — every generator: model, repository, service, controller, job, task, email-template, resolver
• Configuration — config.yaml schema, env-var overrides, multi-database support
• Authentication — JWT + Casbin RBAC, scaffolded auth flows
• Agent integrations — gofasta ai claude, cursor, codex, aider, windsurf
• Deployment — one-command VPS deploy via gofasta deploy

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