Quickstart

Requirements

• Go 1.26 or newer
• A SQL database when you choose anything other than SQLite
• Docker (optional, for local database services)

Install the CLI from a release:

go install github.com/Alfian57/gin-kit/cmd/gin-kit@latest

Create an API application with a custom module path:

gin-kit new ./orders --non-interactive \
  --module example.com/acme/orders \
  --mode api --database sqlite --orm gorm
cd orders
gin-kit run

Open http://localhost:8080/health/live. The generated .env.example lists the configuration your chosen database and features need.

First steps in a new project

gin-kit db up                     # apply the initial migrations
gin-kit db seed                   # run the seeder registry
gin-kit routes                    # print the routing table
gin-kit generate resource Ticket --fields "title:string,done:bool"

For day-to-day development, gin-kit dev is the recommended loop: it rebuilds on save, holds browser requests during rebuilds instead of dropping them, and shows compile errors as an in-browser overlay (gin-kit run is the simpler alternative).

generate resource prints the wiring snippet to paste into internal/app/app.go, then gin-kit db up applies its migration. In runtime development, interactive API docs are already live at http://localhost:8080/docs. Run gin-kit check before committing, and gin-kit explain architecture whenever the layout is unclear.

The interactive path

Run gin-kit new ./orders without --non-interactive to choose the project type, API/UI mode, SQL database, ORM, authentication, example slice, and Docker support. Authentication, the example slice, and Docker support begin selected; choose No for anything you do not need. Use gin-kit check before committing.