Go HTTP Frameworks & REST APIs

Overview

Go provides exceptional HTTP capabilities starting with the standard library's net/http package. Go 1.22+ introduced enhanced pattern routing in ServeMux, making stdlib viable for many applications. For more complex needs, frameworks like Chi, Gin, Echo, and Fiber offer additional features while maintaining Go's simplicity and performance.

Key Features:

• 🌐 net/http: Production-ready standard library with Go 1.22+ routing
• 🎯 Chi: Lightweight, stdlib-compatible router with middleware chains
• ⚡ Gin: High-performance framework with binding and validation
• 🛡️ Echo: Type-safe, enterprise framework with OpenAPI support
• 🚀 Fiber: Express.js-inspired framework with WebSocket support
• 🔧 Middleware: Composable request/response processing
• ✅ Validation: Struct tag-based request validation
• 🧪 Testing: httptest.Server for comprehensive integration tests

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when:

• Building RESTful APIs or web services
• Choosing appropriate HTTP framework for project requirements
• Implementing authentication or authorization middleware
• Designing REST endpoint patterns and validation
• Testing HTTP handlers and middleware chains
• Optimizing API performance and response times
• Migrating between HTTP frameworks

Framework Selection Guide

net/http (Standard Library) - Go 1.22+

Use When:

• Building simple to moderate complexity APIs
• Avoiding external dependencies is priority
• Need maximum compatibility and long-term stability
• Team prefers explicit over implicit patterns

Strengths:

• Zero dependencies, part of Go standard library
• Go 1.22+ pattern routing with path parameters
• Excellent performance and stability
• Extensive ecosystem compatibility
• No framework lock-in

Limitations:

• More verbose middleware composition
• Manual request validation
• No built-in binding or rendering

Example:

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "net/http"
    "log"
)

// Go 1.22+ pattern routing
func main() {
    mux := http.NewServeMux()

    // Path parameters with {param} syntax
    mux.HandleFunc("GET /users/{id}", getUserHandler)
    mux.HandleFunc("POST /users", createUserHandler)
    mux.HandleFunc("GET /users", listUsersHandler)

    // Middleware wrapping
    handler := loggingMiddleware(mux)

    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", handler))
}

func getUserHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    id := r.PathValue("id") // Go 1.22+ path parameter extraction

    user := User{ID: id, Name: "John Doe"}

    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(user)
}

func loggingMiddleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        log.Printf("%s %s", r.Method, r.URL.Path)
        next.ServeHTTP(w, r)
    })
}

type User struct {
    ID   string `json:"id"`
    Name string `json:"name"`
}

Chi - Lightweight Router

Use When:

• Want stdlib-compatible router with better ergonomics
• Need clean middleware composition
• Prefer explicit over magic patterns
• Building moderate to complex routing structures

Strengths:

• 100% compatible with net/http
• Excellent middleware ecosystem
• Route grouping and nesting
• Context-based parameter passing
• Minimal performance overhead

Installation:

go get -u github.com/go-chi/chi/v5

Example:

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "net/http"
    "github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
    "github.com/go-chi/chi/v5/middleware"
)

func main() {
    r := chi.NewRouter()

    // Built-in middleware
    r.Use(middleware.Logger)
    r.Use(middleware.Recoverer)
    r.Use(middleware.RequestID)

    // Route grouping
    r.Route("/api/v1", func(r chi.Router) {
        r.Route("/users", func(r chi.Router) {
            r.Get("/", listUsers)
            r.Post("/", createUser)

            r.Route("/{userID}", func(r chi.Router) {
                r.Use(UserContext) // Middleware for nested routes
                r.Get("/", getUser)
                r.Put("/", updateUser)
                r.Delete("/", deleteUser)
            })
        })
    })

    http.ListenAndServe(":8080", r)
}

func UserContext(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        userID := chi.URLParam(r, "userID")
        // Load user from database, set in context
        ctx := context.WithValue(r.Context(), "user", userID)
        next.ServeHTTP(w, r.WithContext(ctx))
    })
}

func getUser(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    userID := r.Context().Value("user").(string)
    // Return user data
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{"id": userID})
}

Gin - High Performance Framework

Use When:

• Need maximum performance (8x faster than most frameworks)
• Want batteries-included experience
• Require built-in validation and binding
• Building JSON APIs with minimal boilerplate

Strengths:

• Extremely fast (fastest Go framework in benchmarks)
• Built-in JSON binding and validation
• Middleware ecosystem
• Group-based routing
• Custom error handling

Installation:

go get -u github.com/gin-gonic/gin

Example:

package main

import (
    "net/http"
    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
)

type CreateUserRequest struct {
    Name  string `json:"name" binding:"required,min=3"`
    Email string `json:"email" binding:"required,email"`
    Age   int    `json:"age" binding:"required,gte=18"`
}

func main() {
    r := gin.Default() // Logger + Recovery middleware

    api := r.Group("/api/v1")
    {
        users := api.Group("/users")
        {
            users.GET("", listUsers)
            users.POST("", createUser)
            users.GET("/:id", getUser)
            users.PUT("/:id", updateUser)
            users.DELETE("/:id", deleteUser)
        }
    }

    r.Run(":8080")
}

func createUser(c *gin.Context) {
    var req CreateUserRequest

    // Automatic validation based on struct tags
    if err := c.ShouldBindJSON(&req); err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
        return
    }

    // Process user creation
    user := User{
        ID:    generateID(),
        Name:  req.Name,
        Email: req.Email,
        Age:   req.Age,
    }

    c.JSON(http.StatusCreated, user)
}

func getUser(c *gin.Context) {
    id := c.Param("id")

    // Return user
    c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{
        "id":   id,
        "name": "John Doe",
    })
}

Echo - Enterprise Framework

Use When:

• Building enterprise applications
• Need OpenAPI/Swagger integration
• Want comprehensive middleware library
• Require type-safe routing and binding

Strengths:

• Type-safe routing with automatic parameter binding
• Built-in middleware for common patterns
• OpenAPI/Swagger generation support
• Excellent error handling middleware
• WebSocket support

Installation:

go get -u github.com/labstack/echo/v4

Example:

package main

import (
    "net/http"
    "github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
    "github.com/labstack/echo/v4/middleware"
)

func main() {
    e := echo.New()

    // Middleware
    e.Use(middleware.Logger())
    e.Use(middleware.Recover())
    e.Use(middleware.CORS())

    // Routes
    e.GET("/users/:id", getUser)
    e.POST("/users", createUser)
    e.PUT("/users/:id", updateUser)
    e.DELETE("/users/:id", deleteUser)

    e.Logger.Fatal(e.Start(":8080"))
}

func getUser(c echo.Context) error {
    id := c.Param("id")

    user := User{ID: id, Name: "John Doe"}
    return c.JSON(http.StatusOK, user)
}

func createUser(c echo.Context) error {
    var user User

    if err := c.Bind(&user); err != nil {
        return echo.NewHTTPError(http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
    }

    if err := c.Validate(&user); err != nil {
        return echo.NewHTTPError(http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
    }

    return c.JSON(http.StatusCreated, user)
}

// Custom error handler
func customErrorHandler(err error, c echo.Context) {
    code := http.StatusInternalServerError
    message := "Internal Server Error"

    if he, ok := err.(*echo.HTTPError); ok {
        code = he.Code
        message = he.Message.(string)
    }

    c.JSON(code, map[string]string{"error": message})
}

Fiber - Express.js Style

Use When:

• Team familiar with Express.js patterns
• Need WebSocket support out of the box
• Building real-time applications
• Want fastest route matching performance

Strengths:

• Express.js-inspired API (easy for Node.js developers)
• Fastest route matching (uses fasthttp)
• Built-in WebSocket support
• Template engine support
• File upload handling

Limitations:

• Uses fasthttp instead of net/http (less ecosystem compatibility)
• Not compatible with standard http.Handler interface
• Slightly less mature ecosystem

Installation:

go get -u github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2

Example:

package main

import (
    "github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2"
    "github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2/middleware/logger"
    "github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2/middleware/cors"
)

func main() {
    app := fiber.New()

    // Middleware
    app.Use(logger.New())
    app.Use(cors.New())

    // Routes
    api := app.Group("/api/v1")

    users := api.Group("/users")
    users.Get("/", listUsers)
    users.Post("/", createUser)
    users.Get("/:id", getUser)
    users.Put("/:id", updateUser)
    users.Delete("/:id", deleteUser)

    app.Listen(":8080")
}

func getUser(c *fiber.Ctx) error {
    id := c.Params("id")

    return c.JSON(fiber.Map{
        "id":   id,
        "name": "John Doe",
    })
}

func createUser(c *fiber.Ctx) error {
    var user User

    if err := c.BodyParser(&user); err != nil {
        return c.Status(400).JSON(fiber.Map{"error": err.Error()})
    }

    return c.Status(201).JSON(user)
}

Common HTTP Patterns

Request Validation

Struct Tag Validation:

import "github.com/go-playground/validator/v10"

type CreateUserRequest struct {
    Name     string `json:"name" validate:"required,min=3,max=50"`
    Email    string `json:"email" validate:"required,email"`
    Age      int    `json:"age" validate:"required,gte=18,lte=120"`
    Password string `json:"password" validate:"required,min=8"`
}

var validate = validator.New()

func validateRequest(req interface{}) error {
    return validate.Struct(req)
}

// Usage
func createUser(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    var req CreateUserRequest

    if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
        http.Error(w, "Invalid JSON", http.StatusBadRequest)
        return
    }

    if err := validateRequest(&req); err != nil {
        http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
        return
    }

    // Process valid request
}

Custom Validators:

import "github.com/go-playground/validator/v10"

var validate = validator.New()

func init() {
    validate.RegisterValidation("username", validateUsername)
}

func validateUsername(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
    username := fl.Field().String()
    // Custom validation logic
    return len(username) >= 3 && isAlphanumeric(username)
}

type SignupRequest struct {
    Username string `validate:"required,username"`
    Email    string `validate:"required,email"`
}

Middleware Patterns

Authentication Middleware:

func AuthMiddleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        token := r.Header.Get("Authorization")

        if token == "" {
            http.Error(w, "Unauthorized", http.StatusUnauthorized)
            return
        }

        // Validate token
        userID, err := validateToken(token)
        if err != nil {
            http.Error(w, "Invalid token", http.StatusUnauthorized)
            return
        }

        // Add user to context
        ctx := context.WithValue(r.Context(), "userID", userID)
        next.ServeHTTP(w, r.WithContext(ctx))
    })
}

Rate Limiting Middleware:

import (
    "golang.org/x/time/rate"
    "sync"
)

type RateLimiter struct {
    limiters map[string]*rate.Limiter
    mu       sync.RWMutex
    rate     rate.Limit
    burst    int
}

func NewRateLimiter(r rate.Limit, b int) *RateLimiter {
    return &RateLimiter{
        limiters: make(map[string]*rate.Limiter),
        rate:     r,
        burst:    b,
    }
}

func (rl *RateLimiter) getLimiter(ip string) *rate.Limiter {
    rl.mu.Lock()
    defer rl.mu.Unlock()

    limiter, exists := rl.limiters[ip]
    if !exists {
        limiter = rate.NewLimiter(rl.rate, rl.burst)
        rl.limiters[ip] = limiter
    }

    return limiter
}

func (rl *RateLimiter) Middleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        ip := r.RemoteAddr
        limiter := rl.getLimiter(ip)

        if !limiter.Allow() {
            http.Error(w, "Rate limit exceeded", http.StatusTooManyRequests)
            return
        }

        next.ServeHTTP(w, r)
    })
}

CORS Middleware:

func CORSMiddleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*")
        w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS")
        w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Content-Type, Authorization")

        if r.Method == "OPTIONS" {
            w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
            return
        }

        next.ServeHTTP(w, r)
    })
}

Error Handling Strategies

Custom Error Types:

type APIError struct {
    Code    int    `json:"code"`
    Message string `json:"message"`
    Details string `json:"details,omitempty"`
}

func (e *APIError) Error() string {
    return e.Message
}

// Error constructors
func NewBadRequestError(msg string) *APIError {
    return &APIError{Code: http.StatusBadRequest, Message: msg}
}

func NewNotFoundError(msg string) *APIError {
    return &APIError{Code: http.StatusNotFound, Message: msg}
}

func NewInternalError(msg string) *APIError {
    return &APIError{Code: http.StatusInternalServerError, Message: msg}
}

Error Response Middleware:

type APIHandler func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error

func ErrorHandlerMiddleware(h APIHandler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        err := h(w, r)
        if err == nil {
            return
        }

        // Handle different error types
        var apiErr *APIError
        if errors.As(err, &apiErr) {
            w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
            w.WriteHeader(apiErr.Code)
            json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(apiErr)
            return
        }

        // Unknown error - log and return generic message
        log.Printf("Internal error: %v", err)
        w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
        json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(APIError{
            Code:    http.StatusInternalServerError,
            Message: "Internal server error",
        })
    })
}

// Usage
func getUserHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error {
    id := r.PathValue("id")

    user, err := db.GetUser(id)
    if err != nil {
        if errors.Is(err, sql.ErrNoRows) {
            return NewNotFoundError("User not found")
        }
        return fmt.Errorf("database error: %w", err)
    }

    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    return json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(user)
}

// Register with middleware
mux.Handle("GET /users/{id}", ErrorHandlerMiddleware(getUserHandler))

REST API Design Patterns

Resource Naming Conventions:

// Good: Plural nouns for collections
GET    /api/v1/users           // List users
POST   /api/v1/users           // Create user
GET    /api/v1/users/{id}      // Get user
PUT    /api/v1/users/{id}      // Update user (full)
PATCH  /api/v1/users/{id}      // Update user (partial)
DELETE /api/v1/users/{id}      // Delete user

// Nested resources
GET    /api/v1/users/{id}/posts        // User's posts
POST   /api/v1/users/{id}/posts        // Create post for user
GET    /api/v1/users/{id}/posts/{pid}  // Specific post

// Avoid: Verbs in URLs (use HTTP methods instead)
// Bad: POST /api/v1/users/create
// Bad: GET  /api/v1/users/get/{id}

Pagination Pattern:

type PaginationParams struct {
    Page     int `json:"page" validate:"gte=1"`
    PageSize int `json:"page_size" validate:"gte=1,lte=100"`
}

type PaginatedResponse struct {
    Data       interface{} `json:"data"`
    Page       int         `json:"page"`
    PageSize   int         `json:"page_size"`
    TotalCount int         `json:"total_count"`
    TotalPages int         `json:"total_pages"`
}

func listUsers(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    // Parse pagination params
    page, _ := strconv.Atoi(r.URL.Query().Get("page"))
    if page < 1 {
        page = 1
    }

    pageSize, _ := strconv.Atoi(r.URL.Query().Get("page_size"))
    if pageSize < 1 || pageSize > 100 {
        pageSize = 20
    }

    // Fetch data
    users, totalCount := db.GetUsers(page, pageSize)
    totalPages := (totalCount + pageSize - 1) / pageSize

    response := PaginatedResponse{
        Data:       users,
        Page:       page,
        PageSize:   pageSize,
        TotalCount: totalCount,
        TotalPages: totalPages,
    }

    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(response)
}

Query Parameter Filtering:

type UserFilter struct {
    Status    string `json:"status"`
    Role      string `json:"role"`
    CreatedAt string `json:"created_at"`
    Search    string `json:"search"`
}

func parseFilters(r *http.Request) UserFilter {
    return UserFilter{
        Status:    r.URL.Query().Get("status"),
        Role:      r.URL.Query().Get("role"),
        CreatedAt: r.URL.Query().Get("created_at"),
        Search:    r.URL.Query().Get("search"),
    }
}

func listUsers(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    filters := parseFilters(r)

    users := db.GetUsersWithFilters(filters)

    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(users)
}

// Example request: GET /api/v1/users?status=active&role=admin&search=john

HTTP Client Patterns

Production-Ready HTTP Client:

import (
    "context"
    "net/http"
    "time"
)

func NewHTTPClient() *http.Client {
    return &http.Client{
        Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
        Transport: &http.Transport{
            MaxIdleConns:        100,
            MaxIdleConnsPerHost: 10,
            IdleConnTimeout:     90 * time.Second,
            DisableKeepAlives:   false,
        },
    }
}

// Making requests with context
func fetchUser(ctx context.Context, userID string) (*User, error) {
    client := NewHTTPClient()

    req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(
        ctx,
        "GET",
        fmt.Sprintf("https://api.example.com/users/%s", userID),
        nil,
    )
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("create request: %w", err)
    }

    req.Header.Set("Accept", "application/json")
    req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+getToken())

    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("execute request: %w", err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected status: %d", resp.StatusCode)
    }

    var user User
    if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&user); err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("decode response: %w", err)
    }

    return &user, nil
}

Retry Logic with Exponential Backoff:

import (
    "context"
    "math"
    "time"
)

type RetryConfig struct {
    MaxRetries int
    BaseDelay  time.Duration
    MaxDelay   time.Duration
}

func DoWithRetry(ctx context.Context, cfg RetryConfig, fn func() error) error {
    var err error

    for attempt := 0; attempt <= cfg.MaxRetries; attempt++ {
        err = fn()
        if err == nil {
            return nil
        }

        if attempt < cfg.MaxRetries {
            // Exponential backoff
            delay := time.Duration(math.Pow(2, float64(attempt))) * cfg.BaseDelay
            if delay > cfg.MaxDelay {
                delay = cfg.MaxDelay
            }

            select {
            case <-ctx.Done():
                return ctx.Err()
            case <-time.After(delay):
                // Continue to next attempt
            }
        }
    }

    return fmt.Errorf("max retries exceeded: %w", err)
}

// Usage
err := DoWithRetry(ctx, RetryConfig{
    MaxRetries: 3,
    BaseDelay:  100 * time.Millisecond,
    MaxDelay:   2 * time.Second,
}, func() error {
    return makeAPIRequest()
})

Testing HTTP Handlers

Using httptest.Server:

import (
    "net/http"
    "net/http/httptest"
    "testing"
)

func TestGetUser(t *testing.T) {
    // Create test server
    ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(getUserHandler))
    defer ts.Close()

    // Make request
    resp, err := http.Get(ts.URL + "/users/123")
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    // Assertions
    if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
        t.Errorf("expected status 200, got %d", resp.StatusCode)
    }

    var user User
    if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&user); err != nil {
        t.Fatal(err)
    }

    if user.ID != "123" {
        t.Errorf("expected user ID 123, got %s", user.ID)
    }
}

Testing Middleware:

func TestAuthMiddleware(t *testing.T) {
    handler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        userID := r.Context().Value("userID")
        if userID == nil {
            t.Error("userID not found in context")
        }
        w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
    })

    wrapped := AuthMiddleware(handler)

    tests := []struct {
        name       string
        token      string
        wantStatus int
    }{
        {"Valid token", "valid-token-123", http.StatusOK},
        {"Missing token", "", http.StatusUnauthorized},
        {"Invalid token", "invalid", http.StatusUnauthorized},
    }

    for _, tt := range tests {
        t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
            if tt.token != "" {
                req.Header.Set("Authorization", tt.token)
            }

            rr := httptest.NewRecorder()
            wrapped.ServeHTTP(rr, req)

            if rr.Code != tt.wantStatus {
                t.Errorf("expected status %d, got %d", tt.wantStatus, rr.Code)
            }
        })
    }
}

Performance Optimization

Response Compression:

import (
    "compress/gzip"
    "io"
    "net/http"
    "strings"
)

type gzipResponseWriter struct {
    io.Writer
    http.ResponseWriter
}

func (w gzipResponseWriter) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
    return w.Writer.Write(b)
}

func GzipMiddleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        if !strings.Contains(r.Header.Get("Accept-Encoding"), "gzip") {
            next.ServeHTTP(w, r)
            return
        }

        w.Header().Set("Content-Encoding", "gzip")
        gz := gzip.NewWriter(w)
        defer gz.Close()

        gzw := gzipResponseWriter{Writer: gz, ResponseWriter: w}
        next.ServeHTTP(gzw, r)
    })
}

Connection Pooling Configuration:

import (
    "net"
    "net/http"
    "time"
)

func NewProductionHTTPClient() *http.Client {
    return &http.Client{
        Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
        Transport: &http.Transport{
            Proxy: http.ProxyFromEnvironment,
            DialContext: (&net.Dialer{
                Timeout:   30 * time.Second,
                KeepAlive: 30 * time.Second,
            }).DialContext,
            ForceAttemptHTTP2:     true,
            MaxIdleConns:          100,
            MaxIdleConnsPerHost:   10,
            IdleConnTimeout:       90 * time.Second,
            TLSHandshakeTimeout:   10 * time.Second,
            ExpectContinueTimeout: 1 * time.Second,
        },
    }
}

Decision Tree

Building HTTP API in Go?
│
├─ Simple API, few dependencies? → net/http (stdlib)
│  ├─ Go 1.22+? → Use new ServeMux pattern routing
│  └─ Go < 1.22? → Consider Chi for better routing
│
├─ Need stdlib compatibility + better ergonomics? → Chi
│  └─ Great for: Middleware chains, route grouping
│
├─ Maximum performance priority? → Gin
│  └─ Great for: JSON APIs, high throughput services
│
├─ Enterprise app with OpenAPI? → Echo
│  └─ Great for: Type safety, comprehensive middleware
│
└─ Team knows Express.js + need WebSockets? → Fiber
   └─ Note: Uses fasthttp, not stdlib-compatible

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Not Closing Response Bodies

// Bad: Memory leak
resp, _ := http.Get(url)
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body) // Never closed!

// Good: Always defer close
resp, err := http.Get(url)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)

Pitfall 2: Not Using Context for Timeouts

// Bad: No timeout control
resp, _ := http.Get(url)

// Good: Use context with timeout
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
defer cancel()

req, _ := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, "GET", url, nil)
resp, err := client.Do(req)

Pitfall 3: Ignoring HTTP Status Codes

// Bad: Not checking status
resp, _ := http.Get(url)
defer resp.Body.Close()
json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&result)

// Good: Always check status
resp, err := http.Get(url)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer resp.Body.Close()

if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
    return fmt.Errorf("unexpected status: %d", resp.StatusCode)
}

Pitfall 4: Not Reusing HTTP Clients

// Bad: Creates new client per request (no connection pooling)
func makeRequest() {
    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, _ := client.Get(url)
}

// Good: Reuse client for connection pooling
var httpClient = &http.Client{
    Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
}

func makeRequest() {
    resp, _ := httpClient.Get(url)
}

Related Skills

• golang-testing-strategies: Testing HTTP handlers and middleware
• golang-database-patterns: Integrating databases with HTTP APIs
• toolchains-typescript-frameworks-nodejs-backend: Comparison with Node.js patterns

References

• Go net/http Documentation
• Chi Framework
• Gin Framework
• Echo Framework
• Fiber Framework
• Go HTTP Best Practices