gin

name	Gin
slug	gin-developer
version	1.0.0
description	Production-grade Gin (Go) web framework development — build robust APIs and web apps without common pitfalls.
metadata	{"emoji":"🐹","requires":{"bins":["go"]},"os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}

Navigation

Topic	File	When to Use
Router, routing groups, middleware	routing.md	Any endpoint setup
HTTP methods, JSON binding, validation, WebSockets	handlers.md	Building endpoints
JSON, XML, YAML, streaming responses	responses.md	API response patterns
JWT, session, bcrypt, auth middleware	auth.md	User auth & permissions
MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, GORM, migrations	database.md + migrations.md	Data access
Structured logging, middleware, recovery	middleware.md	Cross-cutting concerns
Goroutines, sync.WaitGroup, context	concurrency.md	Parallel processing
Context propagation, cancellation, values	context.md	Context usage
File uploads, multipart, S3, presigned URLs	file-uploads.md	Media handling
Deployment, Docker, systemd, signals	deployment.md	Going live
Unit tests, httptest, mocking	testing.md	Test-driven dev
Security headers, CORS, rate limiting	security.md	Hardening
Go module versioning, best practices	versions.md	Version management

Critical Rules (Never Forget)

• context.Context is mandatory — pass it through every function that does I/O
• Never spawn goroutines without sync.WaitGroup or context cancellation
• Check errors always — if err != nil { return err } — not optional
• gin.H{} is just map[string]interface{} — no magic, no hidden behavior
• Route order matters — first match wins, put specific routes BEFORE generic ones
• Binding tags use binding:"" not validate:"" — Gin uses go-playground/validator internally but sets SetTagName("binding") (not validate) as the struct tag name
• c.Next() in middleware — call it to execute downstream handlers
• Abort early with c.AbortWithStatusJSON() when auth fails
• Use c.Copy() if you need to access context after async work
• Environment variables — use os.Getenv() or viper/envconfig, never hardcode

Go Version Defaults

• Go 1.26 (current stable — 2026)
• Gin v1.12 (latest — HTTP/3 support, Protocol Buffers, BSON render)
• Go modules — always use go mod init and go.mod
• nil pointer checks — always check before dereferencing

Pro Tips

• gin.Default() includes Logger and Recovery middleware — use it in dev
• gin.New() is minimal — add only the middleware you need in production
• Use c.Params to get path parameters — don't parse URLs manually
• c.GetHeader("X-Request-ID") to read request headers
• gin.Mode() to set mode: gin.DebugMode, gin.ReleaseMode, gin.TestMode
• Use httptest.NewRecorder for testing handlers without a real server

Start with routing.md for most common Gin work.