Project Structure

The Go Template follows the Standard Go Project Layout with some opinionated additions. Every directory serves a specific purpose to keep your codebase organized as it grows.

Directory Overview

go-template/
├── cmd/             Application entrypoints
├── pkg/             Reusable library code
├── migrations/      Database schema evolution
├── Dockerfile       Multi-stage container builds
├── compose.yaml     Local development stack
└── Makefile         Development commands

cmd/ - Entry Points

The cmd/ directory contains executable entry points. Each subdirectory becomes a binary.

cmd/template/

The main application entry point that wires together your services:

cmd/template/main.go

func main() {
    ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), 
        os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
    defer stop()

    config, err := env.New()
    if err != nil {
        slog.ErrorContext(ctx, "failed to load config", "error", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }

    if err := run(ctx, config); err != nil {
        // Error handling with context awareness
        os.Exit(1)
    }
}

Key responsibilities:

Signal handling for graceful shutdown
Configuration loading and validation
Service initialization and dependency injection
Top-level error handling

Rename cmd/template/ to match your project name (e.g., cmd/scraper/). Update the binary name in the Makefile accordingly.

cmd/setup/

An interactive setup wizard that runs after cloning:

make setup

This optional command helps you:

Remove unused features (PostgreSQL, Docker, etc.)
Clean up template files
Configure your development environment

Delete cmd/setup/ after initial setup—it’s not needed in production.

pkg/ - Library Code

The pkg/ directory contains reusable packages that can be imported by your application or other projects.

pkg/template/ - Domain Logic (Replace This)

This is a skeleton service demonstrating how to wire dependencies. Replace it with your actual business logic:

pkg/template/template.go

type Template struct {
    db     *db.DB
    client *client.Client
}

func New(db *db.DB, proxy *client.Proxy) (*Template, error) {
    var opts []client.Option
    if proxy != nil {
        opts = append(opts, client.WithProxy(proxy))
    }

    c, err := client.New(opts...)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    return &Template{db: db, client: c}, nil
}

What to replace it with:

Scraper logic (fetch, parse, store)
Bot workflows (authenticate, execute tasks)
Service orchestration (coordinate multiple APIs)

pkg/client/ - HTTP Client

A production-ready HTTP client with advanced features:

TLS Fingerprinting

Mimic browser TLS handshakes to avoid detection:

client, err := client.New(
    client.WithBrowser(client.BrowserChrome),
    client.WithPlatform(client.PlatformWindows),
)

Uses refraction-networking/utls to replicate Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge fingerprints.

Cookie Management

Automatic cookie handling with domain sharing:

// Cookies are automatically stored and sent
resp, err := client.Do(req)

// Manual cookie management
client.SetCookies(url, cookies)
cookies := client.GetCookies("example.com")

Proxy Support

HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5 proxy with authentication:

proxy := &client.Proxy{
    Host: "proxy.example.com",
    Port: 8080,
    Username: "user",
    Password: "pass",
}

c, err := client.New(client.WithProxy(proxy))

Redirect Handling

Follows redirects while preserving cookies:

// Automatically follows up to 10 redirects
resp, err := client.Do(req)

pkg/db/ - Database Layer

PostgreSQL integration with type-safe queries using sqlc:

pkg/db/db.go

type DB struct {
    pool *pgxpool.Pool
    *sqlc.Queries
}

func New(ctx context.Context, url string) (*DB, error) {
    pool, err := pgxpool.New(ctx, url)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("create pool: %w", err)
    }

    if err := pool.Ping(ctx); err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("ping database: %w", err)
    }

    return &DB{
        pool:    pool,
        Queries: sqlc.New(pool),
    }, nil
}

Key features:

Connection pooling via pgxpool
Transaction helpers (InTx, Begin)
Advisory locks for distributed coordination
Type-safe queries generated from SQL

Write SQL Queries

Add queries to pkg/db/queries/*.sql:

-- name: GetUser :one
SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = $1;

-- name: CreateUser :one
INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ($1, $2)
RETURNING *;

Generate Go Code

Run code generation:

make generate

This creates type-safe Go functions in pkg/db/sqlc/.

Use in Your Code

user, err := db.GetUser(ctx, userID)

pkg/env/ - Configuration

Loads environment variables from .env files with struct-tag validation:

pkg/env/config.go

type Config struct {
    DatabaseURL string `env:"DATABASE_URL,required"`
    LogLevel    string `env:"LOG_LEVEL"`
}

func New() (*Config, error) {
    if err := Load(); err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("env: load: %w", err)
    }

    var config Config
    if err := populate(&config); err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    return &config, nil
}

Features:

Reads from .env file if present
Process environment variables take precedence
Validates required fields at startup
Supports quoted values and comments

pkg/log/ - Structured Logging

Configures slog with colorized output and context injection:

pkg/log/log.go

func init() {
    slog.SetDefault(slog.New(
        &ContextHandler{
            Handler: tint.NewHandler(colorable.NewColorable(w), &tint.Options{
                TimeFormat: "Mon, Jan 2 2006, 3:04:05 pm MST",
                NoColor:    !isatty.IsTerminal(w.Fd()),
                Level:      logLevelFromEnv(),
            }),
        }),
    )
}

Features:

Colorized output in terminals (via tint)
Context-aware logging with request IDs
Configurable log levels via LOG_LEVEL env var
Automatic Windows color support

pkg/retry/ - Exponential Backoff

Retry failed operations with exponential backoff and jitter:

pkg/retry/retry.go

err := retry.Do(ctx, func(ctx context.Context) error {
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }
    if resp.StatusCode >= 500 {
        return fmt.Errorf("server error: %d", resp.StatusCode)
    }
    return nil
}, 
    retry.WithMaxAttempts(5),
    retry.WithInitialDelay(time.Second),
    retry.WithMaxDelay(10*time.Second),
)

Why full jitter? Prevents the thundering herd problem by randomizing backoff delays.

pkg/worker/ - Bounded Concurrency

Generic worker pool built on errgroup:

pkg/worker/worker.go

items := []string{"url1", "url2", "url3"}

err := worker.Run(ctx, items, 10, func(ctx context.Context, url string) error {
    return scrapeURL(ctx, url)
})

Features:

Bounded parallelism (prevents overwhelming targets)
Fail-fast: First error cancels remaining work
Generic: Works with any slice type
Map variant returns results in order

pkg/state/ - File-Based State

Persist application state across restarts with file locking:

pkg/state/state.go

type AppState struct {
    LastRun      time.Time
    ProcessedIDs []string
}

stateFile, err := state.Open[AppState]("state.json")
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer stateFile.Close()

current, err := stateFile.Load()
if current == nil {
    current = &AppState{ProcessedIDs: []string{}}
}

current.LastRun = time.Now()
current.ProcessedIDs = append(current.ProcessedIDs, "new-id")

stateFile.Save(current)

Use cases:

Remember the last processed item
Track completion across restarts
Implement resumable workflows

pkg/cycle/ - Round-Robin Rotator

Thread-safe round-robin rotation (useful for proxies, user agents, etc.):

proxies := []string{"proxy1:8080", "proxy2:8080", "proxy3:8080"}
rotator := cycle.New(proxies)

// Each call returns the next item
proxy := rotator.Next() // "proxy1:8080"
proxy = rotator.Next()  // "proxy2:8080"

pkg/ptr/ - Pointer Helpers

Generic utilities for working with pointers:

// Convert values to pointers
name := ptr.To("John")
count := ptr.To(42)

// Dereference with fallback
value := ptr.From(maybeNil, "default")

Root Files

Dockerfile

Multi-stage build with three targets:

# Development: Full Go toolchain
FROM golang:1.26 AS dev

# Builder: Compiles static binary
FROM dev AS builder
RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o /bin/template ./cmd/template

# Production: Minimal Alpine image (~15MB)
FROM alpine:3.23 AS production
COPY --from=builder /bin/template /bin/template

compose.yaml

Local development stack with hot reload:

make up     # Start app + postgres
make watch  # Enable hot reload
make down   # Stop all services

Makefile

Common development tasks:

Command	Description
`make dev`	Run locally with `go run`
`make build`	Compile binary to `bin/template`
`make test`	Run tests with race detector
`make generate`	Generate sqlc code
`make db`	Start PostgreSQL only
`make migrate`	Run database migrations

Adding New Packages

When adding functionality, follow these guidelines:

Choose the Right Location

Domain logic: pkg/yourservice/
Infrastructure: Extend existing pkg/ packages
New utility: Create new pkg/utility/

Write Package Documentation

Every package should have a doc comment:

// Package scraper fetches and parses product data from e-commerce sites.
package scraper

Keep It Focused

Each package should have a single, clear responsibility. If a file exceeds 500 lines, consider splitting it.

Export Only What's Needed

Unexported functions can’t be misused. Only export types and functions that clients need.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Packages

Development

Directory Overview

cmd/ - Entry Points

cmd/template/

cmd/setup/

pkg/ - Library Code

pkg/template/ - Domain Logic (Replace This)

pkg/client/ - HTTP Client

pkg/db/ - Database Layer

pkg/env/ - Configuration

pkg/log/ - Structured Logging

pkg/retry/ - Exponential Backoff

pkg/worker/ - Bounded Concurrency

pkg/state/ - File-Based State

pkg/cycle/ - Round-Robin Rotator

pkg/ptr/ - Pointer Helpers

Root Files

Dockerfile

compose.yaml

Makefile

Adding New Packages

Next Steps

Configuration

Architecture

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Packages

Development

​Directory Overview

​cmd/ - Entry Points

​cmd/template/

​cmd/setup/

​pkg/ - Library Code

​pkg/template/ - Domain Logic (Replace This)

​pkg/client/ - HTTP Client

​pkg/db/ - Database Layer

​pkg/env/ - Configuration

​pkg/log/ - Structured Logging

​pkg/retry/ - Exponential Backoff

​pkg/worker/ - Bounded Concurrency

​pkg/state/ - File-Based State

​pkg/cycle/ - Round-Robin Rotator

​pkg/ptr/ - Pointer Helpers

​Root Files

​Dockerfile

​compose.yaml

​Makefile

​Adding New Packages

​Next Steps

Configuration

Architecture

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Directory Overview

cmd/ - Entry Points

cmd/template/

cmd/setup/

pkg/ - Library Code

pkg/template/ - Domain Logic (Replace This)

pkg/client/ - HTTP Client

pkg/db/ - Database Layer

pkg/env/ - Configuration

pkg/log/ - Structured Logging

pkg/retry/ - Exponential Backoff

pkg/worker/ - Bounded Concurrency

pkg/state/ - File-Based State

pkg/cycle/ - Round-Robin Rotator

pkg/ptr/ - Pointer Helpers

Root Files

Dockerfile

compose.yaml

Makefile

Adding New Packages

Next Steps