GoDEV

A live reload development environment for web applications with Go and WebAssembly. When detecting file changes, it automatically reloads the browser and recompiles the application.

Table of Contents

• Motivation
• Features
• Installation
  • Prerequisites
  • Installing with go install
• Usage
• Project Structure
• Configuration
• Acknowledgments

Motivation

This project is designed to bring Go to the frontend compiled to WebAssembly, taking advantage of its static typing on the client side (app domain) for better maintenance (avoiding "only read code"). It uses vanilla JavaScript and CSS without dependencies on libraries or frameworks.

Features

• Chrome browser automation
• File watching with hot reload
• Code compilation (HTML, CSS, JS, and WebAssembly)
• Similar functionality to Webpack but specifically designed for Go web fullstack projects

Installation

Prerequisites

1. Install Go
   Download and install Go from the official Go website. Verify installation with:

   go version

2. Configure $GOBIN (optional)
   Add to your shell configuration (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc):

   export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/go/bin

   Apply changes:

   source ~/.bashrc # or ~/.zshrc

Installing with go install

go install github.com/cdvelop/godev@latest

Usage

Run the basic command:

godev

For help and available options:

godev

Project Structure

godev uses go.mod as the reference point for your project:

project
└── go.mod

Module Structure

Module
├── js
│ ├── 1xFun.js │ ├── func.js │ ├── Help.js │ └── main.js ├── jsTest │ └── test.js ├── css
│ ├── 1xStyle.css │ ├── Help.css │ └── main.css └── Load.js

JavaScript Loading Order

1. Root files starting with uppercase
2. Files in the js folder (alphabetically)
3. Files in the jsTest folder

CSS Loading Order

Similar to JavaScript, but using the css folder.

Configuration

• Default port: 8080 (http)
• HTTPS is used when port contains "44" (e.g., 4433)
• Module directories can be configured in godev.yml

Acknowledgments

This project wouldn't be possible without:

• github.com/fsnotify
• github.com/chromedp
• github.com/tdewolff/minify
• github.com/fstanis/screenresolution
• github.com/lxn/win
• github.com/dustin/go-humanize
• github.com/mailru/easyjson
• github.com/gobwas/
• github.com/orisano/pixelmatch
• github.com/ledongthuc/pdf
• github.com/osharian/intern

For issues or support, please visit GitHub Issues.