Skip to main content

Introduction

Overview​

Pagode is not a framework — it's a modern starter kit for building full-stack web applications using Go, InertiaJS, and React, powered by Tailwind CSS for styling.

Pagode provides the structure and tooling you need to hit the ground running, without locking you into rigid conventions or heavyweight abstractions. It balances flexibility and productivity by letting you swap out pieces as needed while still offering a solid foundation of battle-tested technologies.

While JavaScript frontends dominate the landscape, Pagode embraces a hybrid approach: it combines server-side rendering and client-side interactivity to deliver fast, modern user experiences — without sacrificing simplicity. Thanks to tools like InertiaJS and Tailwind, you can build reactive, beautiful interfaces with minimal boilerplate and zero custom Webpack/Vite configuration.

Pagode proves that Go is not just for APIs — it's a powerful full-stack solution when paired with the right tools. And yes, you still get the control, speed, and simplicity you love about Go.

Foundation​

While many great projects were used to build Pagode, the following provide the foundation of the back and frontend. It's important to note that you are not required to use any of these. Swapping any of them out is relatively easy.

Backend​

  • Echo: High performance, extensible, minimalist Go web framework.
  • Ent: Simple, yet powerful ORM for modeling and querying data.

Frontend​

With server-side rendered HTML powered by Go and InertiaJS, you get the best of both worlds — a modern SPA-like experience with server-driven logic. Combined with the tools below, you can build beautiful, dynamic UIs without the usual frontend overhead.

  • InertiaJS: Bridges your Go backend with modern JavaScript frameworks like React, enabling full-page SPA experiences without building a separate API.
  • React: A declarative library for building interactive UIs, perfectly paired with Inertia for dynamic frontend behavior.
  • Tailwind CSS v4: A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom designs directly in your markup — no context switching or naming class conflicts.
  • shadcn/ui: A beautifully designed, accessible component library built on top of Tailwind CSS and Radix UI — perfect for rapidly building consistent interfaces.

Storage​

  • SQLite: A small, fast, self-contained, high-reliability, full-featured, SQL database engine and the most used database engine in the world.

Getting Started​

Dependencies​

Ensure that Go is installed on your system.

Getting the Code​

Start by checking out the repository. Since this repository is a template and not a Go library, you do not use go get.

git clone git@github.com:occult/pagode.git
cd pagode

Create an Admin Account​

To access the admin panel, you need an admin user account. To create your first admin user, use the command-line:

make admin email=your@email.com

This will generate an admin account using that email address and print the randomly-generated password.

Start the Application​

Before starting, install the frontend dependencies:

npm install

Then, start the Vite frontend development server:

npx vite

From within the root of the codebase, run:

make run

By default, you can access the application at localhost:8000. Your data will be stored in the dbs directory.

Live Reloading​

For automatic rebuilding when code changes, install air and use:

make air-install
make watch