Master REST API design in Go in a pragmatic way by building production-ready web services using the Go standard library and idiomatic patterns

Key Features

• Build scalable APIs using Go’s robust standard library and HTTP tooling
• Explore security, observability, and testing from a backend engineering perspective
• Learn foundational REST principles by building a complete Go-based project

Book Description

Modern REST API Development in Go is a hands-on guide to understanding and applying REST principles using Go’s powerful standard library. In an era where interconnected systems demand robust and performant APIs, Go offers the perfect combination of simplicity, performance, and tooling to build modern backend services.

This book is centered around a complete, real-world REST API project and guides you through every stage of the development process, from building HTTP handlers to applying authentication and generating OpenAPI documentation. You’ll learn to structure your application, handle persistence with common libraries like GORM and Squirrel, apply observability patterns through logging and tracing, and ensure code quality through unit and integration tests. Each concept is grounded in REST theory and backed by idiomatic Go practices, enabling you to build APIs that are not only functional but production-ready. By the end of the book, you’ll be ready to design, build, and maintain REST APIs in Go.

What you will learn

• Understand and implement HTTP handlers in Go
• Create and manage RESTful routes
• Persist and model data using GORM and Squirrel
• Secure APIs with JWTs and basic authentication
• Validate incoming requests with custom logic
• Log and trace API activity for observability
• Write unit and integration tests for endpoints
• Generate API documentation using OpenAPI
• 
  

Who this book is for

This book is for developers who want to begin building REST APIs using the Go language. Whether you’re new to Go or experienced in backend development, you’ll gain practical skills and foundational knowledge to build secure, performant, and maintainable APIs. Ideal for backend engineers, system integrators, and full-stack developers entering the Go ecosystem.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to APIs
2. Exploring REST APIs
3. Building a REST Client
4. Designing Your REST API
5. Authentication and Authorization
6. Data Persistency
7. API Security
8. API Performance
9. Deploying Your API
10. Testing
11. Documenting with OpenAPI
12. Metrics, Logs, and Traces
13. Using GORM
14. Using the Echo Framework

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About the Author

Jesús Espino is a Principal Engineer, open-source contributor, and international speaker known for his expert-level talks on the Go runtime and compiler. He has contributed to major projects like Mattermost or Penpot, and is a frequent speaker at conferences such as GopherCon UK or Golab. His passion for understanding how software works from first principles provides the foundational knowledge that underpins his expertise in building robust systems.