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Steel is in alpha 🎉
Introduction

Steel Documentation

Welcome to Steel, a high-performance HTTP router for Go that makes building APIs a joy. With automatic OpenAPI documentation, real-time WebSocket/SSE support, and comprehensive testing utilities, Steel helps you build robust APIs faster.

Why Steel?

Fast radix tree-based routing with zero allocations for parameter extraction

🚀High Performance

Generate complete OpenAPI 3.0 documentation from your handlers automatically

📚Automatic OpenAPI

Built-in WebSocket and Server-Sent Events support with AsyncAPI documentation

🔌Real-time Support

Opinionated handlers with automatic parameter binding and validation

🎯Type-Safe

Comprehensive testing framework with request builders and assertions

🧪Testing Utilities

Flexible middleware with built-in recovery, logging, and timeout support

⚡Middleware System

Quick Example

Here’s a complete API server in just a few lines:

package main
 
import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "net/http"
 
	"github.com/xraph/steel"
)
 
type User struct {
    ID   int    `json:"id" path:"id" description:"User ID"`
    Name string `json:"name" query:"name" description:"User name"`
}
 
type UserResponse struct {
    ID      int    `json:"id" description:"User ID"`
    Name    string `json:"name" description:"User name"`
    Message string `json:"message" description:"Welcome message"`
}
 
func main() {
    r := steel.NewRouter()
 
    // Add middleware
    r.Use(steel.Logger, steel.Recoverer)
 
    // Opinionated handler with automatic OpenAPI generation
    r.OpinionatedGET("/users/:id", func(ctx *steel.Context, req User) (*UserResponse, error) {
        return &UserResponse{
            ID:      req.ID,
            Name:    req.Name,
            Message: fmt.Sprintf("Welcome, %s!", req.Name),
        }, nil
    }, steel.WithSummary("Get User"), steel.WithTags("users"))
 
    // Enable automatic OpenAPI documentation
    r.EnableOpenAPI()
 
    log.Println("Server starting on :8080")
    log.Println("API docs available at http://localhost:8080/openapi/docs")
    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", r))
}

Visit http://localhost:8080/openapi/docs to see your automatically generated API documentation!

Key Features

🏗️ Architecture Highlights

  • Radix Tree Routing: Efficient O(log n) route matching
  • Zero Allocations: Parameter extraction without memory allocations
  • Reflection-Based Binding: Automatic request binding using Go reflection
  • Real-time Documentation: OpenAPI and AsyncAPI specs generated on-the-fly
  • Connection Management: Built-in WebSocket and SSE connection pooling

📊 Documentation Viewers

Steel supports multiple documentation viewers out of the box:

  • Swagger UI - Interactive API documentation with try-it-out
  • ReDoc - Beautiful, responsive documentation
  • Scalar - Modern documentation with excellent UX
  • Stoplight Elements - Comprehensive documentation platform

🔧 Developer Experience

  • Type Safety: Full Go type system integration
  • Error Handling: Rich error types with automatic documentation
  • Testing: Built-in testing utilities and load testing
  • Debugging: Route inspection and middleware debugging tools
  • Hot Reload: Development server with automatic reloading

Getting Started

Ready to build your first API? Let’s get started!

Prerequisites: Go 1.24+ is required. Steel takes advantage of the latest Go features for optimal performance.

  1. Install Steel
go get github.com/xraph/steel

  1. Follow the Getting Started Guide

  2. Explore Examples

  3. Read the API Reference

Community & Support

Ready to forge your next API? Let’s dive into the Getting Started Guide!

Last updated on
Getting Started