Introduction to irgo

irgo is a hypermedia-driven application framework that uses Go as a runtime kernel with Datastar. Build native iOS, Android, and desktop apps using Go, HTML, and Datastar - no JavaScript frameworks required.

The Hypermedia Approach

Unlike traditional mobile and desktop frameworks that require learning platform-specific languages and UI toolkits, irgo takes a different approach: HTML is your UI layer.

Your Go code renders HTML templates. Datastar handles interactivity using Server-Sent Events (SSE) to stream HTML updates to the browser. The framework handles the rest - whether that's routing requests through a native bridge on mobile or serving them over HTTP on desktop.

User Interaction → Datastar Request → Go Handler → SSE Response → DOM Morph

Key Features

• Go-Powered Apps: Write your backend logic in Go, compile to native mobile frameworks or desktop apps
• Datastar for Interactivity: Use Datastar's SSE-based hypermedia approach instead of complex JavaScript
• Cross-Platform: Single codebase for iOS, Android, desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux), and web
• Virtual HTTP (Mobile): No network sockets - requests are intercepted and handled directly by Go
• Native Webview (Desktop): Real HTTP server with native webview window
• Type-Safe Templates: Use templ for compile-time checked HTML templates
• Hot Reload Development: Edit Go/templ code and see changes instantly

Platform Support

irgo supports four deployment modes:

Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have:

• Go 1.21 or later
• templ: go install github.com/a-h/templ/cmd/templ@latest
• air (for hot reload): go install github.com/air-verse/air@latest

Quick Example

Here's a taste of what irgo code looks like:

package handlersimport (    "myapp/templates"    "github.com/stukennedy/irgo/pkg/router")func Hello(ctx *router.Context) error {    var signals struct {        Name string `json:"name"`    }    ctx.ReadSignals(&signals)    if signals.Name == "" {        signals.Name = "World"    }    return ctx.SSE().PatchTempl(templates.Greeting(signals.Name))}

package templatestempl Greeting(name string) {    <div id="greeting" class="greeting" data-signals="{name: ''}">        <h1>Hello, { name }!</h1>        <input            type="text"            data-bind:name            placeholder="Enter a name"        />        <button data-on:click="@get('/hello')">Greet</button>    </div>}

AI Coding Assistants

If you're using an AI coding assistant (like Claude, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot), point it to our llms.txt file. This provides comprehensive instructions for writing irgo applications, including handler patterns, templ syntax, Datastar integration, and SSE responses.

Next Steps

Ready to build your first irgo app? Head to the Quick Start guide.