Project structure

GoFastr does not impose a layout. It scaffolds a flat project and expects
you to grow into structure as real boundaries appear — the way idiomatic Go
projects actually evolve, not the way a framework dictates on day one.

The rule: structure follows the app. Don't pre-build cmd/ + internal/
for a hello-world. Extract a package when a real boundary shows up, not before.

What gofastr init gives you

10 lines
myapp/├── main.go             # the entrypoint + UI host — one binary at the root├── screens.go          # the sample HomeScreen (package main, beside main.go)├── entities/           # Go entity declarations — the source of truth│   └── entities.go     # app.Entity(...) registrations (sample: posts)├── migrations/         # versioned SQL (reversible)├── static/             # assets served as-is├── gofastr.isolation.yml  # process-isolation config (local DB per worktree)├── go.mod└── AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, DESIGN.md, agents/   # agent onboarding

That's the whole thing. One main.go, your declarations, and the generated
code beside them — all owned Go you commit and edit. No gen/ quarantine dir,
no cmd/, no internal/, no controllers/services/repositories/ — there's
nothing to navigate yet.

How it grows

GoFastr leans on the two layouts Go developers already reach for, in order:

1. Declarations + scaffolded code. Entities are the canonical
description — written in Go (entities/entities.go, the gofastr init
default) or declared in a gofastr.yml blueprint. When you
generate from a blueprint (gofastr generate --from=gofastr.yml), it scaffolds
owned Go straight into this root layout — a flat package main (main.go,
app.go, screens_register.go plus one screen_<name>.go per screen, …) plus
the entities/ package — that you read, edit,
and commit. The blueprint is optional and one-time, not a source of truth:
generate is one-shot (it refuses to overwrite an existing project unless you
pass --force), so once the code is yours you own and edit it directly, and
you can delete gofastr.yml entirely — the running app does not need it. Most
small apps never need more than this.

--out=<dir> (or output_dir: in the blueprint's app: block) scaffolds into
a subpackage
instead of the module root — useful when the repo is a monorepo or
an example that also hosts its own Go test package and you want the app to live
under, say, app/. The examples/ecommerce
example app uses output_dir: app for exactly this reason; develop it with
gofastr dev --dir app (hot reload) or run it once with go run ./app. The
subpackage is still owned Go — --out only changes where the scaffold
lands, not whether you own it.

2. Domain packages (internal/<domain>/), when real per-feature logic
appears.
When a feature grows hooks, custom endpoints, background work, or
service logic, give it a package named for the domain, not the technical
layer:

10 lines
myapp/├── main.go├── entities/            # declarations stay here├── app.go, screens_register.go, screen_*.go  # generated screens + wiring (package main)├── internal/│   ├── billing/         # billing hooks, webhooks, invoice logic│   ├── projects/        # project-specific endpoints + rules│   └── auth/            # custom auth policy, owner extraction├── migrations/└── static/

The opinion GoFastr holds here: organize by domain (billing/,
projects/), not by layer (controllers/, services/, repositories/).

Everything about a feature lives together, which is easier
to navigate and matches how the standard library and most large Go codebases
are organized. internal/ keeps these packages private to your module.

3. cmd/<name>/ only when you have a second binary. A single server stays
as a root main.go — that's idiomatic for one program. The moment you add a
worker, a CLI, or a migration runner, give each its own cmd/ directory:

6 lines
myapp/├── cmd/│   ├── server/main.go│   └── worker/main.go├── internal/…└── …

Reaching for core/

When the framework is in your way, drop to core/ and write plain net/http
core/router, core/render, core/query, and friends are usable on their own.
A domain package under internal/ can mix framework entities and hand-written
core handlers freely; nothing forces you to stay inside the entity layer.

Common mistakes

  • Pre-building cmd/server/ + internal/ for a tiny app. It's ceremony
    with nothing in it. Start flat; the refactor to cmd//internal/ is
    mechanical when you actually need it.
  • Treating the scaffold as untouchable. There's no gen/ quarantine dir and
    no DO NOT EDIT header — the generated entities/ package and root
    app.go/screens_register.go/screen_*.go/… are owned package main Go.
    gofastr generate is one-shot: it scaffolds once and refuses to overwrite an
    existing project (pass --force to regenerate the whole set).
  • Layer-based packages (services/, repositories/). In Go this scatters
    one feature across many directories. Organize by domain instead.
  • Keeping gofastr.yml around as a source of truth. It's an optional,
    one-time input to the scaffold — the app never reads it again. After
    scaffolding, the owned Go is canonical; you can delete the blueprint and
    the app still runs.