chi
A small, standard-library-compatible router for building Go HTTP and REST API services.
- Stars
- 23k
- Forks
- 2.3k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Go
- Last update
- 19 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
chi is a routing library for Go that maps incoming web requests to the code that should handle them, such as sending /articles/123 to a function that loads article 123. It is built on Go's standard net/http package and context package, so handlers and middleware written for the standard library generally work with it. It is aimed at larger REST API projects that need to stay organized as they grow.
- Define REST routes such as GET /articles and GET /articles/{articleID} with URL parameters
- Group routes under shared middleware, for example an admin section that requires permission checks
- Mount a separate router at a path prefix like /admin
- Add request logging, request IDs, panic recovery, and timeouts with the optional middleware package
- Generate routing documentation in JSON or Markdown with the docgen package
Great for
- Go developers building REST API services
- Teams that want routing built on the standard net/http package
- Projects that need route groups, nested sub-routers, or mounted handlers
- Developers who want optional middleware and route documentation generation
Not ideal for
- Developers who want a full web framework with templates, ORM, and built-in auth, since chi covers routing and relies on separate packages for other needs
- People not writing Go, since the library is Go-only
- Beginners with no Go experience, since the README assumes familiarity with Go handlers and context
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Go (version not specified in the README)
Install chi v5
go get -u github.com/go-chi/chi/v5 - 2
Run it
- Install Go and run the install command above in your project folder
- Create a main.go file with the example from the README that calls chi.NewRouter() and registers a GET route
- Run the program with go run main.go
- Open http://localhost:3000 in a browser to see the welcome response
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Add the middleware package for logging, request IDs, recovery, and timeouts, as shown in the README's REST preview
- Use route groups and r.Route to nest resource-specific routes and shared middleware
- Use r.Mount to attach a separate sub-router, such as an admin API
- Use the docgen package to produce route documentation from your source
- Check the _examples folder in the repository for working examples of features
Downloads
Strengths
- Small core router (the README says under 1000 lines of code) with no external dependencies
- Compatible with net/http, so existing standard-library handlers and middleware can be reused
- Supports route groups, sub-routers, and mounting for organizing large APIs
Trade-offs
- Routing only; features like rendering, validation, and database access need separate packages or your own code
- The README's examples use string keys for context values, which is a pattern the README itself shows and not a fully type-safe approach
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chi (this) | 23k | Library | intermediate | 19 days ago | Go developers building REST API services |
| gin | 89.5k | Library | intermediate | 27 days ago | Go developers building REST APIs |
| echo | 32.8k | Library | intermediate | 6 days ago | Go developers building REST APIs or backend services |
| kratos | 26k | Library | intermediate | 4 days ago | Go developers building a set of backend services that talk over HTTP or gRPC |
| go-zero | 33.4k | Library | intermediate | 5 days ago | Go developers building REST APIs or microservices |
| kit | 27.4k | Library | advanced | 2.3 years ago | Go developers building service-oriented or microservice backends |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.