# Revel — High-Productivity MVC Web Framework for Go

> Revel is a full-stack MVC web framework for Go that provides hot code reload, a comprehensive testing suite, and batteries-included modules for routing, validation, and templating.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Revel — High-Productivity MVC Web Framework for Go

## Quick Use
```bash
go install github.com/revel/cmd/revel@latest
revel new myapp
cd myapp && revel run
```

## Introduction
Revel is a full-stack web framework for Go that follows the MVC pattern. It draws inspiration from Play Framework and Ruby on Rails, aiming to provide a productive developer experience with hot code reload and convention-over-configuration defaults for Go web applications.

## What Revel Does
- Provides a complete MVC architecture with controllers, models, and templates
- Offers automatic hot code reload during development without manual restarts
- Includes a built-in testing framework for functional and unit tests
- Ships with a routing engine that maps URLs to controller actions via a routes file
- Bundles validation, session management, caching, and job scheduling out of the box

## Architecture Overview
Revel runs as a self-contained server process. Incoming HTTP requests are matched against a compiled route table, dispatched to controller actions, and rendered through Go's html/template engine. The framework intercepts source changes via a file watcher and triggers a recompile-and-restart cycle transparently, giving a scripting-language feel to compiled Go code.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via `go install github.com/revel/cmd/revel@latest`
- Create a new project with `revel new <app-name>`
- Configuration lives in `conf/app.conf` with INI-style key-value pairs
- Set `http.addr` and `http.port` for binding; TLS via `http.ssl.*` keys
- Deploy as a compiled binary with `revel package` for production

## Key Features
- Hot code reload removes the edit-compile-run loop in development
- Convention-based project layout reduces boilerplate decisions
- Built-in interceptors (filters) for cross-cutting concerns like auth and logging
- Integrated parameter validation with struct tag annotations
- Job scheduling module for background and periodic tasks

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Gin** — minimal router; Revel is a full MVC framework with more built-in modules
- **Echo** — focused on REST APIs; Revel adds templates, sessions, and job scheduling
- **Beego** — similar full-stack scope; Revel emphasizes hot reload and Play-style routing
- **Buffalo** — comparable productivity focus; Revel has a longer track record
- **Fiber** — high-performance micro framework; Revel trades raw speed for developer convenience

## FAQ
**Q: Does Revel support Go modules?**
A: Yes. Since Revel v1.0 the framework fully supports Go modules for dependency management.

**Q: Is hot reload suitable for production?**
A: No. Hot reload is a development feature. For production, use `revel package` to build a static binary.

**Q: Can I use a different template engine?**
A: Yes. Revel's rendering layer is pluggable; you can swap in Pongo2 or any engine that satisfies the template interface.

**Q: How does routing work?**
A: Routes are defined in `conf/routes` using a simple format mapping HTTP methods and URL patterns to controller actions.

## Sources
- https://github.com/revel/revel
- https://revel.github.io/

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-9f9885bd
Author: Script Depot