Encore — Type-Safe Backend Framework with Declarative Infrastructure

Introduction

Encore is an open-source framework that lets developers build cloud backends by writing application code with type-safe APIs, and it automatically provisions the required infrastructure. It supports both Go and TypeScript, removing the gap between writing business logic and deploying to AWS or GCP.

What Encore Does

• Defines APIs, databases, caches, cron jobs, and pub/sub topics as code-level declarations
• Generates infrastructure configuration from application source code automatically
• Provides a local development dashboard with API explorer, tracing, and architecture diagrams
• Supports deploying to your own AWS or GCP account with a single command
• Offers built-in service-to-service authentication and request validation

Architecture Overview

Encore consists of a CLI, a language-specific runtime, and an optional cloud platform. The CLI parses your source code to build a model of your application's architecture — APIs, services, databases, and message topics. At compile time, it generates infrastructure-as-code and wiring between services. Locally, it runs everything in a single process with real databases for fast iteration. In production, each service can be deployed independently.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install the CLI on macOS or Linux via the official install script
• Use encore run for local development with automatic database provisioning
• Deploy to your own cloud with encore deploy or use the Encore Cloud platform
• Configure environment-specific settings using encore secret set
• Infrastructure definitions live alongside application code — no separate Terraform or Pulumi files needed

Key Features

• Zero boilerplate API definitions using Go structs or TypeScript types
• Automatic OpenAPI documentation generated from source code
• Built-in distributed tracing with no instrumentation required
• Preview environments created automatically for each pull request
• Architecture diagrams generated live from the codebase

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Terraform/Pulumi — Infrastructure-as-code tools that require separate config; Encore derives infra from app code
• Serverless Framework — Function-oriented with manual wiring; Encore provides full service-to-service architecture
• Railway/Render — Hosting platforms without framework-level infrastructure modeling
• AWS CDK — Cloud-specific IaC; Encore is cloud-agnostic and framework-integrated

FAQ

Q: Can I deploy Encore apps without the Encore Cloud platform? A: Yes. You can self-host by using encore build to generate a Docker image and deploy it to any container runtime.

Q: Does Encore support existing databases? A: Yes. You can connect to existing PostgreSQL databases by configuring connection strings in your environment settings.

Q: Is Encore production-ready? A: Yes. Encore is used in production by companies running on AWS and GCP. The framework and runtime are open source under the Mozilla Public License.

Q: Can I mix Go and TypeScript services? A: Currently each Encore application uses a single language runtime, either Go or TypeScript. Cross-language service calls are not supported within one app.

Sources

• https://github.com/encoredev/encore
• https://encore.dev/docs