Go Microservices

Backend services that stay boring.

Why Go

Go isn't the most expressive language. What it has is a remarkable ability to produce services that compile fast, deploy easily, and run for months without anyone thinking about them.

Container image size
Go + distroless ~18 MB
Node.js + Alpine ~180 MB
Java + JRE ~350 MB

Single binary. No runtime. No "works on my machine" conversations.

Clean architecture without frameworks

The Go ecosystem has a healthy skepticism toward large frameworks. When your service does one thing well, you need a clear structure — not a framework.

Handler Layer
HTTP or gRPC — speaks to the outside world
Service Layer
Business logic — depends on interfaces, not implementations
Storage Layer
Database, Redis, external APIs — swappable in tests

Each layer depends on interfaces. Swap Redis for an in-memory map in tests. Replace HTTP with gRPC without touching business logic. Refactoring stays local.

Error handling

Go's explicit if err != nil gets criticized, and some of that is fair. But there's an upside: every error path is visible. No exception chains to trace, no surprises at runtime.

structured log output
{"level":"error", "time":"14:03:22"}
"msg": "failed to process contact form:
failed to send email:
mailgun API returned 429"
// Every wrapped error tells a story.
// At 3 AM, that specificity matters.

Observability built in

These aren't afterthoughts bolted on before launch. They're in the service template from the first commit.

Metrics
Prometheus endpoint, alerts before users notice
Structured Logs
JSON output, queries not grep
Health Check
K8s restarts stuck processes automatically

Testing that catches real bugs

Go's table-driven tests let a single function verify dozens of edge cases. Adding a new case is one line, not a new method with its own setup.

Unit tests
Table-driven tests with mocked interfaces. Fast, isolated, cover edge cases.
Integration tests
Real Redis, real PostgreSQL via testcontainers. A few extra seconds, an entirely different class of bugs caught.

Building something in Go?

We help teams design, build, and maintain Go services. Happy to chat about your architecture.

Get in touch →