Introduction

Okapi is a modern, minimalist HTTP framework for Go built for simplicity, performance, and developer experience. It helps you build fast, scalable, and well-documented APIs with minimal boilerplate.

Designed around clarity, strong typing, and developer productivity, Okapi provides automatic request validation and built-in OpenAPI documentation out of the box, making it easy to create production-ready APIs that are clean, maintainable, and easy to evolve.

Named after the okapi (/oʊˈkɑːpiː/), a rare and graceful mammal native to the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the framework reflects the same balance of elegance, adaptability, and strength. Like the animal itself, Okapi combines distinct qualities into a unique and powerful experience.

✨ Key Features

🚀 Fast & Minimal

Lightweight and optimized for high-performance HTTP applications
Minimal boilerplate with an intuitive developer-friendly API
Fully compatible with Go’s net/http standard library

🧩 Powerful Request Handling

Automatic binding for:
- JSON
- XML
- YAML
- Protobuf
- Form data
- Query parameters
- Headers
- Cookies
- Path parameters
Strongly typed request handling with built-in validation
Request bodies are capped (8 MB by default, adjustable with WithMaxRequestBody)

🔐 Security & Middleware

Native support for:
- JWT authentication (HS256, RS256, JWKS)
- Basic Authentication
- Custom middleware
Route grouping and middleware chaining
Fine-grained timeout controls, including a default ReadHeaderTimeout
CORS management

📚 Built-in API Documentation

Automatic OpenAPI generation: 3.1 by default, with the same description also served as 3.0
Three interactive UIs bundled: Swagger UI (default), ReDoc, and Scalar
Documentation is generated from your route definitions, so it stays in sync with your code

⚡ Dynamic Route Management

Enable or disable routes and route groups without commenting out code
A disabled route or group answers 404 Not Found; for groups the decision is re-evaluated on every request, so it also covers routes registered earlier
Routes and groups disabled before the server starts are left out of the generated OpenAPI document (the document is built at startup, so toggling afterwards changes routing but not the published document)

🛠 Modern Developer Experience

Clear and consistent error handling
Structured logging support
Easy testing and maintainable architecture
Static file serving and single-page-application hosting
Templating engine support (HTML-escaping by default)

Built for real-world applications, Okapi scales from quick prototypes to production-grade services with a focus on speed, clarity, and maintainability.