Buffalo is a web development framework for Go that provides a complete project structure and tooling for building web applications.
Buffalo solves the problem of starting Go web projects from scratch by providing a pre-configured ecosystem that includes front-end tooling, database integration, routing, and templating all connected and ready to use. Rather than assembling disparate libraries, developers generate a new Buffalo project and receive a complete working foundation with JavaScript, SCSS, database setup, and routing already configured. The framework uses Plush for templating, chosen for its flexibility compared to Go's standard html/template package, and Gorilla Mux for routing, selected for its stability and power despite not being the fastest available router.
Buffalo suits developers who want to move quickly from project setup to building application logic, particularly those coming from Rails or similar frameworks who value convention over configuration. The tool is designed for teams that prefer a holistic development environment over assembling individual components. Developers should be aware that Buffalo requires Go modules and does not support GOPATH mode, and the team actively supports only the last two versions of Go to ensure a smooth development experience.
The project maintains both a stable v1 branch and an active main branch for ongoing development. The team provides comprehensive documentation and tutorials through its website, and the framework is built on well-established dependencies chosen for their reliability and capability rather than raw performance metrics.
