Installation

Requirements

Go 1.21+ - Fox requires Go version 1.21 or higher
Git - For version control and dependency management

Installing Fox

Using go get

The simplest way to install Fox is using go get:

go get -u github.com/fox-gonic/fox

This will download Fox and its dependencies, including Gin.

Using Go Modules

If you’re starting a new project:

# Create a new directory
mkdir myproject
cd myproject

# Initialize Go module
go mod init myproject

# Install Fox
go get -u github.com/fox-gonic/fox

Specific Version

To install a specific version of Fox:

go get github.com/fox-gonic/fox@v0.1.0

Verifying Installation

Create a simple test file main.go:

package main

import (
    "github.com/fox-gonic/fox"
)

func main() {
    r := fox.Default()
    r.GET("/ping", func() string {
        return "pong"
    })
    r.Run(":8080")
}

Run it:

go run main.go

Visit http://localhost:8080/ping in your browser. You should see “pong”.

Development Tools

Recommended Tools

Air - Live reload for Go apps

go install github.com/cosmtrek/air@latest

Delve - Go debugger

go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest

IDE Setup

VS Code

Install the Go extension:

Provides IntelliSense, debugging, and more
Configure gopls for best experience

GoLand

GoLand has built-in support for Go. Just open your project and you’re ready to go.

Updating Fox

To update to the latest version:

go get -u github.com/fox-gonic/fox
go mod tidy

Troubleshooting

Import Cycle Error

If you encounter import cycle errors, ensure your project structure is clean and you’re not creating circular dependencies.

Gin Version Conflicts

Fox depends on a specific version of Gin. If you have version conflicts:

go mod tidy
go clean -modcache
go get -u github.com/fox-gonic/fox

Build Errors

If you encounter build errors:

Ensure you’re using Go 1.21+: go version
Clean your module cache: go clean -modcache
Re-download dependencies: go mod download

Next Steps

Quick Start - Build your first Fox application
Features - Explore Fox’s features