wick

Wick

Just Prompt. AI Does the Rest.

Stop copy-pasting AI output into black-box editors. Wick gives AI a real Go project — you own everything it builds.

Overview

A Go-based platform for building internal tools, admin panels, and background jobs. Provides a standardized structure with self-registering tool modules, a configurable admin UI, tag-based access control, and a themeable design system. The app name and branding are configurable at runtime via the admin Configs panel — no code changes needed to rebrand.

This boilerplate is designed for projects of medium to large complexity. For simpler cases that only handle one or a few processes, it is not necessary to use this structure — a single main.go or flat architecture works fine.

The codebase is organized by module rather than by function. This approach offers several advantages:

• Single Responsibility Principle: One of the SOLID principles of object-oriented design, states that a class or module should have only one reason to change.
• Reusability: Modules become more reusable across different clients, promoting code sharing and reducing duplication.
• Loose Coupling, High Cohesion: Two words that describe how easy or difficult it is to change a piece of software. Grouping by module enforces loose coupling between different parts of the code while promoting high cohesion within each module.
• Faster Contribution: Developers can contribute to specific modules without causing collateral damage in unrelated areas, speeding up the development process.
• Ease of Understanding: The codebase becomes more accessible and understandable as it's organized around modules and use cases. A use case repository clarifies what each module does.

Create New Module/API

This section guides you through creating a new API module following the established patterns in this codebase.

Architecture Overview

This project follows "Clean" Architecture principles with these layers:

• Handler (internal/{module}/handler.go) - HTTP layer that handles requests/responses
• Service (internal/{module}/service.go) - Business logic layer
• Repository (internal/{module}/repo.go) - Data access layer
• Entity (internal/entity/{module}.go) - Domain models

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create the Entity

Create your domain model in internal/entity/{module}.go:

package entity

import "time"

type YourModule struct {
    ID        int64     `json:"id"`
    Name      string    `json:"name" gorm:"index"`
    CreatedAt time.Time `json:"created_at"`
    UpdatedAt time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
}

2. Create the Repository

Create internal/{module}/repo.go:

package yourmodule

import (
    "context"
    "github.com/yogasw/wick/internal/entity"
    "gorm.io/gorm"
)

type repo struct {
    db *gorm.DB
}

func NewRepository(db *gorm.DB) *repo {
    return &repo{db: db}
}

func (r *repo) Save(ctx context.Context, item *entity.YourModule) error {
    return r.db.WithContext(ctx).Save(item).Error
}

func (r *repo) FindByID(ctx context.Context, id int64) (*entity.YourModule, error) {
    var item entity.YourModule
    err := r.db.WithContext(ctx).First(&item, id).Error
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    return &item, nil
}

3. Create the Service

Create internal/{module}/service.go:

package yourmodule

import (
    "context"
    "errors"
    "fmt"
    "github.com/yogasw/wick/internal/entity"
    "gorm.io/gorm"
)

//go:generate mockery --with-expecter --case snake --name Repository
type Repository interface {
    Save(ctx context.Context, item *entity.YourModule) error
    FindByID(ctx context.Context, id int64) (*entity.YourModule, error)
}

type Service struct {
    repo Repository
}

func NewService(repo Repository) *Service {
    return &Service{repo: repo}
}

func (s *Service) GetByID(ctx context.Context, id int64) (*entity.YourModule, error) {
    item, err := s.repo.FindByID(ctx, id)
    if err != nil {
        if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
            return nil, fmt.Errorf("item not found")
        }
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to find item: %w", err)
    }
    return item, nil
}

func (s *Service) Create(ctx context.Context, req *CreateRequest) error {
    item := &entity.YourModule{
        Name: req.Name,
    }

    if err := s.repo.Save(ctx, item); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("failed to save item: %w", err)
    }

    return nil
}

type CreateRequest struct {
    Name string `json:"name" validate:"required"`
}

4. Create the Handler

Create internal/{module}/handler.go:

package yourmodule

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "github.com/yogasw/wick/internal/pkg/api/resp"
    "net/http"
    "strconv"

    "github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
)

type httpHandler struct {
    svc *Service
}

func NewHttpHandler(svc *Service) *httpHandler {
    return &httpHandler{svc: svc}
}

func (h *httpHandler) GetByID(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    ctx := r.Context()

    id, err := strconv.Atoi(r.PathValue("id"))
    if err != nil {
        resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err)
        return
    }

    item, err := h.svc.GetByID(ctx, int64(id))
    if err != nil {
        log.Ctx(ctx).Error().Msgf("failed to get item: %s", err.Error())
        resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err)
        return
    }

    resp.WriteJSON(w, http.StatusOK, item)
}

func (h *httpHandler) Create(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    ctx := r.Context()

    var req CreateRequest
    if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
        resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err)
        return
    }

    if err := h.svc.Create(ctx, &req); err != nil {
        log.Ctx(ctx).Error().Msgf("failed to create item: %s", err.Error())
        resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err)
        return
    }

    resp.WriteJSON(w, http.StatusCreated, "created")
}

5. Register Routes in Server

Add your module to internal/api/server.go in the NewServer() function:

// YourModule
yourModuleRepo := yourmodule.NewRepository(db)
yourModuleSvc := yourmodule.NewService(yourModuleRepo)
yourModuleHandler := yourmodule.NewHttpHandler(yourModuleSvc)

// Add routes
r.Handle("GET /api/v1/yourmodule/{id}", authMidd.StaticToken(http.HandlerFunc(yourModuleHandler.GetByID)))
r.Handle("POST /api/v1/yourmodule", authMidd.StaticToken(http.HandlerFunc(yourModuleHandler.Create)))

6. Add Database Migration (if needed)

If your entity needs database tables, add migration to internal/postgres/migrate.go:

func Migrate(db *gorm.DB) {
    db.AutoMigrate(
        &entity.Room{},
        &entity.YourModule{}, // Add your entity here
    )
}

Key Patterns to Follow

• Error Handling: Use resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err) for consistent error responses
• Logging: Use log.Ctx(ctx).Error().Msgf() for contextual logging
• Validation: Use struct tags with validate for request validation
• Database: Always use WithContext(ctx) for database operations
• Mocking: Add //go:generate mockery comments for interfaces that need mocks

Available Response Utilities

• resp.WriteJSON(w, statusCode, data) - Standard JSON response
• resp.WriteJSONFromError(w, err) - Error response with proper status codes
• resp.WriteJSONWithPaginate(w, statusCode, data, total, page, limit) - Paginated response

Sample Use Case

Example: building a tool that generates reports from a database, a background job that cleans up expired sessions on a schedule, and an admin page to manage tool access per team via tags.

Adding a UI Tool Module

Tool modules (internal/tools/{tool}/) follow a lighter pattern than API modules — a handler.go + view.templ + service.go, wired up in internal/tools/registry.go (or a downstream main.go). Each tool package exposes one top-level Register(r tool.Router) function plus, if it has runtime-editable config, a Config struct. There is no per-module state-bearing struct — handlers are plain functions that read per-instance metadata via c.Meta() and config values via c.Cfg(...).

Register an instance from main.go:

app.RegisterTool(
    tool.Tool{Key: "convert-text", Name: "Convert Text", Icon: "Aa"},
    converttext.Config{InitText: "hello world", InitType: "uppercase"},
    converttext.Register,
)

One app.RegisterTool call = one card on the home grid. Register again with a different meta.Key (and, if you want, a different Config) to get a second card backed by the same Register function. Tools with no runtime-editable knobs (e.g. external redirect links) use app.RegisterToolNoConfig(meta, register) instead.

Key-driven paths. Every tool.Tool declares a Key (lowercase slug, no slashes). Wick mounts the instance at /tools/{Key} and fills in meta.Path before invoking Register — modules never set Path themselves and never hardcode /tools/.... Inside Register, declare routes relative to the base: r.GET("/"), r.POST("/api/foo"), r.Static("/static/"). Handlers then read the active instance from *tool.Ctx: c.Base() returns the absolute /tools/{Key} path, c.Meta() returns the full tool.Tool (Name, Icon, ExternalURL, …). Use those inside handlers instead of closing over values from Register.

Handlers receive a *tool.Ctx — a thin wrapper around http.ResponseWriter / *http.Request with helpers for the common shape (c.Form(k), c.Query(k), c.BindJSON(&v), c.HTML(body), c.JSON(status, v), c.Redirect(url, code)). Wick owns the mux, injects the page renderer, and fails the boot with a pointed error if any two tools share a Key or if any two routes collide on METHOD PATH. Tools never import net/http for mounting.

Per-module static assets (JS/CSS). Each module embeds its own assets so the codebase doesn't accumulate one huge app.js:

1. Create internal/tools/{tool}/js/ and drop your JS files in it (e.g. mytool.js).

2. Create internal/tools/{tool}/static.go:

   package mytool
   
   import "embed"
   
   //go:embed js
   var StaticFS embed.FS
   

3. Mount the static tree via the Router inside Register — path is relative:

   func Register(r tool.Router) {
       r.GET("/", index)
       r.Static("/static/", StaticFS)
   }
   

4. Reference the script from your templ page — use the base path read via c.Base() and threaded into the template:

   <script src={ base + "/static/js/mytool.js" }></script>
   

Footgun: //go:embed js fails to compile if the js/ directory doesn't exist. Always create the directory (with at least one file) before building.

r.Static blocks directory listings automatically — embedded asset trees can't be browsed.

Runtime-editable config (typed Config + wick tags). If a tool needs knobs that admins can edit without a redeploy — seed text, API base URLs, feature toggles, credentials — declare a typed Config struct and pass a seed value to app.RegisterTool:

type Config struct {
    InitText string `wick:"desc=Seed dropped into the textarea."`
    InitType string `wick:"desc=Seed conversion type.;dropdown=uppercase|lowercase|titlecase"`
    APIKey   string `wick:"desc=External API key.;secret;required"`
}

Wick reflects the struct into configs rows once at register time via entity.StructToConfigs — the tool itself never implements a Configs() method. Each exported field with a wick:"..." tag becomes one row. Tag fields are split by ;: desc=... describes the row; bare keys are flags (required, secret, locked, regen, textarea, checkbox, number, email, url, color, date, datetime); dropdown=a|b|c renders a <select> with the given options. When no widget flag is set, the framework picks one from the Go type: bool → checkbox, int/float → number, string → text. Field names are snake-cased into keys (InitText → init_text) — override with key=custom_name if you need a specific column name.

Rows are reconciled at boot with composite primary key (owner, key), where owner = meta.Key. The Go value passed to app.RegisterTool is the first-boot seed; once a row exists it wins (admin edits stick). Handlers read the current value via c.Cfg("init_text") — scoped automatically to this instance's Meta.Key. Typed accessors: c.CfgInt("max_items"), c.CfgBool("enable_cache"). For explicit cross-tool reads use c.CfgOf(owner, key) (rare, intentional). Tag a field required when there's no sensible default; c.Missing() returns the keys still unset so the page can show a "setup required" prompt.

Because the seed is pulled from the cfg argument at register time, a single tool registered as multiple cards each seed their own defaults — meta = {Key: "default"} + cfg = {InitText: "hello world"} and meta = {Key: "convert-text-alt"} + cfg = {InitText: "HELLO WORLD"} give two cards with different initial state but shared logic.

Adding a Background Job Module

Job modules (internal/jobs/{job}/) follow the same stateless pattern as tools — a top-level Run(ctx) (string, error) function plus, if the job has knobs, a typed Config struct. There is no NewJob() constructor, no Handler struct, no Meta() method. Metadata lives at the register call site.

Register an instance from main.go:

app.RegisterJob(
    job.Meta{
        Key:         "auto-get-data",
        Name:        "Auto Get Data",
        Description: "Fetch a remote endpoint on a schedule.",
        Icon:        "🌐",
        DefaultCron: "*/30 * * * *",
        DefaultTags: []tool.DefaultTag{tags.Job},
    },
    autogetdata.Config{},
    autogetdata.Run,
)

One app.RegisterJob call = one row in the jobs table = one card on the home grid. Call again with a different meta.Key + Config to get a second scheduled instance backed by the same Run func. Jobs with no runtime knobs use app.RegisterJobNoConfig(meta, run).

Two surfaces per job. A registered job gets two pages with clearly split audiences:

• /jobs/{key} — operator surface. Run Now button, last-run status, recent run history. What end users see.
• /manager/jobs/{key} — admin surface. Schedule (cron) + runtime Config editor. What admins see. Non-admin users who land here get a 404.

Both pages share manager.Service so run history and setup-required banners stay in sync.

Reading config inside Run. Run is a plain function — no struct to attach methods to. Read runtime config via the ctx:

func Run(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
    c := job.FromContext(ctx)
    url := c.Cfg("url")
    if url == "" {
        return "", errors.New("url not configured")
    }
    body, err := fetchRemote(ctx, url)
    if err != nil {
        return "", err
    }
    return body, nil
}

The returned string is stored on the run row as the result summary; the error (if any) marks the run as failed. Same wick:"..." tag grammar as tools — required, secret, dropdown=a|b|c, textarea, url, number, etc. Wick reflects the Config struct into configs rows at register time via entity.StructToConfigs.

Worker vs web. The web process (go run main.go server) mounts both surfaces; the worker process (go run main.go worker) owns the cron ticker that invokes Run on schedule. Both read from the same configs table, so admin edits land everywhere on the next tick.

Environment Variables

Set up the environment file by copying .env.example:

Mac/Linux: cp .env.example .env

Windows: copy .env.example .env

Alternatively, you can create a copy of .env.example and rename it to .env in your project's root directory

Run Locally

First time only:

make setup         # downloads the Tailwind CLI into ./bin/ (OS-detected)

Development (with CSS + templ watching):

Two terminals, run in parallel:

# Terminal 1 — Tailwind in watch mode
make css/watch

# Terminal 2 — the server
go run main.go server

Or use the combined target that runs both (Unix-like shells):

make dev

One-shot run (no watch): useful for quick verification, CI-style checks, or when an agent (e.g. Claude Code) needs to boot the server.

make css            # rebuild CSS once (minified)
go run main.go server

The server listens on http://localhost:8080.

See AGENTS.md for the rules coding agents follow (one-shot flow, process cleanup, Tailwind binary check).

Other useful targets live in the Makefile — make test, make tidy, make generate (runs templ generate + go generate + make css), make run/live (Air-powered live reload).

Generate Mock from Interface

• Install Mockery:

  go install github.com/vektra/mockery/v2@v2.53.4
  

  Note: In this repo, we use Mockery v2.

• Add the following code in the interface code file: //go:generate mockery --case snake --name XXXX

• Run go generate using make generate

Handle HTTP Client Exceptions

client.Error complies with Go standard error. which support Error, Unwrap, Is, As

// Sample using errors.As
err := s.api.CreateResource(ctx, payload)
if err != nil {
    var cerr *client.Error
    if errors.As(err, &cerr) {
        fmt.Println(cerr.Message)          // General error message
        fmt.Println(cerr.StatusCode)       // HTTP status code e.g: 400, 401 etc.
        fmt.Println(cerr.RawError)         // Raw Go error object
        fmt.Println(cerr.RawAPIResponse)   // Raw API response body in byte
    }
}