Learn how to abstract technical overhead by leveraging Appwrite to build a project management API in Rust

Appwrite + Rust: Build APIs without technical overhead

Learn how to abstract technical overhead by leveraging Appwrite to build a project management API in Go

Appwrite + Go: Build APIs without technical overhead

[Appwrite Init](https://appwrite.io/init): a week-long program dedicated to showcasing and celebrating everything new with Appwrite. The 2024 edition saw the launch of **Appwrite 1.5**, introducing exciting features such as:

-   Local development support for serverless functions.
-   A new and better Appwrite command line interface (CLI).
-   Improved Appwrite serverless function.
-   Go runtime support and SDK
-   Mock numbers to test phone authentication.

The addition of [Go runtime support and SDK](https://appwrite.io/blog/post/announcing-go-support) stood out to me in particular. Developers can now build both APIs and serverless functions in Go, eliminating the need to switch contexts between Go and previously supported languages. This is a game changer, as it enables type consistency across APIs and functions, streamlines your deployment process, and significantly enhances the developer experience.

The project repository can be found [here](https://github.com/Mr-Malomz/go-appwriteSDK).

## Before the Go SDK

Prior to the Go SDK, if you want to build API with Go and Appwrite, you’ll first create a service that talks to Appwrite API:

```go
// get details from environment variable
var projectId = GetEnvVariable("PROJECT_ID")
var databaseId = GetEnvVariable("DATABASE_ID")
var collectionId = GetEnvVariable("COLLECTION_ID")
var apiKey = GetEnvVariable("PROJECT_ID")

func (app *Config) createProject(newProject *data.ProjectRequest) (*data.ProjectResponse, error) {
    url := fmt.Sprintf("https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1/databases/%s/collections/%s/documents", databaseId, collectionId)

    createdProject := data.ProjectResponse{}

    jsonData := data.JsonAPIBody{
        DocumentId: "unique()",
        Data:       newProject,
    }
    postBody, _ := json.Marshal(jsonData)
    bodyData := bytes.NewBuffer(postBody)

    // making the request
    client := &http.Client{}
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, bodyData)
    req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
    req.Header.Add("X-Appwrite-Key", apiKey)
    req.Header.Add("X-Appwrite-Project", projectId)

    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    err = json.Unmarshal([]byte(body), &createdProject)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    return &createdProject, nil
}
```

Then use the service to create a handler that exposes the API.

```go
// import dependencies

const appTimeout = time.Second * 10

func (app *Config) createdProjectHandler() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
        _, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), appTimeout)
        var payload data.ProjectRequest
        defer cancel()

        app.validateJsonBody(ctx, &payload)

        newProject := data.ProjectRequest{
            Name:        payload.Name,
            Description: payload.Description,
        }

        data, err := app.createProject(&newProject) // using the service
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }

        app.writeJSON(ctx, http.StatusCreated, data)
    }
}
```

As seen above, you have to manually call the APIs using an HTTP client, configure headers to include the API key and project ID, switch URLs (when building other endpoints), handle requests, convert responses to JSON, and manage many other overhead tasks.

Now, imagine doing this for multiple requests across different endpoints. It quickly becomes a tedious process, with repetitive code and constant refactoring whenever you need to update the project.

But with Appwrite’s new Go SDK, you can build APIs seamlessly with minimal effort. Let’s take a closer look.

## Getting started

To get started, navigate to the desired directory and run the command below:

```bash
mkdir go-appwriteSDK && cd go-appwriteSDK
```

Next, initialize a Go module to manage project dependencies by running the command below:

```bash
go mod init go-appwriteSDK
```

Finally, proceed to install the required dependencies with:

```bash
go get github.com/appwrite/sdk-for-go github.com/gin-gonic/gin github.com/go-playground/validator/v10 github.com/joho/godotenv
```

`github.com/appwrite/sdk-for-go` is Appwrite Go SDK.

`github.com/gin-gonic/gin` is a framework for building web applications.

`github.com/go-playground/validator/v10` is a library for validating structs and fields.

`github.com/joho/godotenv` is a library for loading environment variables.

**Structuring the application**
To do this, create an `api`, `cmd`, and `data` folder in your project directory.

`api` is for structuring our API-related files.

`cmd` is for structuring our application entry point.

`data` is for structuring our application data.

## Setting up Appwrite

Log into our Appwrite [console](https://cloud.appwrite.io/console), click the **Create project** button, input `go_appwrite` as the name, and then **Create**.

![Create project](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_C9210607DAFF6D80615947ED6BE237716E98BADEF0416B60FACF081B1CAEFB80_1687518026974_Screenshot%2B2023-06-23%2Bat%2B11.38.55.png)

**Create a Database, Collection, and Add Attributes**

To do this, first, navigate to the **Database** tab, click the **Create database** button, input `project` as the name, and **Create**.

![Create database](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691705236741_Screenshot%2B2023-08-10%2Bat%2B23.06.00.png)

Secondly, create a collection for storing the projects by clicking the **Create collection** button, input `project_collection` as the name, and then click **Create**.

![Create collection](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691705351204_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.14.37.png)

Lastly, you need to create attributes to represent the database fields. To do this, navigate to the **Attributes** tab and create attributes for each of the values shown below:

| Attribute key | Attribute type | Size | Required |
| ------------- | -------------- | ---- | -------- |
| name          | String         | 250  | YES      |
| description   | String         | 5000 | YES      |

![Create attribute](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691705420699_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.15.49.png)

After creating the attributes, you should see them as shown below:

![List of attributes](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691705645782_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.21.03.png)

**Create an API key**

To securely connect to Appwrite, you need to create an API key. To do this, navigate to the **Overview** tab, scroll to the **Integrate With Your Server section**, and click the **API Key** button.

![Create API key](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691709339925_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.37.13.png)

Next, input `api_go` as the name, click the **Next** button, select **Database** as the required scope, and **Create**.

![input  name create](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691709339959_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.39.23.png)

![Set permission](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691709613147_Screenshot%2B2023-08-04%2Bat%2B01.40.32.png)

## Building the APIs fast with the Appwrite Go SDK

With the project fully set up on Appwrite, you can now use the database with the SDK to build the APIs without any other technical overhead.

**Set up Environment Variable**

To set up the required environment variables, you need to create a `.env` file in the root directory and add the snippet below:

```bash
API_KEY=<REPLACE WITH API KEY>
PROJECT_ID=<REPLACE WITH PROJECT ID>
DATABASE_ID=<REPLACE WITH DATABASE ID>
COLLECTION_ID=<REPLACE WITH COLLECTION ID>
API_URL=https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1
```

You can get the required key and IDs from your Appwrite console.

**Create the API models and helper function**

To represent the application data, create a `model.go` file inside the `data` folder and add the snippet below:

```go
package data

type Project struct {
    Id          string `json:"$id,omitempty"`
    Name        string `json:"name,omitempty"`
    Description string `json:"description,omitempty"`
}

type ProjectRequest struct {
    Name        string `json:"name,omitempty"`
    Description string `json:"description,omitempty"`
}

type ProjectResponse struct {
    Id           string `json:"$id,omitempty"`
    CollectionId string `json:"$collectionId,omitempty"`
}

type JsonAPIBody struct {
    Data       *ProjectRequest `json:"data,omitempty"`
}
```

The snippet above creates a `Project`, `ProjectRequest`, `ProjectResponse`, and `JsonAPIBody` struct with the required properties to describe requests and response types.

Finally, create a `helpers.go` file with a reusable function to load environment variables and return JSON responses inside the `api` folder.

```go
package api

import (
    "log"
    "net/http"
    "os"
    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
    "github.com/go-playground/validator/v10"
    "github.com/joho/godotenv"
)

type jsonResponse struct {
    Status  int    `json:"status"`
    Message string `json:"message"`
    Data    any    `json:"data"`
}

func GetEnvVariable(key string) string {
    err := godotenv.Load()
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal("Error loading .env file")
    }
    return os.Getenv(key)
}

func (app *Config) validateJsonBody(c *gin.Context, data any) error {
    var validate = validator.New()

    //validate the request body
    if err := c.BindJSON(&data); err != nil {
        return err
    }

    //validate with the validator library
    if err := validate.Struct(&data); err != nil {
        return err
    }
    return nil
}

func (app *Config) writeJSON(c *gin.Context, status int, data any) {
    c.JSON(status, jsonResponse{Status: status, Message: "success", Data: data})
}

func (app *Config) errorJSON(c *gin.Context, err error, status ...int) {
    statusCode := http.StatusBadRequest
    if len(status) > 0 {
        statusCode = status[0]
    }
    c.JSON(statusCode, jsonResponse{Status: statusCode, Message: err.Error()})
}
```

**Create the API route entry**

Create a `route.go` file for configuring the API routes inside the `api` folder and add the snippet below:

```go
package api

import "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"

type Config struct {
    Router *gin.Engine
}

func (app *Config) Routes() {
    //routes will come here
}
```

The snippet above does the following:

-   Imports the required dependency.
-   Creates a `Config` struct with a `Router` property to configure the application methods.
-   Creates a `Routes` function that takes in the `Config` struct as a pointer.

**Create the API handlers**

To create the handlers, first, create a `handler.go` file inside the `api` folder and add the snippet below:

```go
package api

import (
    "context"
    "go-appwriteSDK/data"
    "net/http"
    "time"
    "github.com/appwrite/sdk-for-go/appwrite"
    "github.com/appwrite/sdk-for-go/id"
    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
)

var projectId = GetEnvVariable("PROJECT_ID")
var databaseId = GetEnvVariable("DATABASE_ID")
var collectionId = GetEnvVariable("COLLECTION_ID")
var apiKey = GetEnvVariable("API_KEY")
var endpoint = GetEnvVariable("API_URL")

var client = appwrite.NewClient(
    appwrite.WithEndpoint(endpoint),
    appwrite.WithProject(projectId),
    appwrite.WithKey(apiKey),
)

const appTimeout = time.Second * 10
```

The snippet above imports the required dependencies, uses the `GetEnvVariable` to load the required enrionment variables, configures Appwrite with the required credentials, and creates a 10 seconds timeout for requests.

Finally, use the Appwrite instance and the timeout to create the handlers.

```go
func (app *Config) createProjectHandler() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
        _, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), appTimeout)
        databases := appwrite.NewDatabases(client)
        var payload data.ProjectRequest
        defer cancel()

        app.validateJsonBody(ctx, &payload)

        doc, err := databases.CreateDocument(databaseId, collectionId, id.Unique(), payload)
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }
        app.writeJSON(ctx, http.StatusCreated, doc)
    }
}

func (app *Config) getProjectHandler() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
        _, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), appTimeout)
        databases := appwrite.NewDatabases(client)
        docId := ctx.Param("projectId")
        defer cancel()

        response, err := databases.GetDocument(databaseId, collectionId, docId)

        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }
        var document data.Project
        err = response.Decode(&document)
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }

        app.writeJSON(ctx, http.StatusOK, document)
    }
}

func (app *Config) updateProjectHandler() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
        _, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), appTimeout)
        databases := appwrite.NewDatabases(client)
        var payload data.ProjectRequest
        docId := ctx.Param("projectId")
        defer cancel()

        app.validateJsonBody(ctx, &payload)
        updates := data.ProjectRequest{
            Name:        payload.Name,
            Description: payload.Description,
        }

        response, err := databases.UpdateDocument(databaseId, collectionId, docId, databases.WithUpdateDocumentData(updates))
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }

        var document data.Project
        err = response.Decode(&document)
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }

        app.writeJSON(ctx, http.StatusOK, document)
    }
}

func (app *Config) deleteProjectHandler() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
        _, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), appTimeout)
        databases := appwrite.NewDatabases(client)
        docId := ctx.Param("projectId")
        defer cancel()

        response, err := databases.DeleteDocument(databaseId, collectionId, docId)
        if err != nil {
            app.errorJSON(ctx, err)
            return
        }

        app.writeJSON(ctx, http.StatusOK, response)
    }
}
```

**Update the API routes to use handlers**

With that done, update the `routes.go` file with the handlers as shown below:

```go
package api

import "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"

type Config struct {
    Router *gin.Engine
}

func (app *Config) Routes() {
    app.Router.POST("/project", app.createProjectHandler())
    app.Router.GET("/project/:projectId", app.getProjectHandler())
    app.Router.PUT("/project/:projectId", app.updateProjectHandler())
    app.Router.DELETE("/project/:projectId", app.deleteProjectHandler())
}
```

**Putting it all together**

With the APIs fully set up, you need to create the application entry point. To do this, create a `main.go` file inside the `cmd` folder and add the snippet below:

```go
package main

import (
    "go-appwriteSDK/api"
    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
)

func main() {
    router := gin.Default()
    //initialize config
    app := api.Config{Router: router}
    //routes
    app.Routes()
    router.Run(":8080")
}
```

The snippet above does the following:

-   Imports the required dependencies
-   Creates a Gin router using the `Default` configuration
-   Initialize the `Config` struct by passing in the `Router`
-   Adds the route and run the application on port `:8080`

With that done, we can start a development server using the command below:

```bash
go run cmd/main.go
```

![create](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691715978196_Screenshot%2B2023-08-05%2Bat%2B17.11.09.png)

![update](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691715978260_Screenshot%2B2023-08-06%2Bat%2B00.16.12.png)

![Get details](https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fpaper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fs_2095423646DCD7D2DA1B88D8D859DA299FF57589D0A10336F58D285B02BBBE7E_1691715978225_Screenshot%2B2023-08-05%2Bat%2B22.31.35.png)

# Conclusion

This post discusses how to quickly build REST APIs with the Appwrite Go SDK, eliminating the need to manually configure headers for API keys and project IDs, switch URLs for different endpoints, handle requests, and convert responses to JSON.

These resources might be helpful:

-   [Appwrite official documentation](https://appwrite.io/docs?utm_source=fullstackwriter&utm_medium=fullstackwriter-blog)
-   [Appwrite Go SDK](https://github.com/appwrite/sdk-for-go)


This post discusses how to quickly build REST APIs with the Appwrite Go SDK, eliminating the need to manually configure headers for API keys and project IDs, switch URLs for different endpoints, handle requests, and convert responses to JSON.

Appwrite

Appwrite + Rust: Build APIs without technical overhead

Appwrite + Go: Build APIs without technical overhead

Build APIs faster with Go and Appwrite

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