Go + HTMX: Server-Side Renaissance

*** AI GENERATED WARNING - NOT REAL JOURNAL *** We're in the midst of a server-side renaissance. After a decade of SPAs dominating the conversation, developers are rediscovering the elegance of server-rendered HTML. And it's not nostalgia - it's evolution.

Go and HTMX together represent a philosophy: do more with less. Let the server do what it does best, let the browser do what it does best, and stop pretending JavaScript needs to manage everything.

Why Go?

Go is boring. And I mean that as the highest compliment. It doesn't chase trends. It doesn't have a new major version every year breaking everything. It compiles to a single binary that just runs.

• Blazingly fast compilation
• Built-in concurrency with goroutines
• Standard library that actually covers real-world needs
• Static typing without the ceremony
• Deployment is literally copying one file

The standard library is a masterclass in pragmatic design. Need an HTTP server? It's there. WebSocket support? Add one small dependency. Templates? Built-in. You don't need a framework to build real applications.

Why HTMX?

HTMX brings hypermedia back to the forefront. Remember when HTML was about linking documents and forms? HTMX extends that model with modern interaction patterns.

Instead of shipping megabytes of JavaScript to recreate what the browser already does, HTMX lets you enhance HTML with attributes. Want to load content without a page refresh? Add hx-get. Want to handle form submissions dynamically? Add hx-post.

The beauty is in what you don't write. No state management. No virtual DOM. No build step. The server sends HTML, the browser renders it. Simple.

The Workflow

My development loop is absurdly fast. Edit a template, save, refresh. No webpack rebuild. No hot module replacement glitches. Just instant feedback.

Go's compilation is so fast it might as well be interpreted. With Air for live reloading, I get the developer experience of a dynamic language with the performance and safety of a compiled one.

When Not To Use This Stack

Let's be honest - this isn't appropriate for everything. If you're building a rich real-time collaborative editor, you probably need React. If you're making a complex data visualization dashboard, you might want Vue.

But for the vast majority of web applications? Content sites, admin panels, line-of-business apps, even games like the chess implementation on this site - server-rendered HTML with progressive enhancement is more than enough.

The Future is Boring

I think we're heading toward a split in web development. On one side, highly interactive applications that genuinely need client-side frameworks. On the other, everything else - which is most things - embracing simpler server-driven approaches.

Go and HTMX represent that second path. Not because they're new and shiny, but because they're reliable and effective. Sometimes the best tool is the boring one.

The server-side renaissance isn't about going backwards. It's about rediscovering what worked, understanding why it worked, and applying that knowledge with modern tooling.