Deploy Go

This guide deploys a Go web service and connects it to a managed PostgreSQL database. For the shared deploy flow, see Deploy from GitHub.

Prepare Your App

Listen on 0.0.0.0

Read the port from the environment and bind all interfaces. The :+port form binds 0.0.0.0. Do not bind 127.0.0.1 or localhost, or the app is unreachable.

port := os.Getenv("PORT")
if port == "" {
    port = "8080"
}
log.Printf("listening on 0.0.0.0:%s", port)
log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":"+port, nil))

For Gin use r.Run("0.0.0.0:" + port), and for Fiber use app.Listen("0.0.0.0:" + port).

Build

Pin the Go version with the go directive in go.mod, and commit go.sum. A static binary gives the smallest, most reliable image:

CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o server

CGO_ENABLED=0 produces a fully static binary. -ldflags="-s -w" strips debug info.

Deploy

Create an application from your repository. Buildpacks detects Go from go.mod and builds it with no Dockerfile. For full control, a multi stage Dockerfile keeps the final image tiny:

FROM golang:1.24-alpine AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY go.mod go.sum ./
RUN go mod download
COPY . .
RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o /server ./...

FROM alpine:latest
RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates
COPY --from=build /server /server
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["/server"]

Install ca-certificates in the final image, or TLS calls (including SSL database connections) will fail.

Connect a Database

Create a managed PostgreSQL database and copy its connection string into a DATABASE_URL environment variable.

import _ "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/stdlib"

db, err := sql.Open("pgx", os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL"))

Connections require SSL, so make sure the string includes ?sslmode=require. pgx honors it.

Run Migrations

Out Plane has no pre deploy hook. Run your migration tool (such as golang-migrate, goose, or atlas) once from the browser terminal, or fold it into the start command:

sh -c "migrate -path migrations -database $DATABASE_URL up && /server"

Production Notes

• Bind 0.0.0.0, and read PORT rather than hardcoding it.
• Use CGO_ENABLED=0 for a static binary unless you genuinely need cgo.
• Bundle templates and static assets with //go:embed, or COPY them in the Dockerfile, so a slim image still has them.

Next Steps