My quick start Svelte + Go monorepo template

Skip to the bottom to see the gist.

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Every new project I’ve built has the same key parts: SvelteKit for the frontend, PocketBase for the backend, all deployable with a single docker-compose.yaml file. In fact, this blog uses the very same tech stack.

I used to create these repos from scratch, manually copying and editing Dockerfiles until they started working. I took the time to write the process down so you don’t have to!

Why Svelte?

SvelteKit is great for its performance and flexibility. I can trust Svelte’s compiler-based approach to DOM updates because I know it’ll optimize reactive state changes for me. I don’t need to think if I’m using a hook wrong or if there’s a footgun I need to be aware about.

Why Go?

PocketBase is excellent as a small-to-mid sized project starter. It feels like SQLite with a builtin admin panel. I can iterate really quickly because I can just point-and-click through my database schema. They provide a JS SDK which gives you CRUD for free.

The best part about PocketBase is how extensible it is. You can extend it with JavaScript, which I used to do, or you can extend it with Go.

Extending with JavaScript lets you register new API routes or add new logic when a record is created, but you’re stuck with whatever builtin JS functions are exposed to you.

When you extend with Go, you’re basically writing, compiling, and running a regular Go app, which means you can go get libraries like normal.

I’m in!

Here’s the gist I’ve written to get you from zero to docker compose up!

SvelteKit PocketBase monorepo guide.md

From here, you can easily deploy to a VPS or a home server (which I do) with Coolify. But that’s a story for another time.

If you end up trying it out, let me know what you think! ✻