Announcing standard Go support for Fastly Compute

Fastly is excited to introduce support for the standard Go compiler for the Go SDK v1 on Fastly Compute. Developers can now tap into the full range of Go capabilities, unlocking more possibilities for application development. Up until now, we offered the use of the Go programming language through TinyGo, which is great for lightweight binaries. While TinyGo lacks full support for the entire Go standard library and third-party modules, we will still continue to support TinyGo on Fastly Compute because there are many use cases where developers will still prefer it. We always planned to bring the power of the full Go ecosystem to our customers, and with compute-sdk-go v1, you can now take advantage of all standard Go features on Fastly Edge.

The recent release of Go v1.21 introduced a new port to the WebAssembly System Interface (WASI), so you can now use the standard Go compiler to build Wasm binaries. Because Fastly Compute is built on WebAssembly, developers can now use all standard Go packages on Fastly Compute for a coding experience that is easier, and more powerful than ever before. Standard Go is advantageous over TinyGo in terms of much faster compile times and improved package compatibility. For example, with standard Go, it is possible to use all of the features of the reflect package out of the box. You can also use html/template and safehtml packages to build and securely serve HTML templates.

TinyGo or Standard Go? It’s your choice

Go and TinyGo are optimized for different use cases and we will continue our support of TinyGo on Fastly Compute. Each toolchain has its own tradeoffs in terms of build times and runtime performance. In a future article, we will dive into this more, so stay tuned! 

If you use TinyGo today, nothing changes and your Compute services will not be affected. For new projects, you have the choice of using Go or TinyGo with our new starter kits. Visit Fastly Developer Hub to find out how to switch between TinyGo and Go.

Try Go on Compute Today!

We encourage you to give the Go SDK v1.0 a spin and experience the new features firsthand. Your feedback is invaluable, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts and suggestions with us.

To get started with Go on Compute, simply visit our learning page on the Fastly Developer Hub and follow the installation instructions for Go and its toolchain requirements. You'll find comprehensive documentation, examples, and starter kits to help you make the most of the new features.

Join the Fastly Community

Fastly thrives on its vibrant and supportive community. If you have questions, ideas, or insights to share, we invite you to join the conversation on the Fastly Community Forum. Connect with fellow developers, exchange knowledge, and stay updated on the latest Go developments.