Do I need Go installed on the VPS to run my application?

No. If you cross-compile with CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64, the resulting binary is 100 % static and runs without Go on the server. The stack installs Go 1.22+ to let you compile directly on the VPS if preferred, but it is not required for running pre-compiled binaries.

Can I use a framework other than Gin?

Yes. The stack installs the Go toolchain, Nginx, and PostgreSQL — not the framework. Use Echo, Chi, Fiber, or the standard library net/http instead. Gin is recommended in the documentation because of its adoption and zero-allocation router, but the template is framework-agnostic.

What is the minimum RAM for a Go (Gin) API?

1 GB is comfortable for a Gin API without a database. Add 1 GB if PostgreSQL runs on the same VPS. A Gin process typically idles at 15–30 MB; peak memory depends on your handler logic and the size of in-memory caches.

How do I manage the Go process in production?

The recommended approach is a systemd unit: ExecStart pointing to your binary, Restart=always for automatic recovery, and EnvironmentFile for secrets. This gives you journal logging, resource limits, and dependency ordering (e.g., after PostgreSQL). Alternatively, run your binary inside a Docker container with --restart unless-stopped.

Kick off a software project quickly.

Go (Gin) Stack

Go 1.22+, Gin, Nginx and PostgreSQL 16 preconfigured — production-ready environment for lightweight Go APIs.

1 GB RAM 1 vCPU Available

Tech stack

Go 1.22+GinNginxPostgreSQL 16

Minimum RAM1 GB

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Compatible OSChoice of Linux distributions

Go (Gin) Stack provisions your VPS with the full toolchain a Go API needs in production: Go 1.22+ installed from the official binary (not the outdated distro package), Gin as the HTTP framework, Nginx as the TLS-terminating reverse proxy, and PostgreSQL 16 as the relational database. No PPA, no buildpack, no runtime dependency on the VPS.

A Go binary compiled with CGO_ENABLED=0 is entirely self-contained: you can cross-compile it on your workstation (GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build) and deploy it with a single scp. Gin adds a router with zero allocation on hot paths, middleware support, and built-in binding for JSON, form, and multipart payloads. The stack mirrors a production-proven pattern: Nginx terminates TLS with Let's Encrypt, proxies to the Go process listening on loopback, and handles static files from disk. PostgreSQL 16 is available for any data model — use database/sql directly, pgx, or GORM according to your project's needs.

Key features

Go 1.22+ from the official binary — the latest stable release installed directly from go.dev, not the outdated distro package. Cross-compile locally (GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64) and deploy without Go installed on the server.

Gin HTTP framework — zero-allocation router, middleware chaining, JSON/form/multipart binding, and context-level error handling. Covers 99 % of REST API patterns without a framework-imposed ORM or template engine.

Nginx reverse proxy — TLS termination via Let's Encrypt (Certbot or Caddy), loopback-only binding for the Go process, gzip compression, and static-file serving without touching the Go binary.

PostgreSQL 16 — the best-supported Go database. Use pgx for async-capable, performance-first access, or database/sql with the lib/pq driver for portability. JSONB columns, full-text search, and window functions available from day one.

Minimal memory footprint — a Gin API idles at 15–30 MB. 1 GB RAM is enough for a solo API; 2 GB if PostgreSQL shares the VPS.

Systemd-ready — manage the Go process as a systemd service with automatic restart on failure, journal logging, and resource limits. No process manager dependency.

Production deployment patterns included — the documentation covers cross-compilation, scratch Docker images, Nginx vhost configuration, and TLS setup for the most common deployment scenarios.

When to use this solution?

1

REST API or microservice

Deploy a Gin application as a standalone REST API or microservice. The binary listens on loopback, Nginx terminates TLS, and PostgreSQL backs any data model. Cross-compile on your CI pipeline and deploy the artifact directly — no build toolchain needed on the VPS at runtime.

2

High-throughput backend

Go goroutines handle thousands of concurrent connections on a single vCPU without the thread-per-request overhead of traditional servers. Bind Gin to loopback, let Nginx handle keep-alive and buffering, and saturate a 1 GB VPS with load that would require a 4 GB instance in a JVM or interpreted language.

3

Webhook receiver or internal API

Receive GitHub webhooks, Stripe events, or inter-service API calls with a lightweight Gin server. The binary starts in milliseconds — redeployments produce zero perceptible downtime with a systemd restart. No Node runtime, no Python interpreter, no package manager to update on the server.

Deploy Go (Gin) Stack on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Order a ServOrbit VPS

1 GB RAM on Ubuntu 24.04 is enough for a Go API. Add 2 GB if PostgreSQL runs on the same VPS. The Go (Gin) Stack template is available in the marketplace order form — Go 1.22+, Nginx, and PostgreSQL 16 are installed automatically.

02

Deploy from the marketplace

Go to Marketplace → Development → Go (Gin) Stack and click Deploy. The script downloads Go 1.22+ from go.dev, installs Nginx and PostgreSQL 16, and sets the PATH. No SSH session for the base setup.

03

Cross-compile and upload your binary

On your workstation: CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o app .. Upload with scp app root@your-vps:/opt/myapp/. The binary runs directly — no Go on the server required.

04

Create a systemd service

Create /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service with ExecStart=/opt/myapp/app, Restart=always, and your environment variables in EnvironmentFile=/opt/myapp/.env. Enable with systemctl enable --now myapp.

05

Configure Nginx and enable HTTPS

Add a Nginx server block with proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080 and run certbot --nginx -d api.yourdomain.com for a free Let's Encrypt certificate. Your API is live at https://api.yourdomain.com.

06

First login

Go (Gin) Stack installs the runtime environment only — your application handles its own authentication. Connect to your API at the domain you configured and test your first endpoint.

Frequently asked questions

Go compiles to a static binary with no runtime dependency on the server: deploy by copying a single file. Node.js runs the source code through a JavaScript engine with a node_modules tree. Gin handles concurrency via goroutines without threads; Node relies on an event loop. Choose Go for lower memory usage and simpler deployments; choose Node.js for a larger ecosystem and JavaScript full-stack teams.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses Go (Gin) Stack? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Markdown

[![Deploy Go (Gin) Stack on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=golang&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=golang)

HTML

<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=golang&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=golang"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy Go (Gin) Stack on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

Complementary solutions

Development

Activate Go (Gin) Stack on your infrastructure.

Dedicated Cloud VPS — IPv4 included, European datacenter, support included. Your data never leaves your server.

Recommended configuration: 1 GB RAM · 1 vCPU