golang-popular-libraries

pgx (github.com/jackc/pgx) is the recommended PostgreSQL driver for new Go projects. It is faster than lib/pq and supports all PostgreSQL types and advanced features. lib/pq remains a viable alternative but pgx is the preferred choice.

Start with log/slog, the standard library structured logger available since Go 1.21. Consider external libraries like zap or zerolog only when you need specific features such as zero-allocation logging in hot paths. Avoid Logrus, which is in maintenance mode.

Use sqlc when you want compile-time type safety, since it generates type-safe Go code from SQL with no runtime reflection. GORM is a feature-complete ORM but uses runtime reflection, so SQL errors are not caught at compile time.

Chi (github.com/go-chi/chi) is the recommended lightweight router when you want to stay close to net/http. It has minimal dependencies and composes well with the standard library, unlike full frameworks such as Gin or Echo.

Avoid libraries that merely wrap standard library functionality without adding real value, abandoned or unmaintained packages, and libraries with large dependency footprints for simple needs. More dependencies increase attack surface and maintenance burden.

Yes, the slices package (Go 1.21+) provides Contains, Sort, Reverse, Compact, and BinarySearch. External libraries like samber/lo are only needed for functional operations such as Map, Filter, and GroupBy that the standard library does not cover.