github.com/gin-gonic/gin

Gin delivers excellent performance and a clean API for building REST services. The middleware chain is intuitive, context handling is straightforward, and binding/validation with struct tags (`binding:"required"`) reduces boilerplate significantly. However, you need to be deliberate about security configurations - it doesn't enforce secure defaults everywhere.

The framework doesn't automatically sanitize error responses, so panics and validation errors can leak internal details if you're not careful. You'll want custom error middleware from day one. TLS configuration requires manual setup in production, and there's no built-in CSRF protection. The binding system is powerful but won't save you from all injection risks - always validate file paths, SQL inputs, and command parameters separately.

Dependency-wise, Gin is relatively stable with minimal transitive dependencies, though CVE response time varies. The validation library (go-playground/validator) does most heavy lifting. Overall, it's a solid choice if you're security-conscious and willing to implement proper middleware guards rather than expecting framework-level protection.

Gin has been my go-to for building HTTP services in Go for years. The routing API is incredibly intuitive - defining routes with `r.GET("/users/:id", handler)` feels natural, and path parameters extract cleanly. Middleware composition works exactly as you'd expect, and the context object (`gin.Context`) provides convenient helpers for JSON responses, query params, and request binding that save a ton of boilerplate.

The binding and validation story is strong once you learn the struct tags (`binding:"required"`, `json:"field"`), though it takes some experimentation to understand how validation errors surface. Error handling is my main gripe - the framework doesn't enforce a consistent pattern, so you end up with a mix of `c.JSON()` returns scattered throughout handlers. The abort pattern (`c.AbortWithStatusJSON()`) helps but isn't discoverable without reading docs carefully.

Documentation covers the basics well with decent examples, but advanced patterns like custom validators or complex middleware chains require digging through issues and examples repos. IDE support is good since it's just Go - autocompletion works, types are clear, though some context methods have dozens of variants that can feel overwhelming.

Gin delivers excellent performance and developer experience with intuitive routing, middleware chaining, and helpful request binding. The API feels natural coming from other HTTP frameworks, and JSON responses are straightforward. However, from a security perspective, you'll need to be deliberate about hardening your deployment.

The framework doesn't enforce secure defaults consistently. TLS configuration is left entirely to you, there's no built-in rate limiting, and the default error handler can leak stack traces in production if you forget to set GIN_MODE=release. Request binding will parse untrusted input eagerly, so you must add explicit validation beyond struct tags. The ShouldBind family helps, but developers often reach for Bind which panics on errors, potentially exposing internal state.

Authentication and authorization are completely manual—no opinionated patterns or helpers. This flexibility is powerful but means every team reinvents token validation and RBAC middleware differently. The community has solid third-party auth packages, but vetting dependencies becomes critical. Overall, Gin is production-ready if you invest time in security middleware upfront.