Optimizing Route Registration for a Big Project: Modular Monolith with go-chi & Clean Architecture

[nerdxio]

Hey everyone,

I'm building a backend API using go-chi and aiming to follow clean architecture principles while maintaining a modular monolith structure. My application includes many different endpoints (like product, category, payment, shipping, etc.), and I'm looking for the best way to register routes in a clean and maintainable manner. and to handle the dependency management and passing it to the down steam components

Currently, I'm using a pattern where the route registration function is part of the handler itself. For example, in my user module, I have a function inside the handlers package that initializes dependencies and registers the route:

import (
     "github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
     "github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
     "net/http"
     "yadwy-backend/internal/common"
     "yadwy-backend/internal/users/application"
     "yadwy-backend/internal/users/db"
)

type UserHandler struct {
     service *application.UserService
}

func (h *UserHandler) RegisterUser(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
     // User registration logic
}

func LoadUserRoutes(b *sqlx.DB, r chi.Router) {
     userRepo := db.NewUserRepo(b)
     userSvc := application.NewUserService(userRepo)
     userHandler := NewUserHandler(userSvc)

    r.Post("/", userHandler.RegisterUser)
}

In this setup, each module manages its own dependencies and route registration, which keeps the codebase modular and aligns with clean architecture principles.

For context, my project structure is organized like this:

├── internal
│   ├── app
│   ├── category
│   ├── common
│   ├── config
│   ├── database
│   ├── prodcuts
│   ├── users
│   ├── shipping
│   └── payment

My Questions for the Community:

• Is this pattern effective for managing a large number of routes while keeping the application modular and adhering to clean architecture?
• Do you have any suggestions or best practices for organizing routes in a modular monolith?
• Are there better or more efficient patterns for route registration that you’ve used in production?

I’d really appreciate your insights, alternative strategies, or improvements based on your experiences. Thanks in advance for your help