/cmd/micro/README.md

Micro

Go Micro Command Line

Install the CLI

Install micro via go install

go install go-micro.dev/v5/cmd/micro@v5.10.0

Create a service

Create your service (all setup is now automatic!):

micro new helloworld

This will:

• Create a new service in the helloworld directory
• Automatically run go mod tidy and make proto for you
• Show the updated project tree including generated files
• Warn you if protoc is not installed, with install instructions

Run the service

Run your service:

micro run

This starts:

• API Gateway on http://localhost:8080
• Web Dashboard at http://localhost:8080
• Hot Reload watching for file changes
• Services in dependency order

Open http://localhost:8080 to see your services and call them from the browser.

Output

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                                                             │
  │   Micro                                                     │
  │                                                             │
  │   Web:     http://localhost:8080                            │
  │   API:     http://localhost:8080/api/{service}/{method}     │
  │   Health:  http://localhost:8080/health                     │
  │                                                             │
  │   Services:                                                 │
  │     ● helloworld                                            │
  │                                                             │
  │   Watching for changes...                                   │
  │                                                             │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Options

micro run                    # Gateway on :8080, hot reload enabled
micro run --address :3000    # Gateway on custom port
micro run --no-gateway       # Services only, no HTTP gateway
micro run --no-watch         # Disable hot reload
micro run --env production   # Use production environment
micro run github.com/micro/blog  # Clone and run from GitHub

Calling Services

Via curl:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/helloworld/Helloworld.Call -d '{"name": "World"}'

Or browse to http://localhost:8080 and use the web interface.

List services:

micro services

Configuration (micro.mu)

For multi-service projects, create a micro.mu file to define services, dependencies, and environments:

service users
    path ./users
    port 8081

service posts
    path ./posts
    port 8082
    depends users

service web
    path ./web
    port 8089
    depends users posts

env development
    STORE_ADDRESS file://./data
    DEBUG true

env production
    STORE_ADDRESS postgres://localhost/db

Configuration Options

Property	Description
path	Directory containing the service (with main.go)
port	Port the service listens on (for health checks)
depends	Services that must start first (space-separated)

Environment Management

Environment variables are injected based on the --env flag:

micro run                    # Uses 'development' env (default)
micro run --env production   # Uses 'production' env
MICRO_ENV=staging micro run  # Uses 'staging' env

JSON Alternative

You can also use micro.json if you prefer:

{
  "services": {
    "users": { "path": "./users", "port": 8081 },
    "posts": { "path": "./posts", "port": 8082, "depends": ["users"] }
  },
  "env": {
    "development": { "STORE_ADDRESS": "file://./data" }
  }
}

Without Configuration

If no micro.mu or micro.json exists, micro run discovers all main.go files and runs them (original behavior).

Describe the service

Describe the service to see available endpoints

micro describe helloworld

Output

{
    "name": "helloworld",
    "version": "latest",
    "metadata": null,
    "endpoints": [
        {
            "request": {
                "name": "Request",
                "type": "Request",
                "values": [
                    {
                        "name": "name",
                        "type": "string",
                        "values": null
                    }
                ]
            },
            "response": {
                "name": "Response",
                "type": "Response",
                "values": [
                    {
                        "name": "msg",
                        "type": "string",
                        "values": null
                    }
                ]
            },
            "metadata": {},
            "name": "Helloworld.Call"
        },
        {
            "request": {
                "name": "Context",
                "type": "Context",
                "values": null
            },
            "response": {
                "name": "Stream",
                "type": "Stream",
                "values": null
            },
            "metadata": {
                "stream": "true"
            },
            "name": "Helloworld.Stream"
        }
    ],
    "nodes": [
        {
            "metadata": {
                "broker": "http",
                "protocol": "mucp",
                "registry": "mdns",
                "server": "mucp",
                "transport": "http"
            },
            "id": "helloworld-31e55be7-ac83-4810-89c8-a6192fb3ae83",
            "address": "127.0.0.1:39963"
        }
    ]
}

Call the service

Call via RPC endpoint

micro call helloworld Helloworld.Call '{"name": "Asim"}'

Create a client

Create a client to call the service

package main

import (
        "context"
        "fmt"

        "go-micro.dev/v5"
)

type Request struct {
        Name string
}

type Response struct {
        Message string
}

func main() {
        client := micro.New("helloworld").Client()

        req := client.NewRequest("helloworld", "Helloworld.Call", &Request{Name: "John"})

        var rsp Response

        err := client.Call(context.TODO(), req, &rsp)
        if err != nil {
                fmt.Println(err)
                return
        }

        fmt.Println(rsp.Message)
}

Building and Deployment

Build Binaries

Build Go binaries for deployment:

micro build                     # Build for current OS
micro build --os linux          # Cross-compile for Linux
micro build --os linux --arch arm64  # For ARM64
micro build --output ./dist     # Custom output directory

Deploy to Server

Deploy to any Linux server with systemd:

# First time: set up the server
ssh user@server
curl -fsSL https://go-micro.dev/install.sh | sh
sudo micro init --server
exit

# Deploy from your laptop
micro deploy user@server

The deploy command:

1. Builds binaries for linux/amd64
2. Copies via SSH to /opt/micro/bin/
3. Sets up systemd services (micro@<service>)
4. Restarts and verifies services are running

Named Deploy Targets

Add deploy targets to micro.mu:

deploy prod
    ssh deploy@prod.example.com

deploy staging
    ssh deploy@staging.example.com

Then:

micro deploy prod      # Deploy to production
micro deploy staging   # Deploy to staging

Managing Deployed Services

# Check status
micro status --remote user@server

# View logs
micro logs --remote user@server
micro logs myservice --remote user@server -f

# Stop a service
micro stop myservice --remote user@server

See docs/deployment.md for the full deployment guide.

Protobuf

Use protobuf for code generation with protoc-gen-micro

Server

The micro server is an api and web dashboard that provide a fixed entrypoint for seeing and querying services.

Run it like so

micro server

Then browse to localhost:8080

API Endpoints

The API provides a fixed HTTP entrypoint for calling services

curl http://localhost:8080/api/helloworld/Helloworld/Call -d '{"name": "John"}'

See /api for more details and documentation for each service

Web Dashboard

The web dashboard provides a modern, secure UI for managing and exploring your Micro services. Major features include:

• Dynamic Service & Endpoint Forms: Browse all registered services and endpoints. For each endpoint, a dynamic form is generated for easy testing and exploration.
• API Documentation: The /api page lists all available services and endpoints, with request/response schemas and a sidebar for quick navigation. A documentation banner explains authentication requirements.
• JWT Authentication: All login and token management uses a custom JWT utility. Passwords are securely stored with bcrypt. All /api/x endpoints and authenticated pages require an Authorization: Bearer <token> header (or micro_token cookie as fallback).
• Token Management: The /auth/tokens page allows you to generate, view (obfuscated), and copy JWT tokens. Tokens are stored and can be revoked. When a user is deleted, all their tokens are revoked immediately.
• User Management: The /auth/users page allows you to create, list, and delete users. Passwords are never shown or stored in plaintext.
• Token Revocation: JWT tokens are stored and checked for revocation on every request. Revoked or deleted tokens are immediately invalidated.
• Security: All protected endpoints use consistent authentication logic. Unauthorized or revoked tokens receive a 401 error. All sensitive actions require authentication.
• Logs & Status: View service logs and status (PID, uptime, etc) directly from the dashboard.

To get started, run:

micro server

Then browse to localhost:8080 and log in with the default admin account (admin/micro).

Note: See the /api page for details on API authentication and how to generate tokens for use with the HTTP API