Litecart

Litecart is a self‑hosted, single‑file e‑commerce engine that bundles a lightweight web server, an embedded SQLite database, and a responsive administration UI into one executable. From a developer’s standpoint, its minimal footprint is a deliberate design choice: the entire application can run on any platform that supports Go, without requiring external services or complex deployment pipelines. The core logic is written in Go, leveraging the standard library for HTTP handling, templating, and database access. The embedded SQLite engine eliminates the need for a separate DBMS, simplifying persistence while still offering ACID guarantees and SQL support.

• Language & Runtime: Go 1.20+; compiled binaries are statically linked, ensuring zero runtime dependencies.
• Web Framework: The application uses the standard net/http package, with custom routing and middleware layers for authentication, CSRF protection, and request logging.
• Template Engine: Go’s html/template renders both the public storefront and the admin dashboard, with a clear separation of concerns via layout files.
• Database: SQLite 3 is accessed through database/sql with the github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 driver. All schema definitions are embedded in the binary, and migrations are handled automatically on startup.
• Static Assets: CSS, JavaScript, and image assets are bundled using Go’s embed package, enabling a single‑file distribution.

Litecart exposes several programmatic hooks for developers:

• REST‑like endpoints for products, orders, customers, and coupons, each returning JSON for easy integration with external services.
• Webhooks that trigger on order creation, payment confirmation, and inventory updates, allowing real‑time synchronization with CRM or ERP systems.
• Plugin API: Developers can write Go plugins that register new routes, middleware, or modify the admin UI. The plugin system is documented in the docs/plugins.md file and supports hot‑reloading during development.
• Batch Operations: Bulk import/export of products via CSV or JSON, useful for migrations from legacy systems.

Because Litecart is a single binary with an embedded database, deployment can be as simple as copying the file to any Unix or Windows host. It is fully container‑ready; a minimal Dockerfile uses the scratch image to run the binary, keeping runtime size under 20 MB. For production, developers can place Litecart behind a reverse proxy (NGINX or Caddy) to handle HTTPS termination, load balancing, and HTTP/2. Scaling horizontally is straightforward: each instance can point to its own SQLite file or use a shared network filesystem for stateful workloads, though this is not recommended for high‑concurrency scenarios.

The built‑in payment integration layer supports popular gateways (PayPal, Stripe, Mollie) via a pluggable adapter pattern. Custom payment processors can be added by implementing the PaymentProvider interface and registering it in the bootstrap code. Similarly, shipping providers are extensible through a ShippingProvider interface. For developers wanting to expose Litecart as an API, the existing endpoints can be consumed directly; for more advanced use cases, a GraphQL wrapper is available in the graphql/ package.

Litecart’s source tree follows idiomatic Go conventions, making it approachable for Go developers. The documentation is split into concise sections: docs/architecture.md, docs/api.md, and docs/plugin-dev.md. Community support is active on GitHub Discussions, with frequent issue triage and a clear roadmap. The MIT license removes any licensing friction, encouraging commercial use without cost.

• Rapid MVPs: Start an online store in minutes for product validation or crowdfunding campaigns.
• Digital Goods Marketplace: Sell software licenses, e‑books, or media files with built‑in license key generation.
• Embedded Commerce: Integrate Litecart into larger Go applications (e.g., a CMS) via its plugin API.
• Low‑Resource Hosting: Deploy on Raspberry Pi, VPS, or edge devices where traditional e‑commerce stacks would be overkill.

Litecart’s primary selling points for developers are its simplicity, performance, and flexibility. By eliminating heavyweight dependencies, the application achieves sub‑second response times even under modest hardware. The Go ecosystem ensures high concurrency and efficient memory usage, while the embedded SQLite database keeps storage requirements minimal. The open‑source nature and permissive license allow commercial deployment without royalties, making Litecart an attractive alternative to larger platforms like Magento or Shopify when the focus is on speed of delivery and control over the stack.