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wtf is rice-example?

boyvinall/rice-example — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2016-09-04

GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

A demo of go.rice, a tool that bundles web files (HTML, CSS, JS) directly into a Go binary so you can ship one self-contained executable.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Embeds web assets in binary
      Compresses files automatically
      Single executable output
    Tech stack
      Go
      go.rice tool
    Use cases
      Web tool distribution
      API server dashboards
      Static file serving
    Audience
      Go developers
      Small tool builders
    Key features
      Selective directory scanning
      Append workflow
      Unzip extraction

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Package a Go web dashboard's HTML/CSS/JS into one shippable binary.

REASON 2

Build a small API server that serves a static frontend without a separate assets folder.

REASON 3

Distribute a binary first, then let users append their own HTML/CSS files later.

REASON 4

Extract embedded web files back out of a binary using standard unzip tools.

What's in the stack?

Gogo.rice

How it stacks up

boyvinall/rice-example42wim/fabio42wim/go-xmpp
LanguageGoGoGo
Last pushed2016-09-042018-02-042020-01-24
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity2/53/53/5
Audiencedeveloperops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires installing the go.rice tool and running its build step before compiling.

No license information is mentioned in the explanation.

Wtf does this do

This is a working example that shows how to bundle web files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) directly into a Go program so you can distribute everything as a single executable file instead of juggling separate folders. Normally when you build a web application, you end up with a binary file and then a separate folder of assets, your CSS stylesheets, JavaScript files, images, and HTML templates. This example demonstrates a tool called go.rice that solves this problem. It lets you embed those web files into the binary itself, so a user only needs to download and run one file. The files get compressed automatically, so the binary doesn't balloon in size. What makes this approach clever is its flexibility. The tool can scan your binary and only include the directories you actually reference in your code, keeping things lean. There's also an "append" workflow where you distribute the binary first, and then users can add their own HTML and CSS files later, the tool appends them to the existing binary without rebuilding from scratch. Plus, if you ever need to extract the files out of a binary later, you can use standard unzip utilities to get them back. The example is minimal by design, it's meant to show developers how to wire this up in their own Go projects. If you're building a small web tool, API server with a web dashboard, or any Go application that needs to serve static files, this pattern eliminates the operational headache of managing assets separately. You'd follow the setup steps in the README (install dependencies, run the build), and then you'd have a self-contained executable ready to ship.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to use go.rice to embed my HTML, CSS, and JS files into a Go binary.
Prompt 2
Help me set up the go.rice append workflow so users can add their own assets after I ship the binary.
Prompt 3
Write a minimal Go web server that serves static files bundled via go.rice.
Prompt 4
Explain how go.rice decides which directories to include when scanning my code.
Prompt 5
How do I extract the embedded files back out of a go.rice binary using unzip?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is rice-example?

A demo of go.rice, a tool that bundles web files (HTML, CSS, JS) directly into a Go binary so you can ship one self-contained executable.

What language is rice-example written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, go.rice.

Is rice-example actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2016-09-04).

What license does rice-example use?

No license information is mentioned in the explanation.

How hard is rice-example to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is rice-example for?

Mainly developer.

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