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Go DTO Validator/v10Go Validator v10 — Complete Production Guide

Go Validator v10 — Complete Production Guide

What is validator/v10? A Go struct and field validation library that validates DTOs before they reach your database layer.

Prerequisites

Before starting with this guide, you should have:

Required Knowledge

  • ✅ Go Basics: Variables, functions, structs, interfaces, pointers
  • ✅ Go Modules: Understanding go mod init, go get
  • ✅ Struct Tags: Basic understanding of Go struct tags
  • ✅ HTTP APIs: Understanding of DTOs (Data Transfer Objects)
  • ✅ Command Line: Comfortable running terminal commands

Required Software

Check Your Setup

# Verify Go installation
go version  # Should show 1.21 or higher

📚 Guide Structure

Part 1: Hands-On Learning

Start here! Follow step-by-step examples from setup to production integration.

  • Setup & Basics: Project setup, first validation, tags, and production structure
  • Core Validations: Nullable fields, strings, numbers, booleans, and arrays
  • Advanced Validations: Dates, files, custom rules, enums, conditional, and cross-field
  • Integration: Error handling, HTTP API, and ENT integration

Part 2: Complete Reference

Quick lookup for all validation rules with examples.

  • Validation Reference: Comprehensive tables of all available validation rules

Part 3: Production Guide

Production checklist and best practices.

  • Production Checklist: Architecture, best practices, security, and performance

🚀 Getting Started

New to validator/v10? Start with Setup & Basics and follow the hands-on examples in order.

Need a specific validation? Jump to the Validation Reference for quick lookups.

Ready for production? Review the Production Checklist for best practices.

What You’ll Learn

✅ Complete documentation covering all validation categories
✅ 18 incremental steps with hands-on examples
✅ Production structure with singleton pattern
✅ Custom validation rules for business logic
✅ User-friendly error handling
✅ Integration patterns for HTTP and ENT
✅ Complete reference guide with all rules

Where Does Validator Fit?

HTTP Request → Parse JSON → DTO → VALIDATE (validator) → Business Logic → Database (ENT)

Validator sits between your HTTP layer and business logic, ensuring data is valid before it reaches your database.

Additional Resources

Database Seeding GuideSetup & Basics