Learning Fiber - Pre-Requisites Skill & Setup Environment

#Introduction

Welcome to the Learning Fiber series! This series will take you to mastery of Fiber — Go's fast, flexible web framework inspired by Express.js, built on fasthttp rather than net/http. There are 23 episodes in total, arranged into six phases, from concept foundations all the way to production readiness.

But before you write a single route, there are a few core skills and pieces of software you must have. Why do these prerequisites matter? Because Fiber is built on top of fasthttp, the way requests are processed differs from frameworks based on net/http — a wrong mental model here will leave you lost in episodes 2 and 12.

Episode 0 is your roadmap: make sure you have the core skills, set up the Go toolchain, install Fiber v3, and perform the first verification. Once this episode is done, the entire series can be followed comfortably.

#Core Skills You Must Master

#The Go Language and Its Core Concepts

Fiber is a Go framework, so you must be comfortable with the latest stable version of Go. For Fiber v3, you need Go 1.25 or newer. Make sure these concepts are not new to you: go.mod and the module system, structs and struct tags, interfaces, goroutines, error handling, and net/http plus fasthttp as the protocol foundations.

go version

The output should show go1.25 or newer. If not, download it from go.dev and add it to PATH.

You also need to master HTTP concepts:

• Method: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS, and HEAD.
• Status codes: 2xx success, 4xx client error, 5xx server error.
• Headers and body: how a request carries metadata and payload.
• REST API: resource patterns, URLs, and CRUD operations.

#Database and Git Basics

• PostgreSQL and Redis: enough to follow episodes 9 and 19 without getting lost.
• Git: commit habits, branching, and conventional commits for episode 21.

You don't need to master all of it in depth. Just understand the general flow — the details of each topic will be explained in its own episode.

#Software You Need to Prepare

#Go Toolchain and Editor

Install the Go toolchain version 1.25 or newer plus an editor with a Go extension — VS Code with the official Go extension is the most comfortable choice. To test endpoints, have curl or an API client like Bruno or Postman ready.

curl --version

#Setting Up the Project and Installing Fiber v3

Start with a project directory and a Go module:

mkdir fiber-service
cd fiber-service
go mod init github.com/username/fiber-service

The go mod init command creates the go.mod file that identifies your module. Once the module exists, install Fiber version 3 — the latest major line built on fasthttp:

go get github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3@latest

Now verify the installed version:

go list -m github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3

The output shows github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 v3.4.0 or the latest stable version. go list -m github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3 is always the source of truth for the version actually used in go.sum.

#Local Database and API Client

For episodes 9 and 19, prepare local PostgreSQL and Redis instances. The easiest way is Docker:

docker run --name fiber-pg -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret -p 5432:5432 -d postgres:17

docker run --name fiber-pg -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret -p 5432:5432 -d postgres:17 pulls the PostgreSQL image and runs the container on port 5432. This database is only truly needed starting from episode 9, so you can prepare it later.

#Verify the Environment

Before moving on to episode 1, make sure everything is installed correctly:

go version
curl --version
go list -m github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3

If all three commands run without errors, your environment is ready. Final step: make sure the module can be built.

go build ./...

go build ./... ensures all dependencies are documented in go.sum and no module is broken. If there are no errors, the whole series can begin.

#Summary of Skills You Must Master

Here is a recap of the prerequisites you prepared in episode 0:

• Go 1.25+ with an understanding of structs, interfaces, goroutines, and modules.
• HTTP and REST concepts: methods, status codes, headers, and body.
• PostgreSQL and Redis basics plus Git habits.
• Fiber v3 installed and verified via go list -m.
• API client (curl, Bruno, or Postman) and an editor with a Go extension.

If any of these are missing, stop and fill the gap before moving on. A strong foundation will make the next 22 episodes feel much lighter.

#Closing

Key takeaways:

• Fiber is built on fasthttp, not net/http — understand the difference from the start.
• You must be comfortable with Go 1.25+ and HTTP/REST concepts.
• Install Fiber via go get github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3@latest.
• Always verify the version with go list -m.
• An API client and Go editor make the whole series easier.
• PostgreSQL and Redis are optional for now — you'll need them in episodes 9 and 19.

In the next episode, episode 1, we will discuss history, background, and why you need Fiber — from its birth in 2019 inspired by Express.js, the evolution from v1 to v2 and then v3, to the routing, middleware, and performance problems it solves. Make sure your environment is ready, because your Learning Fiber journey has only just begun!