Bun: SQL-first Golang ORM

Lightweight, SQL-first Golang ORM for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, SQLite, and Oracle

Bun is a modern ORM that embraces SQL rather than hiding it. Write complex queries in Go with type safety, powerful scanning capabilities, and database-agnostic code that works across multiple SQL databases.

✨ Key Features

• SQL-first approach - Write elegant, readable queries that feel like SQL
• Multi-database support - PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, MSSQL, SQLite, and Oracle
• Type-safe operations - Leverage Go's static typing for compile-time safety
• Flexible scanning - Query results into structs, maps, scalars, or slices
• Performance optimized - Built on database/sql with minimal overhead
• Rich relationships - Define complex table relationships with struct tags
• Production ready - Migrations, fixtures, soft deletes, and OpenTelemetry support

🚀 Quick Start

go get github.com/uptrace/bun

Basic Example

package main

import (
    "context"
    "database/sql"
    "fmt"

    "github.com/uptrace/bun"
    "github.com/uptrace/bun/dialect/sqlitedialect"
    "github.com/uptrace/bun/driver/sqliteshim"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Open database
    sqldb, err := sql.Open(sqliteshim.ShimName, "file::memory:")
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    // Create Bun instance
    db := bun.NewDB(sqldb, sqlitedialect.New())

    // Define model
    type User struct {
        ID   int64  `bun:",pk,autoincrement"`
        Name string `bun:",notnull"`
    }

    // Create table
    db.NewCreateTable().Model((*User)(nil)).Exec(ctx)

    // Insert user
    user := &User{Name: "John Doe"}
    db.NewInsert().Model(user).Exec(ctx)

    // Query user
    err = db.NewSelect().Model(user).Where("id = ?", user.ID).Scan(ctx)
    fmt.Printf("User: %+v\n", user)
}

🎯 Why Choose Bun?

Elegant Complex Queries

Write sophisticated queries that remain readable and maintainable:

regionalSales := db.NewSelect().
    ColumnExpr("region").
    ColumnExpr("SUM(amount) AS total_sales").
    TableExpr("orders").
    GroupExpr("region")

topRegions := db.NewSelect().
    ColumnExpr("region").
    TableExpr("regional_sales").
    Where("total_sales > (SELECT SUM(total_sales) / 10 FROM regional_sales)")

var results []struct {
    Region       string `bun:"region"`
    Product      string `bun:"product"`
    ProductUnits int    `bun:"product_units"`
    ProductSales int    `bun:"product_sales"`
}

err := db.NewSelect().
    With("regional_sales", regionalSales).
    With("top_regions", topRegions).
    ColumnExpr("region, product").
    ColumnExpr("SUM(quantity) AS product_units").
    ColumnExpr("SUM(amount) AS product_sales").
    TableExpr("orders").
    Where("region IN (SELECT region FROM top_regions)").
    GroupExpr("region, product").
    Scan(ctx, &results)

Flexible Result Scanning

Scan query results into various Go types:

// Into structs
var users []User
db.NewSelect().Model(&users).Scan(ctx)

// Into maps
var userMaps []map[string]interface{}
db.NewSelect().Table("users").Scan(ctx, &userMaps)

// Into scalars
var count int
db.NewSelect().Table("users").ColumnExpr("COUNT(*)").Scan(ctx, &count)

// Into individual variables
var id int64
var name string
db.NewSelect().Table("users").Column("id", "name").Limit(1).Scan(ctx, &id, &name)

📊 Database Support

🔧 Advanced Features

Table Relationships

Define complex relationships with struct tags:

type User struct {
    ID      int64   `bun:",pk,autoincrement"`
    Name    string  `bun:",notnull"`
    Posts   []Post  `bun:"rel:has-many,join:id=user_id"`
    Profile Profile `bun:"rel:has-one,join:id=user_id"`
}

type Post struct {
    ID     int64 `bun:",pk,autoincrement"`
    Title  string
    UserID int64
    User   *User `bun:"rel:belongs-to,join:user_id=id"`
}

// Load users with their posts
var users []User
err := db.NewSelect().
    Model(&users).
    Relation("Posts").
    Scan(ctx)

Bulk Operations

Efficient bulk operations for large datasets:

// Bulk insert
users := []User{{Name: "John"}, {Name: "Jane"}, {Name: "Bob"}}
_, err := db.NewInsert().Model(&users).Exec(ctx)

// Bulk update with CTE
_, err = db.NewUpdate().
    Model(&users).
    Set("updated_at = NOW()").
    Where("active = ?", true).
    Exec(ctx)

// Bulk delete
_, err = db.NewDelete().
    Model((*User)(nil)).
    Where("created_at < ?", time.Now().AddDate(-1, 0, 0)).
    Exec(ctx)

Migrations

Version your database schema:

import "github.com/uptrace/bun/migrate"

migrations := migrate.NewMigrations()

migrations.MustRegister(func(ctx context.Context, db *bun.DB) error {
    _, err := db.NewCreateTable().Model((*User)(nil)).Exec(ctx)
    return err
}, func(ctx context.Context, db *bun.DB) error {
    _, err := db.NewDropTable().Model((*User)(nil)).Exec(ctx)
    return err
})

migrator := migrate.NewMigrator(db, migrations)
err := migrator.Init(ctx)
err = migrator.Up(ctx)

📈 Monitoring & Observability

Debug Queries

Enable query logging for development:

import "github.com/uptrace/bun/extra/bundebug"

db.AddQueryHook(bundebug.NewQueryHook(
    bundebug.WithVerbose(true),
))

OpenTelemetry Integration

Production-ready observability with distributed tracing:

import "github.com/uptrace/bun/extra/bunotel"

db.AddQueryHook(bunotel.NewQueryHook(
    bunotel.WithDBName("myapp"),
))

Monitoring made easy: Bun is brought to you by ⭐ uptrace/uptrace. Uptrace is an open-source APM tool that supports distributed tracing, metrics, and logs. You can use it to monitor applications and set up automatic alerts to receive notifications via email, Slack, Telegram, and others.

See OpenTelemetry example which demonstrates how you can use Uptrace to monitor Bun.

📚 Documentation & Resources

• Getting Started Guide - Comprehensive tutorial
• API Reference - Complete package documentation
• Examples - Working code samples
• Starter Kit - Production-ready template
• Community Discussions - Get help and share ideas

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details on how to get started.

Thanks to all our contributors:

🔗 Related Projects

• Golang HTTP router - Fast and flexible HTTP router
• Golang msgpack - High-performance MessagePack serialization

Star ⭐ this repo if you find Bun useful!

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