FAQ¶
Do I need to know Rust to use Golit?¶
No. The Rust kernel ships precompiled in the wheel. You only need a Rust toolchain to build Golit from source — see Contributing.
Is this just Streamlit with extra steps?¶
No — the execution model is fundamentally different. Streamlit re-runs your whole script per interaction; Golit recomputes only the dirty subgraph and memoizes within it. The API feels similarly simple, but the cost model is "proportional to the change". See the comparison.
How are dependencies between nodes declared?¶
You don't declare them — they're inferred from function parameters. A parameter named after another node is an edge; a parameter defaulting to a widget is an input. See The reactive graph.
Can a view return a pandas DataFrame / Matplotlib figure / my own object?¶
Yes. Golit's renderer handles Polars frames, pandas (_repr_html_), Matplotlib (savefig), anything with to_svg(), and your own types via the __golit_render__ protocol. Full resolution order here.
Do I have to use Lets-Plot for charts?¶
No. Lets-Plot (static SVG) is the batteries-included default, but you can return Plotly/Altair/Bokeh figures (auto-detected, interactive), use anychart, or return any object that exports SVG/PNG/HTML. See Charts.
Is there a client-side JavaScript framework?¶
No React, no client diffing framework. The wire format is pre-rendered HTML/SVG fragments swapped by HTMX. A small Alpine.js "local shield" handles instantaneous UI feel (slider drag, tabs); interactive charts lazy-load their own CDN runtime only when present.
How do I push an update without a user interaction?¶
Publish an Invalidation to the pub/sub channel; it's recomputed and pushed over SSE. Streaming sources, background jobs, and shared nodes use this. See Server-push updates.
Does Golit support WebSockets? Can I build a chat?¶
Yes. SSE handles reactive push (server→client); for bidirectional features Golit has a WebSocket channel and a ui.chat component — room broadcast by default, plus an @app.on_message hook for bots/assistants/moderation. It still speaks server-rendered fragments (HTMX ws extension), no client framework. See WebSocket chat.
Why Litestar instead of FastAPI?¶
For first-class dependency injection (per-session registry scoping) and lifecycle hooks (SSE + Redis bind to startup/shutdown), with low base overhead. The reactive engine is framework-agnostic — Litestar is the host, not the moat. More here.
Can I run multiple workers?¶
Yes, but not with uvicorn --workers — session state is worker-local, and that flag gives no session affinity. The production topology is N single-worker instances behind a sticky (cookie-hash) load balancer + Redis for fan-out. See Deployment & scaling.
Does session state persist across restarts?¶
No, by design. A worker restart drops its sessions; clients re-render from defaults on the next request. Keep @app.source functions cheap and idempotent. See Sessions & state.
What Python versions are supported?¶
Python 3.11+.