# Kemal

> Fast, Super Simple web framework for Crystal.
> Kemal is a fast, effective, simple web framework written in Crystal.

## Docs

- [Full Docs](https://kemalcr.com/llms-full.txt): Complete documentation of Kemal (includes all features and examples)

## Main Links

- [Official Website](https://kemalcr.com)
- [Documentation](https://kemalcr.com/guide)
- [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/kemalcr/kemal)
- [Blog](https://kemalcr.com/blog)
- [Community](https://kemalcr.com/community)

## Quick Start

```crystal
require "kemal"

get "/" do
  "Hello World!"
end

Kemal.run
```

## Key Features

- **High-performance by default**: Built on Crystal with a thin abstraction layer so you can serve a large number of requests with low latency and low memory footprint.
- **Full REST & HTTP support**: Handle all HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, etc.) with a straightforward routing DSL.
- **WebSocket & real-time**: First-class WebSocket support for building chats, dashboards and other real-time experiences.
- **JSON-first APIs**: Native JSON handling makes building JSON APIs and microservices feel natural.
- **Static assets made easy**: Serve static files (assets, uploads, SPA bundles) efficiently from the same application.
- **Template engine included**: Built-in ECR template engine for server‑rendered HTML when you need it.
- **Composable middleware**: Flexible middleware system to add logging, auth, rate limiting, metrics and more.
- **Ergonomic request/response API**: Simple access to params, headers, cookies and bodies via a clear context object.
- **Session management**: Easy session handling with kemal-session, suitable for production apps.
- **Production Ready** - Battle-tested and used in production by many companies

## Core Concepts

- [Routes](https://kemalcr.com/guide#routes) - HTTP method routing (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH)
- [Parameters](https://kemalcr.com/guide#http-parameters) - URL, query, and post parameters
- [Context](https://kemalcr.com/guide#context) - Request/response context and storage
- [Filters](https://kemalcr.com/guide#filters) - Before/after request filters
- [Middleware](https://kemalcr.com/guide#middleware) - Custom middleware creation
- [Caching](https://kemalcr.com/guide#caching) - HTTP response caching with kemal-cache
- [WebSockets](https://kemalcr.com/guide#websockets) - Real-time communication
- [Templates](https://kemalcr.com/guide#views-templates) - ECR template rendering
- [Sessions](https://kemalcr.com/guide#sessions) - Session management
- [Testing](https://kemalcr.com/guide#testing) - Testing with spec-kemal
- [Deployment](https://kemalcr.com/guide#deployment) - Production deployment guide

## Cookbook

Common examples:

- [Hello World](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/hello_world)
- [JSON API](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/json_api)
- [File Upload](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/file_upload)
- [WebSocket Chat](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/websocket_chat)
- [Sessions](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/session)
- [Cookies](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/cookies)
- [CORS](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/cors)
- [HTTP Basic Auth](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/http_basic_auth)
- [Database (PostgreSQL)](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/postgresql-db)
- [Database (MySQL)](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/mysql-db)
- [Redis](https://kemalcr.com/cookbook/redis)

## Installation

Add to your `shard.yml`:

```yaml
dependencies:
  kemal:
    github: kemalcr/kemal
```

Then run:

```bash
shards install
```

## Community & Support

- [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/kemalcr/kemal/issues)
- [Crystal Community](https://crystal-lang.org/community)
- [Discord](https://discord.gg/prSVAZJEpz)

## Companies Using Kemal

See [companies using Kemal](https://kemalcr.com/companies_using_kemal) for a list of organizations using Kemal in production.