Coil

Coil is a highly opinionated Rust web framework for teams that want to ship real products, not assemble a web stack from spare parts.

It leads with ecommerce because that is where the architecture is most demanding:

• content and merchandising need to move fast
• checkout, payments, auth, and customer data need to be safe
• operations need to stay boring under load
• product teams still need room for customer-specific behaviour

But Coil is not ecommerce-only. The same platform shape also powers non-commerce products like the checked-in Gitly demo. The point is not "Rust for storefronts only." The point is "Rust for serious web applications, with batteries included and strong opinions about where complexity belongs."

Why Developers Reach For Coil

• HTML-first by default, with progressive enhancement layered on instead of forcing a SPA-first architecture.
• Multi-site, multi-locale, and market-aware routing built into the product model instead of bolted on later.
• First-party Rust extension model for customer-owned business logic, plus WASM for bounded third-party extensions.
• Official batteries for CMS, commerce, memberships, events, admin, media, auth, jobs, and ops.
• A deployable customer-app story, not just a library crate story.
• A path from local Docker dev to production operations that stays coherent.

What You Get

• A customer-root Rust app model instead of a framework that stops at HTTP handlers.
• HTML-first rendering with progressive enhancement layered on where it adds value.
• Multi-site, multi-locale, and market-aware product boundaries without forcing a headless architecture.
• Built-in batteries for CMS, commerce, events, memberships, media, admin, jobs, auth, and ops.
• A first-party path for customer-owned Rust business logic and a separate WASM path for bounded third-party extensions.

What Is In This Repo

• crates/ Coil core crates and official modules.
• apps/shoppr/ The reference multi-market ecommerce starter.
• apps/gitly/ A non-commerce demo showing the platform can also power developer products and content-heavy web apps.
• docs/design/ Architecture records and internal design chapters.
• website/ The public Docusaurus documentation site.

Start In Minutes

The fastest way to understand Coil is to run the product, not just read about it.

1. Run Shoppr

cd apps/shoppr
cp .env.example .env
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.repo.yml up --build

Then open:

• http://uk.localhost:8080/
• http://fr.localhost:8080/
• http://pl.localhost:8080/
• http://localhost:8080/__dev

2. Read The Public Docs

cd website
npm install
npm run start

That gives you:

• getting started docs for Rust web developers
• Shoppr-led ecommerce walkthroughs
• Gitly-led general web app walkthroughs
• operations and deployment guidance
• architecture chapters surfaced as a separate subsite

Why The Demos Matter

Coil is easier to understand through believable products than through isolated crates.

• Shoppr shows the ecommerce path: markets, locales, merchandising, checkout, admin, and operations.
• Gitly shows the same runtime can power a product that is clearly not a store.

If a developer opens this repo and sees only abstractions, the framework loses the argument. The demos exist to prove the product shape.

The Product Shape

Coil is intentionally split into clear layers:

• Coil core: runtime, routing, storage, cache, auth execution, jobs, observability, TLS, rendering.
• Official modules: CMS, commerce, memberships, events, admin, media, ops, and other reusable batteries.
• Customer apps: branding, templates, configuration, auth mappings, Rust business logic, and optional WASM extensions.

The demos are not toy frontends taped onto a crate. They are meant to be believable starting points for real customer work.

What Makes Coil Different

Most Rust web stacks stop at "we gave you an HTTP framework."

Coil is trying to solve a different problem:

• how a team ships a whole web product in Rust
• how that product stays customizable without collapsing into a plugin free-for-all
• how HTML-first rendering, accessibility, and interactivity can coexist cleanly
• how to move from local development to production without inventing a new platform on the side

That is why the repo includes both architecture chapters and end-to-end demos.

Learn The Framework Through Real Apps

Shoppr

Shoppr is the ecommerce reference:

• multi-site
• multi-locale
• catalog and merchandising
• account flows
• checkout and payments
• customer-linked Rust backend logic
• third-party WASM integration boundary

Gitly

Gitly is the versatility demo:

• repository and org-style information architecture
• theme and locale switching
• mock API surfaces
• scheduled-task-driven UX
• a product shape that is clearly not commerce, on the same platform

Documentation Map

• Public docs site: website/
• Architecture and ADRs: docs/design/
• Shoppr walkthroughs: website/docs/use-cases/shoppr/
• Gitly walkthroughs: website/docs/use-cases/gitly/
• Operations and deployment: website/docs/operations/
• Reference and composition docs: website/docs/reference/

Public Launch Surfaces

This repo now includes the standard OSS surfaces teams expect before they try a project:

• public docs site
• contribution guide
• code of conduct
• security policy
• issue templates
• pull request template
• GitHub Actions for CI, docs publishing, and release automation
• support, security, and contribution policies

Contributing

If you want to help shape Coil:

• open issues with concrete product or platform gaps
• send PRs with tests and documentation
• challenge weak assumptions in the architecture docs
• contribute from the perspective of building real web products in Rust

Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.

Status

Coil is ambitious on purpose. It is opinionated, product-focused, and optimised for teams that want a coherent Rust web platform rather than a thin request router.

If that is what you are looking for, start with Shoppr and the public docs. They are the shortest route from curiosity to understanding.

License

Coil is available under the MIT License.