Gleam + Elli

Gleam + Elli for type-safe BEAM APIs.

BackendModerate

Stack Components

LanguageGleam 1

FrameworkElli 1

DBgleam_pgo

DBPostgreSQL 16

Why

Type-safe, BEAM VM, no runtime errors. Node.js, Go, and Python are the top 3 backend languages (Stack Overflow 2024).

Go's goroutines handle 100k+ concurrent connections per process; Node's event loop excels at I/O-bound workloads.

When

Use for BEAM type safety. Avoid for non-BEAM teams.

How

1. gleam add elli 2. Define handler 3. gleam run 5. Add environment configuration — cp .env.example .env && edit values 6. Run tests — npm test or pnpm test to verify setup 7. Deploy — git push to trigger CI/CD or manual deploy

Example

fn handle_request(req) { elli.response(200, users) } // Gleam + Elli — usage example import { GleamElli } from "gleam-elli"; const result = await gleamelli({ input: "data" }); console.log(result);

Common Problems

⚠BEAM interop — use Erlang FFI carefully
⚠OTP — use gleam_otp for supervisors
⚠Configuration drift between environments — use infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/Pulumi) to keep dev/staging/prod identical

Best Practices

✓Use gleam/http for types
✓Leverage BEAM concurrency
✓Set up health checks and graceful shutdown — handle SIGTERM to drain in-flight requests before exit

FAQ

What is Gleam + Elli and what projects is it for?

Gleam + Elli for type-safe BEAM APIs. It pairs layered technologies for end-to-end type safety and out-of-the-box deploys, fitting everything from MVPs to production SaaS.

How do I spin up a working demo with Gleam + Elli in 10 minutes?

Two steps: (1) gleam add elli; (2) Define handler. Get the local dev server running, then wire one real data source to verify the end-to-end loop.

What is the most common pitfall with Gleam + Elli and how do I avoid it?

The most common pitfall is: BEAM interop — use Erlang FFI carefully. Avoid it by adding the matching checklist to your PR template and running type-check + lint + unit tests in CI — three gates before merge.

What are the best practices for Gleam + Elli?

Best practices for Gleam + Elli include: Use gleam/http for types; Leverage BEAM concurrency; Set up health checks and graceful shutdown — handle SIGTERM to drain in-flight requests before exit. The first one — "Use gleam/http for types" — should be set up at project init to avoid costly rework later.

When should I NOT choose Gleam + Elli?

Pick something else in three cases: (1) the team has zero experience with the core framework and the deadline is tight (learning-curve risk); (2) it's a pure content/marketing site (Astro is lighter); (3) you need very high throughput (>10k RPS) or strict-consistency microservices (Go/Rust). Gleam + Elli shines for mid-to-high complexity full-stack and API work — don't over-engineer simple static pages with it.