How I build Rikta: a Zero-Config TypeScript Backend Framework

Rikta is an open-source TypeScript framework built on Fastify, designed to simplify backend development by eliminating NestJS's "module hell" with automatic dependency injection and decorator-based routing. It offers a structured approach without the complexities of NestJS, providing dependency injection, decorator-based routing, and automatic validation. Rikta uses Fastify for its superior performance and plugin architecture, and it mandates TypeScript for type safety and advanced features like Zod integration. Zod enables both runtime validation and type definitions within a single schema. The framework's architecture includes auto-discovery, dependency injection, and route registration, streamlining the development process. Rikta's dependency injection relies on decorators and the reflect-metadata library. The framework supports both Singleton and Transient scopes for providers. Rikta's routing system leverages decorators for easy route configuration and parameter extraction. It also integrates Zod validation directly into the request pipeline. Lifecycle hooks and an event bus are provided for application control and service communication. Benchmarks demonstrate that Rikta outperforms NestJS by approximately 32% on average.