Introduction

What is Orbit?

Orbit is a progressive backend framework optimized 100% for the Bun runtime. It follows NestJS-style patterns - modular architecture, decorator-based routing, and dependency injection - while leveraging Bun's native performance capabilities.

Why Orbit?

Native Bun Performance

Unlike frameworks that run on Node.js and use adapters, Orbit is built specifically for Bun:

• Bun.serve(): Native HTTP server without Express or Fastify overhead
• Bun.password: Built-in password hashing using Argon2
• Native TCP sockets: All microservice transports use Bun's native socket APIs
• Bun.Transpiler: Hot reload with near-instant TypeScript compilation

Familiar Patterns

If you've used NestJS, you'll feel right at home:

@Controller('users')
class UserController {
  constructor(private userService: UserService) {}

  @Get()
  findAll() {
    return this.userService.findAll();
  }

  @Get(':id')
  findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
    return this.userService.findOne(id);
  }

  @Post()
  create(@Body() dto: CreateUserDto) {
    return this.userService.create(dto);
  }
}

Complete Feature Set

Orbit provides everything you need to build production-ready applications:

• Core: Modules, Controllers, Providers, DI Container
• Pipeline: Middleware, Guards, Pipes, Interceptors, Exception Filters
• Database: Drizzle ORM integration with Repository pattern
• GraphQL: Code-first with DataLoader and Subscriptions
• Microservices: 6 transport protocols (TCP, Redis, NATS, RabbitMQ, Kafka, gRPC)
• WebSocket: Gateway with decorators
• Security: JWT, Rate Limiting, Helmet, CSRF, Sanitization
• Observability: Tracing, Metrics, Structured Logging
• DevTools: CLI, VS Code Extension, Dashboard

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Application                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │   HTTP   │  │ WebSocket│  │   Microservice   │  │
│  │ Requests │  │ Messages │  │     Messages     │  │
│  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘  └────────┬─────────┘  │
│       │             │                  │            │
│       └─────────────┴──────────────────┘            │
│                     │                               │
│       ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐                │
│       │     Request Pipeline      │                │
│       │  Middleware → Guards →    │                │
│       │  Pipes → Interceptors     │                │
│       └─────────────┬─────────────┘                │
│                     │                               │
│       ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐                │
│       │       Controllers         │                │
│       └─────────────┬─────────────┘                │
│                     │                               │
│       ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐                │
│       │        Services           │                │
│       └─────────────┬─────────────┘                │
│                     │                               │
│       ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐                │
│       │      Repositories         │                │
│       └─────────────┬─────────────┘                │
│                     │                               │
│       ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐                │
│       │        Database           │                │
│       └───────────────────────────┘                │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Comparison with NestJS

Feature	Orbit	NestJS
Runtime	Bun	Node.js
HTTP Server	Bun.serve()	Express/Fastify
Module System	✅	✅
Dependency Injection	✅	✅
Decorators	✅	✅
Guards/Pipes/Interceptors	✅	✅
Microservices	Native TCP	External libs
GraphQL	✅	✅
WebSocket	✅	✅
Cold Start	~10ms	~100ms
External Dependencies	Minimal	Many

Requirements

• Bun >= 1.0.0
• TypeScript >= 5.0.0

TypeScript configuration must include:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "experimentalDecorators": true,
    "emitDecoratorMetadata": true
  }
}

Next Steps

Ready to get started? Head to the Quick Start guide to create your first Orbit application.