# kemalcr/kemal

Fast, Effective, Simple Web Framework

Repository: https://github.com/kemalcr/kemal
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kemal
Homepage: https://kemalcr.com
Language: Crystal
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: crystal, kemal, web-framework, websocket, api, fast, simple, efficient, json, rest
Last push: 2026-08-26T13:02:30+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3967, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 9, "gap_med": 35, "n_releases_24m": 12}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3907, forks 203 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:28.795981+00:00)

## What it is
Kemal is a fast, lightweight web framework for the Crystal language with a Sinatra-like DSL for building web applications and JSON APIs. It offers built-in routing, WebSocket support, middleware, static file serving, and templating with near-native performance.

## Use cases
- build a fast json rest api
- create a web application in crystal
- build a real-time app with websockets
- serve static files with high performance
- build a microservice with minimal boilerplate
- create a live dashboard or chat app

## When to choose
- you want Ruby-like syntax with compiled, C-level performance
- you need a simple, unopinionated framework without a forced ORM
- you're building JSON APIs or real-time WebSocket services in Crystal
- fast startup and low memory footprint matter

## When to avoid
- your team doesn't know Crystal and can't adopt a niche language
- you need a batteries-included full-stack framework with built-in ORM and admin tooling
- you need a large ecosystem of third-party libraries and hiring pool

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: stable
- function: web-framework, http-server, routing, middleware, websocket, templating, json, static-site-generator
- domain: web-development, backend, apis
- platform: -
- tags: rest-api, microservices, high-performance, dsl, sinatra-inspired, real-time, crystal, linux, macos, web-server

## Member repositories
- kemalcr/kemal (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:28.795981+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:25:06.366439+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kemalcr/kemal (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:28.795981+00:00, sha eae22595fef7)
  - homepage: https://kemalcr.com (fetched 2026-08-29T09:19:06.414050+00:00, sha 95694922e330)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.