ICP Ninja now highlights community projects with the latest addition from developer Gekctek, who has launched a URL Shortener built on Liminal, a new HTTP framework written in Motoko. The project emerged from a Dfinity grant aimed at improving the Motoko ecosystem by providing more robust HTTP support for web applications on the Internet Computer.
Liminal is designed as a middleware-based framework that allows developers to build web applications and APIs without creating HTTP handling from scratch. It offers middleware composition, routing, authentication, content negotiation, file uploads, and integration with Internet Computer-specific features such as asset canisters. These tools aim to bring familiar web development patterns to the IC ecosystem while accommodating its unique query and update call model.
The framework includes middleware pipelines for reusable components, advanced routing with parameter extraction and wildcards, and built-in security features including CORS, CSP, CSRF protection, and rate limiting. Authentication is supported via JWT and OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for providers like Google and GitHub. Liminal also facilitates asset canister integration, automatic response compression, content negotiation across JSON, CBOR, and XML, session management, and logging.
Installation is managed through the MOPS package manager, and the project provides detailed examples for CLI use, routing, middleware development, authentication flows, and asset handling. While Liminal addresses many pain points for Motoko developers, some ecosystem-level challenges remain, such as rigid asset canisters, manual API mapping, and complex query/update flows.
The project is open source under the MIT License, with dependencies managed through MOPS. Developers can access the full repository and examples on GitHub. Liminal is actively evolving, with plans to refine developer experience, expand the middleware ecosystem, optimise performance, and integrate tooling to simplify development further.
By offering a structured approach to HTTP handling and middleware for Motoko, Liminal aims to reduce repetitive work and provide a foundation for building more robust web services on the Internet Computer. Community feedback will play a key role in shaping the next stages of the framework’s development.
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/edjcase/liminal
MOPS Package: https://mops.one/liminal
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