Go Toolchain Basics

10 examples to get you started with Go Toolchain - 7 basic and 3 intermediate.

Prerequisites

• Install Go 1.26.x or later from go.dev/dl.
• Create a module: mkdir tooldemo && cd tooldemo && go mod init example.com/tooldemo.
• Save shell snippets in the module root unless a path is shown.

Basic Examples

1. Check toolchain version

Confirm which Go release is active before debugging build differences.

go version

• Prints the compiler version and target OS/architecture.
• Compare output across laptop and CI when builds diverge.
• go env GOVERSION prints only the version string for scripts.

Related: The go Command: Build, Test, and Module Lifecycle - how the driver fits together

2. Build a binary

Compile the current package without installing globally.

go build -o bin/server ./cmd/server

• go build with no -o names the binary after the directory (server for cmd/server).
• The command exits non-zero on compile errors; scripts should check $?.
• Add -trimpath in release pipelines to strip file paths from binaries.

Related: go build, run, install & clean - flags and cache behavior

3. Run from source

Compile to a temp binary and execute in one step.

go run .

• Ideal for local development; not for production deployment.
• Pass arguments after --: go run . --port 8080.
• go run ./cmd/worker targets a specific package main.

Related: go build, run, install & clean - when to prefer build over run

4. Test a package

Run tests in the current directory.

go test -v .

• -v prints each test name as it runs.
• Tests live in *_test.go files beside production code.
• Failed tests exit with status 1, which CI should treat as a hard gate.

Related: go test, list & generate - patterns, race, and benches

5. Test all packages recursively

Exercise the whole module tree.

go test ./...

• ./... expands to every package under the module root.
• Add -count=1 to disable test result caching when debugging flakes.
• Combine with -race in CI for data-race detection.

Related: go test, list & generate - -race, -cover, and benchmarks

6. Initialize and inspect modules

go mod init creates the module root file.

go mod init example.com/tooldemo
cat go.mod

• The module path should match your VCS hosting path when you publish.
• go 1.26 in go.mod declares the minimum language version.
• One go.mod per module root; subpackages share it.

Related: go mod tidy, vendor, download & graph - keeping requires accurate

7. Tidy module dependencies

Sync go.mod with actual imports.

go mod tidy

• Adds missing require lines and removes unused modules.
• Updates go.sum checksum lines for every retained module.
• Run after refactors that add or drop third-party imports.

Related: go mod tidy, vendor, download & graph - vendor and graph commands

Intermediate Examples

8. Static check with go vet

Catch suspicious constructs the compiler allows.

go vet ./...

• Runs analyzers such as unreachable code and misused fmt verbs.
• Shares the type checker with go test, so it compiles packages first.
• Pair with golangci-lint in CI for broader rule sets.

Related: go fix Modernizers & go vet Analyzers - fix rewrites and custom analyzers

9. List packages and module versions

Inspect what the loader sees before a build.

go list ./...
go list -m -versions golang.org/x/sync

• go list prints import paths, test status, and build tags applied.
• -m switches to module mode for version queries.
• Use go list -m all to dump the full build list for audits.

Related: go test, list & generate - JSON output and -f templates

10. Pin or switch toolchain with GOTOOLCHAIN

Control which Go release executes commands.

go env GOTOOLCHAIN
GOTOOLCHAIN=go1.26.0 go version

• Default auto may download a newer patch that satisfies go.mod.
• GOTOOLCHAIN=local forbids automatic toolchain downloads.
• Commit the go directive in go.mod so teammates resolve the same baseline.

Related: Cross-Compilation & Private Module Proxies - env vars for builds and modules

Stack versions: This page was written for Go 1.26.x (Green Tea GC default, go fix modernizers - verify patch at build), chi (latest - verify at build), gin (latest - verify at build), echo (latest - verify at build), google.golang.org/grpc (latest - verify at build), sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime (latest - verify at build), kubebuilder (latest - verify at build), tinygo (latest - verify board targets at build), wazero (latest - verify at build), and golangci-lint (latest - verify linter set at build).