Go Tooling Setup Basics

10 examples to get you started with gopls & Debugging - 7 basic and 3 intermediate.

Prerequisites

• Install Go 1.26.x or later from go.dev/dl.
• Create a module: mkdir tooling-demo && cd tooling-demo && go mod init example.com/tooling-demo.
• Ensure $(go env GOPATH)/bin is on your PATH so installed tools are found.

go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest
go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest
go install golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@latest
go install honnef.co/go/tools/cmd/staticcheck@latest

Basic Examples

1. Verify core tools are on PATH

Confirm the language server and debugger binaries resolve before configuring an editor.

which gopls dlv
gopls version
dlv version

• go install places binaries in GOPATH/bin (often ~/go/bin).
• Editors invoke gopls by name; a missing PATH entry looks like "language server not found."
• Pin versions in team docs when CI and laptops must match.

Related: Go Developer Tooling: LSP, Debugger, and Analyzers - how the pieces fit together

2. Minimal gopls settings for a module

Point gopls at your module root and enable formatting on save in VS Code-style settings.

{
  "gopls": {
    "ui.semanticTokens": true,
    "formatting.gofumpt": true
  },
  "go.useLanguageServer": true
}

• Open the folder that contains go.mod, not a parent directory with unrelated modules.
• formatting.gofumpt applies stricter formatting than gofmt alone.
• Other editors expose the same keys under their LSP client config.

Related: gopls: Navigation, Refactoring & Diagnostics - editor features powered by gopls

3. Run go vet on the module

go vet is built in and needs no extra install.

go vet ./...

• Catches common mistakes (Printf format verbs, unreachable code, struct tags).
• Run in CI alongside tests for a zero-config baseline.
• golangci-lint can include vet checks, but go vet stays useful in quick scripts.

Related: staticcheck & golangci-lint in CI - layering analyzers in CI

4. First staticcheck pass

staticcheck finds correctness and performance issues beyond vet.

staticcheck ./...

• Install once with go install honnef.co/go/tools/cmd/staticcheck@latest.
• Start with default checks; add -checks only when you need to disable a specific rule temporarily.
• Treat new findings as backfill work, not instant CI blockers on legacy repos.

Related: staticcheck & golangci-lint in CI - severity and baselines

5. Scan dependencies with govulncheck

Check whether known CVEs affect code you actually import.

govulncheck ./...

• Uses the Go vulnerability database; no API key required.
• Output distinguishes "affected module present" from "vulnerable symbol reachable."
• Add to CI after go test so module download is already warm.

Related: govulncheck for Dependency Vulnerabilities - triage and CI wiring

6. Debug a simple program with Delve

Start the debugger on main.go and break at program entry.

# main.go: package main with func main()
dlv debug .

Inside the dlv REPL:

(dlv) break main.main
(dlv) continue
(dlv) next
(dlv) print x

• dlv debug builds with debug symbols and starts the process under the debugger.
• Use continue, next, and step like gdb-style commands.
• quit ends the session.

Related: Debugging with Delve - goroutines and remote attach

7. golangci-lint quick start

Run a bundled linter set with one command.

# install once
go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest
 
golangci-lint run ./...

• Creates or uses .golangci.yml when you customize enabled linters.
• Faster local feedback than enabling every analyzer by hand.
• Match CI config to the file committed in the repo root.

Related: staticcheck & golangci-lint in CI - config and adoption

Intermediate Examples

8. gopls multi-module workspace (go.work)

When developing a library and consumer together, use a workspace file.

go work init ./app ./lib
go work use ./lib

Open the directory containing go.work in your editor so gopls resolves cross-module imports.

• Without go.work, local replaces require replace directives in go.mod.
• gopls loads all modules listed in go.work for cross-references.
• CI still builds each module; workspaces are primarily a local ergonomics tool.

Related: Go Developer Tooling: LSP, Debugger, and Analyzers - monorepo tooling model

9. Delve headless for IDE attach

Run Delve listening on a port so VS Code or GoLand attaches remotely.

dlv debug --headless --listen=:2345 --api-version=2 --accept-multiclient .

• IDE launch configs point at localhost:2345 with API v2.
• Useful for debugging tests or binaries with custom build flags.
• Do not expose the port publicly; it grants full process control.

Related: Debugging with Delve - remote and container attach

10. Seed a golangci-lint config for CI

Commit a minimal .golangci.yml so laptops and CI share rules.

run:
  timeout: 5m
linters:
  enable:
    - govet
    - staticcheck
    - ineffassign
    - misspell
issues:
  max-issues-per-linter: 0
  max-same-issues: 0

• Start with a small enable list; expand after baseline cleanup.
• max-issues-per-linter: 0 fails the run on any finding - loosen during migration.
• Pair with govulncheck in a separate CI job for dependency CVEs.

Related: gopls & Analysis Tooling Best Practices - editor and CI hygiene

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).

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