Mastering Go Command-Line Tools: Build, Install, Get, Test and More

go build

The go build command compiles the source code of a package and, if necessary, its dependent packages. It produces an executable binary (or library) without installing it, allowing developers to verify that the code builds correctly.

go install

The go install command compiles the specified package and its dependencies, then installs the resulting binary into the workspace’s bin directory. If any dependencies have not yet been compiled, they are built first.

go get

The go get command fetches remote packages and their dependencies, optionally updating them, and then compiles and installs the packages. It is commonly used to retrieve third‑party libraries from version‑control repositories.

go doc and godoc

The go doc command prints documentation associated with Go identifiers (functions, types, packages, etc.) directly in the terminal. By passing the identifier as an argument, developers can quickly view its comments.

The godoc tool is a more powerful documentation server that renders package documentation as HTML. It has been part of the standard Go toolchain since version 1.5.

go test

The go test command runs unit tests for Go packages. Tests are defined in files ending with _test.go and are executed package by package, providing a convenient way to verify code correctness.

go list

The go list command displays information about Go packages, such as import paths, module versions, and file locations. It is useful for scripts that need to discover package metadata.

go fix and go tool fix

The go fix command (or go tool fix) updates Go source files by applying automated rewrites that migrate code from older language versions to newer ones, helping developers modernize legacy codebases.