Installation

System Requirements

Go supports the following operating systems and architectures:

Linux: AMD64, 386, ARM, ARM64, PPC64, S390X
macOS: AMD64 (Intel), ARM64 (Apple Silicon)
Windows: AMD64, 386, ARM, ARM64
FreeBSD: AMD64, 386, ARM
OpenBSD: AMD64, 386, ARM

Go requires a 64-bit operating system for most platforms. 32-bit support is available but limited.

Installation Methods

Linux
macOS
Windows
Docker

Download the Archive

Download Go

Download the latest Go release for Linux:

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.23.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Check go.dev/dl for the latest version number.

Remove Previous Installation

If you have a previous installation, remove it first:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

Extract the Archive

Extract the archive to /usr/local:

sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.23.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Update Your PATH

Add Go to your PATH by adding this to your ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Apply the changes:

source ~/.profile

Verify Installation

Check that Go is installed correctly:

go version

You should see output like: go version go1.23.0 linux/amd64

Using a Package Manager

sudo apt update
sudo apt install golang-go

Package manager versions may lag behind the official releases. For the latest version, use the official tarball.

Using the Installer

Download the Package

Download the macOS installer from go.dev/dl:

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): go1.23.0.darwin-arm64.pkg
Intel: go1.23.0.darwin-amd64.pkg

Run the Installer

Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the prompts. The installer will:

Install Go to /usr/local/go
Add /usr/local/go/bin to your PATH

Verify Installation

Open a new terminal and verify:

go version

Using Homebrew

If you use Homebrew, you can install Go with:

brew install go

Then verify the installation:

go version

Homebrew installs Go to /opt/homebrew/bin/go (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/bin/go (Intel) and automatically updates your PATH.

Using the MSI Installer

Download the Installer

Download the Windows installer from go.dev/dl:

64-bit: go1.23.0.windows-amd64.msi
32-bit: go1.23.0.windows-386.msi
ARM64: go1.23.0.windows-arm64.msi

Run the Installer

Open the MSI file and follow the installation wizard. By default, Go installs to:

C:\Program Files\Go

The installer automatically adds C:\Program Files\Go\bin to your PATH.

Verify Installation

Open a new Command Prompt or PowerShell window and run:

go version

Using Chocolatey

If you use Chocolatey package manager:

choco install golang

Using Scoop

If you use Scoop package manager:

scoop install go

Official Go Images

Use the official Go Docker images for development or building applications:

# Pull the latest Go image
docker pull golang:latest

# Run Go in a container
docker run -it golang:latest

Version-Specific Images

# Use a specific Go version
docker pull golang:1.23.0

# Alpine-based image (smaller)
docker pull golang:1.23.0-alpine

Build Your Application

Example Dockerfile for a Go application:

FROM golang:1.23.0 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY go.mod go.sum ./
RUN go mod download
COPY . .
RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux go build -o myapp

FROM alpine:latest
WORKDIR /root/
COPY --from=builder /app/myapp .
CMD ["./myapp"]

Environment Setup

After installing Go, configure your development environment:

GOPATH and Workspace

Go uses a workspace directory for your projects. By default:

Linux/macOS: ~/go
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\go

The workspace contains:

$GOPATH/
├── bin/     # Compiled executables
├── pkg/     # Package objects
└── src/     # Source files (deprecated with modules)

With Go modules (the modern approach), you can work anywhere. You don’t need to use GOPATH for your projects.

Set GOPATH (Optional)

To customize your workspace location:

export GOPATH=$HOME/my-go-workspace
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin

Go Environment Variables

View all Go environment variables:

go env

Key environment variables:

Variable	Description
`GOROOT`	Location of Go installation
`GOPATH`	Workspace directory
`GOBIN`	Where `go install` puts binaries
`GOOS`	Target operating system
`GOARCH`	Target architecture
`GO111MODULE`	Module support (on by default)

Verify Your Installation

Create a simple program to test your setup:

Create a Directory

mkdir -p ~/hello
cd ~/hello

Initialize a Module

go mod init example/hello

Create hello.go

Create a file named hello.go:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("hello, world")
}

Run the Program

go run hello.go

You should see:

hello, world

Congratulations! Go is installed and working correctly.

Update Go

To update to a newer version of Go:

Download New Version

Download the latest version from go.dev/dl

Remove Old Version

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

Install New Version

Follow the same installation steps as above for your platform

Uninstall Go

To completely remove Go:

Linux/macOS
Windows

# Remove Go installation
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

# Remove from PATH (edit ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc)
# Remove this line: export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

# Optionally remove workspace
rm -rf ~/go

Use Add or Remove Programs to uninstall Go
Or manually delete C:\Program Files\Go
Remove C:\Program Files\Go\bin from your PATH
Optionally delete %USERPROFILE%\go

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Write your first Go program

Tutorial

Learn Go fundamentals with a hands-on tutorial

Editor Setup

Configure your IDE or editor for Go development

Standard Library

Explore the standard library packages

Troubleshooting

Command Not Found

If you get “go: command not found”:

Verify Go is in your PATH: echo $PATH (Linux/macOS) or echo %PATH% (Windows)
Restart your terminal
Check the installation directory exists

Permission Denied

On Linux/macOS, ensure /usr/local/go is accessible:

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/go

Import Errors

If you get package import errors, ensure you’re using Go modules:

go mod init your-module-name
go mod tidy

Get Started

Language Guide

Standard Library

Core Packages

Tools & Commands

Advanced Topics

Contributing

Installation

System Requirements

Installation Methods

Download the Archive

Using a Package Manager

Using the Installer

Using Homebrew

Using the MSI Installer

Using Chocolatey

Using Scoop

Official Go Images

Version-Specific Images

Build Your Application

Environment Setup

GOPATH and Workspace

Set GOPATH (Optional)

Go Environment Variables

Verify Your Installation

Update Go

Uninstall Go

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Tutorial

Editor Setup

Standard Library

Troubleshooting

Command Not Found

Permission Denied

Import Errors

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Language Guide

Standard Library

Core Packages

Tools & Commands

Advanced Topics

Contributing

​System Requirements

​Installation Methods

​Download the Archive

​Using a Package Manager

​Using the Installer

​Using Homebrew

​Using the MSI Installer

​Using Chocolatey

​Using Scoop

​Official Go Images

​Version-Specific Images

​Build Your Application

​Environment Setup

​GOPATH and Workspace

​Set GOPATH (Optional)

​Go Environment Variables

​Verify Your Installation

​Update Go

​Uninstall Go

​Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Tutorial

Editor Setup

Standard Library

​Troubleshooting

​Command Not Found

​Permission Denied

​Import Errors

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

System Requirements

Installation Methods

Download the Archive

Using a Package Manager

Using the Installer

Using Homebrew

Using the MSI Installer

Using Chocolatey

Using Scoop

Official Go Images

Version-Specific Images

Build Your Application

Environment Setup

GOPATH and Workspace

Set GOPATH (Optional)

Go Environment Variables

Verify Your Installation

Update Go

Uninstall Go

Next Steps

Troubleshooting

Command Not Found

Permission Denied

Import Errors