MCPInstall

golang-idioms

Idiomatic Go patterns for error handling, interfaces, concurrency, testing, and module management

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/rohitg00/awesome-claude-code-toolkit --skill golang-idioms
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads golang-idioms automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Go Idioms

Error Handling

// Return errors, never panic in library code
func LoadConfig(path string) (Config, error) {
    data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
    if err != nil {
        return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("reading config %s: %w", path, err)
    }

    var cfg Config
    if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &cfg); err != nil {
        return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing config: %w", err)
    }

    return cfg, nil
}

Rules:

  • Always wrap errors with context using fmt.Errorf("context: %w", err)
  • Use %w to allow callers to use errors.Is and errors.As
  • Handle errors at the appropriate level; do not log and return the same error
  • Define sentinel errors for expected conditions
var (
    ErrNotFound    = errors.New("not found")
    ErrUnauthorized = errors.New("unauthorized")
)

func GetUser(id string) (User, error) {
    user, ok := store[id]
    if !ok {
        return User{}, fmt.Errorf("user %s: %w", id, ErrNotFound)
    }
    return user, nil
}

// Caller
user, err := GetUser(id)
if errors.Is(err, ErrNotFound) {
    http.Error(w, "user not found", http.StatusNotFound)
    return
}

Interface Design

// Keep interfaces small (1-3 methods)
type Reader interface {
    Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

type UserStore interface {
    GetUser(ctx context.Context, id string) (User, error)
    CreateUser(ctx context.Context, u User) error
}

// Accept interfaces, return structs
func NewService(store UserStore, logger *slog.Logger) *Service {
    return &Service{store: store, logger: logger}
}

Rules:

  • Define interfaces where they are used (consumer side), not where they are implemented
  • Prefer small, composable interfaces over large ones
  • Use io.Reader, io.Writer, fmt.Stringer from the standard library
  • An interface with one method should be named after the method + er suffix

Goroutine and Channel Patterns

Worker Pool

func process(ctx context.Context, jobs <-chan Job, workers int) <-chan Result {
    results := make(chan Result, workers)
    var wg sync.WaitGroup

    for range workers {
        wg.Add(1)
        go func() {
            defer wg.Done()
            for job := range jobs {
                select {
                case <-ctx.Done():
                    return
                case results <- job.Execute():
                }
            }
        }()
    }

    go func() {
        wg.Wait()
        close(results)
    }()

    return results
}

Fan-out/Fan-in

func fanOut[T, R any](ctx context.Context, items []T, fn func(T) R, concurrency int) []R {
    sem := make(chan struct{}, concurrency)
    results := make([]R, len(items))
    var wg sync.WaitGroup

    for i, item := range items {
        wg.Add(1)
        sem <- struct{}{}
        go func() {
            defer func() { <-sem; wg.Done() }()
            results[i] = fn(item)
        }()
    }

    wg.Wait()
    return results
}

Rules:

  • Always pass context.Context as the first parameter
  • Always ensure goroutines can be stopped (via context cancellation or channel close)
  • Use sync.WaitGroup to wait for goroutine completion
  • Use buffered channels when producer and consumer run at different speeds
  • Never start a goroutine without knowing how it will stop

Context Propagation

func (s *Service) HandleRequest(ctx context.Context, req Request) (Response, error) {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
    defer cancel()

    user, err := s.store.GetUser(ctx, req.UserID)
    if err != nil {
        return Response{}, fmt.Errorf("getting user: %w", err)
    }

    ctx = context.WithValue(ctx, userKey, user)
    return s.processRequest(ctx, req)
}

Rules:

  • Pass context as the first parameter of every function that does I/O
  • Use context.WithTimeout or context.WithDeadline for all external calls
  • Always defer cancel() after creating a cancellable context
  • Use context.WithValue sparingly (request-scoped values only: trace IDs, auth info)
  • Never store context in a struct

Table-Driven Tests

func TestValidateEmail(t *testing.T) {
    tests := []struct {
        name  string
        email string
        want  bool
    }{
        {"valid email", "user@example.com", true},
        {"missing @", "userexample.com", false},
        {"empty string", "", false},
        {"multiple @", "user@@example.com", false},
        {"valid with subdomain", "user@mail.example.com", true},
    }

    for _, tt := range tests {
        t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            got := ValidateEmail(tt.email)
            if got != tt.want {
                t.Errorf("ValidateEmail(%q) = %v, want %v", tt.email, got, tt.want)
            }
        })
    }
}

Test Helpers

func newTestServer(t *testing.T) *httptest.Server {
    t.Helper()
    handler := setupRoutes()
    srv := httptest.NewServer(handler)
    t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
    return srv
}

func assertEqual[T comparable](t *testing.T, got, want T) {
    t.Helper()
    if got != want {
        t.Errorf("got %v, want %v", got, want)
    }
}

Use t.Helper() in all test utility functions. Use t.Cleanup() instead of defer for test resource cleanup. Use testdata/ directory for test fixtures.

Module Management

go.mod structure:
module github.com/org/project

go 1.23

require (
    github.com/lib/pq v1.10.9
    golang.org/x/sync v0.7.0
)

Commands:

go mod tidy          # remove unused, add missing
go mod verify        # verify checksums
go list -m -u all    # check for updates
go get -u ./...      # update all dependencies
go mod vendor        # vendor dependencies (optional)

Use go mod tidy before every commit. Pin major versions. Review changelogs before updating.

Zero-Value Design

Design types so their zero value is useful:

// sync.Mutex zero value is an unlocked mutex (ready to use)
var mu sync.Mutex

// bytes.Buffer zero value is an empty buffer (ready to use)
var buf bytes.Buffer
buf.WriteString("hello")

// Custom types: make zero value meaningful
type Server struct {
    Addr    string        // defaults to ""
    Handler http.Handler  // defaults to nil
    Timeout time.Duration // defaults to 0 (no timeout)
}

func (s *Server) ListenAndServe() error {
    addr := s.Addr
    if addr == "" {
        addr = ":8080" // useful default
    }
    handler := s.Handler
    if handler == nil {
        handler = http.DefaultServeMux
    }
    // ...
}

Rules:

  • Prefer structs with meaningful zero values over constructors
  • Use pointer receivers when the method modifies the receiver
  • Use value receivers when the method only reads
  • Never export fields that users should not set directly; use constructor functions

Structured Logging

import "log/slog"

logger := slog.New(slog.NewJSONHandler(os.Stdout, &slog.HandlerOptions{
    Level: slog.LevelInfo,
}))

logger.Info("request handled",
    slog.String("method", r.Method),
    slog.String("path", r.URL.Path),
    slog.Int("status", status),
    slog.Duration("latency", time.Since(start)),
)

Use log/slog (standard library, Go 1.21+). Use structured fields, never string interpolation. Include request ID, user ID, and operation name in every log entry.

Common Anti-Patterns

  • Returning interface{} / any instead of concrete types
  • Using init() for complex setup (makes testing hard)
  • Ignoring errors with _ without comment
  • Using goroutines without lifecycle management
  • Mutex contention from overly broad lock scope
  • Channel misuse: prefer mutexes for simple shared state
  • Naked returns in functions longer than a few lines

FAQ

What does the golang-idioms skill do?

Idiomatic Go patterns for error handling, interfaces, concurrency, testing, and module management

How do I install golang-idioms?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/rohitg00/awesome-claude-code-toolkit --skill golang-idioms in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/golang-idioms/ (personal) or .claude/skills/golang-idioms/ (project).

Which AI agents can use golang-idioms?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is golang-idioms safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains golang-idioms?

It is published by rohitg00 in rohitg00/awesome-claude-code-toolkit. It has 189 recorded installs.

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