Go Get Started

Installing Go

Go is distributed as a free installer from go.dev/dl for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Download the package for your operating system, run the installer, and it will place the go command on your system PATH automatically.

• Download the installer that matches your operating system
• Run the installer and accept the default installation location
• Open a new terminal window so the updated PATH is loaded
• Verify the install by checking the installed version

go version

Your First Go File

Go source files always end in the .go extension. Create a file named hello.go and add the following code.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}

Running Your Program

The go run command compiles and immediately executes a source file in one step, which is perfect while you are developing. The go build command instead compiles your code into a standalone executable file that you can run later, without needing Go installed.

go build hello.go
./hello

Why package main Matters

Only a file declared as package main, containing a func main, produces a runnable program. Every other package in Go is a library meant to be imported, not executed directly.