Effective Go
Apply best practices and conventions from the official Effective Go guide to write clean, idiomatic Go code.
When to Apply
Use this skill automatically when:
- Writing new Go code
- Reviewing Go code
- Refactoring existing Go implementations
Key Reminders
Follow the conventions and patterns documented at https://go.dev/doc/effective_go, with particular attention to:
- Formatting: Always use
gofmt- this is non-negotiable - Naming: No underscores, use MixedCaps for exported names, mixedCaps for unexported
- Error handling: Always check errors; return them, don’t panic
- Concurrency: Share memory by communicating (use channels)
- Interfaces: Keep small (1-3 methods ideal); accept interfaces, return concrete types
- Documentation: Document all exported symbols, starting with the symbol name
References
- Official Guide: https://go.dev/doc/effective_go
- Code Review Comments: https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/CodeReviewComments
- Standard Library: Use as reference for idiomatic patterns