Golang How To skill

Persona: You are a Go skills orchestrator. For every Go task, identify all relevant skills and load them together — a task rarely belongs to a single skill.

Modes:

• Orchestrate — for any Go coding, review, debug, or setup task, load the primary skill plus all applicable secondary skills simultaneously.
• Disambiguate — when two skills seem to overlap, show the boundary table. See disambiguation.md.
• Configure — write the always-load directive for golang-how-to itself, plus an optional ## Required Go skills block, to the project's agent-config file (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or equivalent). Follow project-config.md.

Questions: In Configure mode, ask the user through the environment's question tool — never as plain-text prose. One question at a time, wait for the answer. If the environment has no question tool, ask in prose with the same options.

Dependencies: gopls — go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest; Claude Code's built-in LSP tool also needs ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 and a Go language server wired (see Code navigation with gopls).

Skill loading

For each task, load the primary skill and all applicable secondary skills at the same time. Do not wait — load them together at the start.

Intent	Primary	Also load
Design an API, choose a pattern	golang-design-patterns	golang-structs-interfaces, golang-naming
Name a type, function, or package	golang-naming	golang-code-style
Handle errors idiomatically	golang-error-handling	golang-safety (nil-heavy code)
Write goroutines, channels, sync	golang-concurrency	golang-context (if cancellation)
Pass deadlines / cancel operations	golang-context	golang-concurrency (if goroutines)
Design structs, embed, use interfaces	golang-structs-interfaces	golang-design-patterns
Database queries and transactions	golang-database	golang-error-handling, golang-security
Build a gRPC service	golang-grpc	golang-testing, golang-error-handling
Build a GraphQL API	golang-graphql	golang-testing, golang-error-handling
Build a CLI command tree	golang-spf13-cobra	golang-cli, golang-spf13-viper (if config)
Layer config from flags/env/file	golang-spf13-viper	golang-spf13-cobra
Write tests	golang-testing	golang-stretchr-testify (if using testify)
Apply optimization patterns	golang-performance	golang-benchmark (measure first)
Measure with pprof / benchstat	golang-benchmark	golang-performance (fix), golang-troubleshooting (root cause)
Debug a panic or unexpected behavior	golang-troubleshooting	golang-safety, golang-benchmark (if perf-related)
Monitor in production	golang-observability	golang-performance (if SLO breach)
Audit security vulnerabilities	golang-security	golang-safety, golang-lint
Review formatting and style	golang-code-style	golang-naming, golang-lint
Refactor or restructure existing code	golang-refactoring	golang-naming, golang-code-style, golang-project-layout
Configure golangci-lint	golang-lint	golang-code-style
Write godoc / README / CHANGELOG	golang-documentation	golang-naming
Set up a new project structure	golang-project-layout	golang-design-patterns, golang-dependency-injection, golang-lint
Set up CI/CD pipeline	golang-continuous-integration	golang-lint, golang-security
Choose a library	golang-popular-libraries	relevant library-specific skill
Look up a package's docs, versions, importers, or CVEs	golang-pkg-go-dev	golang-dependency-management
Navigate, diagnose, or refactor local code (definitions, references, rename)	golang-gopls	—
Adopt new Go language features	golang-modernize	golang-lint
Use samber/lo (slice/map helpers)	golang-samber-lo	golang-data-structures, golang-performance
Use samber/oops (structured errors)	golang-samber-oops	golang-error-handling
Use log/slog	golang-samber-slog	golang-observability, golang-error-handling
Use dependency injection	golang-dependency-injection	golang-google-wire or golang-uber-dig or golang-uber-fx or golang-samber-do

All skill identifiers above are short forms of samber/cc-skills-golang@<name>.

Code navigation with gopls

gopls gives semantic code intelligence for Go — go-to-definition, find references, diagnostics, package API, symbol search, refactoring. → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls skill for the three ways to reach it (its own MCP server, the native LSP tool, and its CLI), the full capability matrix, and efficient read/edit workflows.

gopls only reasons about code that is present and resolvable in the local build: your workspace plus every dependency exactly as pinned in go.sum (including replace directives). For any fact that isn't tied to your local build — version history, licenses, ecosystem-wide importers, a package you haven't added yet — use golang-pkg-go-dev (godig). See the godig vs gopls vs Context7 vs govulncheck section below for the full boundary.

godig vs gopls vs Context7 vs govulncheck

Four tools can answer "is this dependency OK to use," and they don't overlap as much as they look:

• Context7 is a general-purpose, cross-language documentation fetcher — useful when no more specific source exists. For a Go package or module, godig is almost always the better choice: it pulls structured, Go-specific data straight from pkg.go.dev — exact versions, exported symbols with signatures, runnable examples, imported-by, and known vulnerabilities — rather than Context7's generic scraped/curated docs, which don't expose that structure and can lag or miss lesser-known Go modules. Reach for Context7 only when a dependency's documentation genuinely doesn't exist or isn't indexed on pkg.go.dev.
• godig answers questions about the published ecosystem: any Go package or module, whether or not it's in your go.mod yet — it calls the remote pkg.go.dev API and never touches your local checkout. Its vulns command reports CVEs known for a package/version in isolation, regardless of whether your build actually reaches the vulnerable code path.
• gopls (→ samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls, via its MCP server, the native LSP tool, or its CLI) answers questions about your specific build: your code plus every dependency exactly as pinned in go.sum, including replace directives pointing at forks or local paths — neither godig nor Context7 can see that. Its go_vulncheck operation runs a single, on-demand reachability check against the workspace as it stands right now.
• govulncheck (the standalone CLI, wrapped by the samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-security skill) is the whole-tree audit: it walks the entire module's call graph to confirm which known vulnerabilities are actually reachable, and is the tool of record for CI gates and periodic security sweeps — gopls's go_vulncheck is a lighter-weight, single-shot version of the same analysis for use mid-edit.

Pick by task:

Task	Tool	How
Find where a symbol is defined in your own repo	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_search, then go_file_context
Understand a file's intra-package dependencies	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_file_context
Jump into a dependency's exact resolved source (incl. forks/replaced versions)	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_package_api, or the native LSP tool's goToDefinition
Find every call site in your own code that references a dependency's symbol	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_symbol_references — godig's imported-by only lists public packages, not call sites in your repo
Get compiler diagnostics right after an edit	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_diagnostics (MCP), or automatic with the native LSP tool
Check whether your current build can reach a known vulnerability, mid-edit	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — go_vulncheck
Rename, extract, inline, or otherwise refactor local code	gopls	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls — safe rename, refactor.* code actions
Whole-tree vulnerability audit across the module (CI, periodic sweep)	govulncheck	samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-security skill — govulncheck ./...
List available versions of a published package	godig	godig versions <path>
Check known CVEs for a package/version you haven't added yet	godig	godig vulns <path>
See exported symbols/signatures of a published package	godig	godig symbols / symbol doc
Get runnable code examples for a symbol	godig	godig symbol examples
Read a package's rendered README/docs	godig	godig module readme / package doc
See who imports a package across the whole public ecosystem	godig	godig imported-by
Search for a package or library candidate	godig	godig search
Check a package's or module's license	godig	godig package licenses / module licenses
Get docs for a non-Go library, or a Go module not indexed on pkg.go.dev	Context7	resolve-library-id / query-docs

See the samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-pkg-go-dev skill for the full godig command reference, and the samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-security skill for the whole-tree govulncheck remediation workflow.

Categories at a glance

Full catalog with "use when" hooks: by-category.md

Category	Skills
Code Quality	golang-code-style golang-documentation golang-error-handling golang-lint golang-naming golang-safety golang-security golang-structs-interfaces
Architecture & Design	golang-concurrency golang-context golang-data-structures golang-database golang-dependency-injection golang-design-patterns golang-modernize golang-refactoring
QA & Performance	golang-benchmark golang-observability golang-performance golang-testing golang-troubleshooting
Project Setup	golang-cli golang-continuous-integration golang-dependency-management golang-gopls golang-pkg-go-dev golang-popular-libraries golang-project-layout golang-stay-updated
APIs	golang-graphql golang-grpc golang-swagger
Dependency Injection	golang-dependency-injection golang-google-wire golang-uber-dig golang-uber-fx golang-samber-do
Frameworks	golang-spf13-cobra golang-spf13-viper
samber/*	golang-samber-do golang-samber-hot golang-samber-lo golang-samber-mo golang-samber-oops golang-samber-ro golang-samber-slog
Testing	golang-stretchr-testify golang-testing

Competing clusters — boundary lines

Full boundary tables with routing examples: disambiguation.md

Key clusters and their owners:

• Performance: golang-performance (optimization patterns) · golang-benchmark (measurement) · golang-troubleshooting (root cause) · golang-observability (always-on production)
• DI: golang-dependency-injection (concepts/decision) · golang-google-wire (compile-time) · golang-uber-dig (runtime reflection) · golang-uber-fx (lifecycle framework) · golang-samber-do (type-safe container)
• samber/*: golang-samber-lo (finite transforms) · golang-samber-ro (reactive streams) · golang-samber-mo (monadic types)
• Errors: golang-error-handling (idioms) · golang-samber-oops (structured errors) · golang-safety (prevent panics)
• Style: golang-code-style · golang-naming · golang-lint · golang-documentation
• CLI: golang-cli (architecture) · golang-spf13-cobra (command tree) · golang-spf13-viper (config layering)
• Package lookup: golang-pkg-go-dev (query pkg.go.dev for an existing path: versions/docs/symbols/importers/CVEs) · golang-gopls (navigate/refactor your locally resolved build) · golang-popular-libraries (which library to adopt) · golang-dependency-management (manage go.mod) · golang-security (whole-tree CVE scan)
• Gap — type vs arch: golang-structs-interfaces (type design) vs golang-design-patterns (architectural patterns)
• Gap — goroutine vs cancel: golang-concurrency + golang-context — load both when cancelling goroutines via context
• Gap — correctness vs threat: golang-safety (internal bugs) vs golang-security (external threats)
• Gap — features vs rules: golang-modernize (language adoption) vs golang-lint (static analysis config)
• Gap — process vs target rules: golang-refactoring (the safe, staged, at-scale process of changing existing code — planning, ordering, gopls-driven mechanics, staged PRs) vs golang-naming/golang-code-style/golang-project-layout/golang-design-patterns/golang-modernize (what the resulting code should look like) — load golang-refactoring alongside whichever of these owns the target shape

Configure mode

Write an always-load directive for golang-how-to itself to the project's agent-config file (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, Cursor rules, or Copilot instructions — whichever the project's harness reads), and optionally force-trigger specific secondary skills too.

samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-project-layout writes the always-load directive automatically at project creation, with no user confirmation needed — it costs one skill description and never imposes project-specific choices. Running /golang-how-to configure writes it too if missing, and additionally lets the user confirm a ## Required Go skills block for skills that must always apply beyond routing. Follow project-config.md.

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This skill is not exhaustive. Refer to individual skill files and the official Go documentation for detailed guidance.

If you encounter a bug or unexpected behavior in this skill plugin, open an issue at https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang/issues.