Golang Pkg Go Dev skill

golang-pkg-go-dev

Dependencies: godig — go install github.com/samber/godig/cmd/godig@latest (or use a registered godig MCP server / the hosted instance instead).

godig queries the pkg.go.dev API. Use it to answer questions about Go packages and modules: docs, symbols, versions, importers and vulnerabilities. It works as a CLI and as an MCP server, and all operations are read-only and need no authentication.

When to use this skill

Trigger on questions like:

• "What versions of github.com/samber/lo are available?"
• "Does golang.org/x/text have known vulnerabilities?"
• "Show me the docs / symbols for package X."
• "Which packages import X?"
• "Search Go packages for Y."

Choosing between godig, gopls, Context7, and govulncheck

In short: godig answers questions about the published ecosystem (works even for packages not yet in your go.mod); gopls reasons about your locally resolved build (go.sum, including replaced forks); Context7 is a fallback for non-Go or unindexed docs; govulncheck is the whole-tree vulnerability audit (→ samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-security). See the samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls skill for wiring gopls (MCP server, native LSP tool, and CLI) with Claude Code, and the samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-how-to skill's "godig vs gopls vs Context7 vs govulncheck" section for the full task-to-tool matrix.

Setup

Install

go install github.com/samber/godig/cmd/godig@latest

Register the MCP server (optional)

godig mcp runs over stdio by default, or streamable HTTP with --transport http. The command is harness-agnostic — any MCP-capable host can point at it. Claude Code registers it via its own CLI:

stdio (the client launches godig on demand):

claude mcp add pkg-go-dev -- godig mcp

streamable HTTP (shared server at /mcp, default :8080):

godig mcp --transport http --addr :8080
claude mcp add --transport http pkg-go-dev http://localhost:8080/mcp

Hosted instance (no install needed) — a public server runs at https://godig.samber.dev/mcp:

claude mcp add --transport http pkg-go-dev https://godig.samber.dev/mcp

Other MCP-capable harnesses (Cursor, Windsurf, and others) each have their own MCP server registration — an entry in their respective settings file pointing at the same godig mcp command or hosted URL, not a shared config format.

The CLI and the MCP server expose the same operations under matching names. Prefer the CLI when godig is installed; the hosted instance is a fallback when it is not.

Commands

Global flags (all commands): -o/--output table|json|raw|md (default table — pass -o md for chat), --base-url (pkg.go.dev API), --vuln-base-url (Go vulnerability database, consulted by vulns and overview), --timeout, --log-level debug|info|warn|error|off. All are also settable via GODIG_* env vars.

Command	Args	Specific flags	Purpose
overview	<path>	--version	Compact summary (metadata, versions, licenses, vulns) — start here
search	<query>	--symbol --limit --filter	Find packages (optionally exporting a symbol)
package info	<path>	--module --version	Package metadata
package imports	<path>	--module --version	Packages this package imports (plain list)
package doc	<path>	--module --version --goos --goarch --format md|text|html|markdown	Full package doc (LARGE)
package examples	<path>	--module --version --goos --goarch --symbol	Runnable examples (LARGE; scope with --symbol)
package licenses	<path>	--module --version	License files, full text (LARGE)
symbol doc	<path> <symbol>	--module --version --goos --goarch	One symbol's signature + doc (token-efficient)
symbol examples	<path> <symbol>	--module --version --goos --goarch	One symbol's runnable examples
symbols	<path>	--module --version --goos --goarch --limit --filter	List exported symbols
module info	<path>	--version	Module metadata
module licenses	<path>	--version	Module license files (LARGE)
module readme	<path>	--version	Module README, full Markdown (LARGE)
dependencies	<path>	--version	go.mod deps: requires / replaces / excludes / go directive
packages	<path>	--version --limit --filter	Packages contained in a module
versions	<path>	--limit --filter	All versions, newest first
major-versions	<path>	--limit --filter --exclude-pseudo	Major versions (v1, v2 …) living as separate modules
imported-by	<path>	--module --version --limit --filter	Packages that import this one
vulns	<path>	--version --limit	Known vulnerabilities (from the Go vuln DB)
mcp	—	--transport stdio|http --addr --cache-ttl --cache-size	Run as an MCP server
version	—	—	Print godig version / commit / build date

When godig runs as an MCP server, each data command above is exposed as an operation of the same name.

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 runtime error (network, package not found), 2 usage error — a missing/invalid argument or flag (e.g. a non-positive --limit), or a command group invoked with no subcommand (godig package). Check for 2 to tell a malformed call apart from a failed lookup.

Full -o md output for every command: sample-output.md.

Tips

• Start with overview — one call returns a compact summary (metadata, latest + recent versions, license types, vulnerabilities). Reach for doc/examples/module readme/licenses (LARGE) only when the full text is needed.
• Always pass -o md so results render as Markdown (tables, or raw doc/README) in the chat. Other formats exist (table default, json, raw) but prefer md here.
• <path> is a full import path, e.g. github.com/samber/lo — pass it as the positional argument.
• --version pins a specific module version (v1.5.0, latest, master, main); --module disambiguates which module a package belongs to.
• --filter narrows list results server-side with a Go boolean expression — see Filter syntax.
• --goos/--goarch set the documentation/symbols build context (e.g. linux/amd64).
• Prefer symbol doc/symbol examples over the package-wide package doc/package examples when you only need one symbol — far fewer tokens.
• Parallelize independent lookups — every command is a self-contained, read-only HTTP query, so calls never depend on each other. When a task needs docs, examples, versions, or vulns for several symbols, packages, or modules, issue all the calls at once (multiple godig invocations in a single turn) rather than one after another — wall-clock drops from sum-of-latencies to slowest-single-call. For a large fan-out (documenting many symbols, comparing many candidate libraries, auditing CVEs across a dependency set), dispatch up to 5 parallel sub-agents, each running its own godig calls and returning a compact summary, so the raw LARGE output never lands in the main context.
• Listing commands auto-paginate (return all results); use --limit to cap.

Filter syntax

--filter (on search, versions, major-versions, packages, imported-by, symbols) takes a Go boolean expression evaluated server-side, once per result item. It is not a regex — wrap the whole expression in single quotes for the shell.

• Identifiers are the item's fields, which differ per command — a field valid for one list is rejected by another (e.g. search exposes packagePath, not path). An unknown field fails with undefined identifier: <name> (HTTP 400), which names the offending field. Fields use the item's lowercase JSON key; the exception is enum-like values such as kind, which are capitalized (Function, not func).
• Operators: == != < <= > >=, boolean && || !, parentheses for grouping.
• String functions: contains(s, sub), hasPrefix(s, pre), hasSuffix(s, suf).
• Literals: double-quoted strings ("Function"), true/false, numbers.

Filterable fields per command (string unless noted):

Command	Fields
search	modulePath, packagePath, synopsis, version
versions	version, modulePath, deprecated (bool), retracted (bool), hasGoMod (bool), commitTime
packages	path, name, synopsis, isRedistributable (bool)
imported-by	path (the importing package path)
symbols	name, kind (Function/Method/Type/Variable/Constant), synopsis, parent
major-versions	modulePath, major, version, isLatest (bool)

godig symbols github.com/samber/lo --filter 'kind=="Function"' -o md
godig symbols github.com/samber/lo --filter 'kind=="Function" && hasPrefix(name,"Map")' -o md
godig versions github.com/samber/lo --filter 'hasPrefix(version,"v1.5")' -o md
godig versions github.com/samber/lo --filter 'deprecated==false && retracted==false' -o md
godig search "result option" --filter 'hasPrefix(packagePath,"github.com/samber/")' -o md

Examples

Always request Markdown output (-o md):

# Overview — start here (compact, one call)
godig overview github.com/samber/ro -o md

# Search
godig search "result option monad" --limit 5 -o md

# Package facets
godig package info github.com/samber/ro -o md
godig package imports github.com/samber/ro -o md
godig package doc github.com/samber/ro --format md -o md
godig package examples github.com/samber/ro --symbol Map -o md
godig package licenses github.com/samber/ro -o md

# Single symbol (token-efficient vs package-wide doc/examples)
godig symbol doc github.com/samber/lo Map -o md
godig symbol examples github.com/samber/oops OopsError.Error -o md

# Module facets
godig module info github.com/samber/ro -o md
godig module readme github.com/samber/ro -o raw
godig dependencies github.com/samber/ro -o md

# Lists (auto-paginated; --limit to cap)
godig versions github.com/samber/ro -o md
godig major-versions github.com/samber/lo -o md
godig packages github.com/samber/ro -o md
godig imported-by github.com/samber/ro --limit 20 -o md
godig symbols github.com/samber/ro --filter 'kind=="Function"' -o md

# Pin a version / set the build context
godig versions github.com/samber/ro --filter 'hasPrefix(version,"v0.3")' -o md
godig package doc github.com/samber/lo --version v1.50.0 -o md
godig symbols github.com/samber/ro --goos linux --goarch amd64 -o md

# Vulnerabilities
godig vulns github.com/samber/ro -o md

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This skill is not exhaustive. godig --help and each sub-command's --help list current flags and output formats; the data mirrors what pkg.go.dev exposes.

If you encounter a bug or unexpected behavior in godig, open an issue at https://github.com/samber/godig/issues.