Effective Go

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