go-linting

name	go-linting
description	Recommended Go linters and golangci-lint configuration. Use when setting up linting for a Go project or configuring CI/CD.

Go Linting

Source: Uber Go Style Guide

Core Principle

More important than any "blessed" set of linters: lint consistently across a codebase.

Consistent linting helps catch common issues and establishes a high bar for code quality without being unnecessarily prescriptive.

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Minimum Recommended Linters

Source: Uber Go Style Guide

These linters catch the most common issues while maintaining a high quality bar:

Linter	Purpose
errcheck	Ensure errors are handled
goimports	Format code and manage imports
revive	Common style mistakes (modern replacement for golint)
govet	Analyze code for common mistakes
staticcheck	Various static analysis checks

Note: revive is the modern, faster successor to the now-deprecated golint.

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Lint Runner: golangci-lint

Source: Uber Go Style Guide

Use golangci-lint as your lint runner:

• Performance: Optimized for large codebases
• Unified config: Configure many linters at once
• Extensible: Add linters as needed for your project

See the example .golangci.yml from uber-go/guide.

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Example Configuration

Create .golangci.yml in your project root:

linters:
  enable:
    - errcheck
    - goimports
    - revive
    - govet
    - staticcheck

linters-settings:
  goimports:
    local-prefixes: github.com/your-org/your-repo
  revive:
    rules:
      - name: blank-imports
      - name: context-as-argument
      - name: error-return
      - name: error-strings
      - name: exported

run:
  timeout: 5m

Running

# Install
go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest

# Run all linters
golangci-lint run

# Run on specific paths
golangci-lint run ./pkg/...

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Quick Reference

Task	Command/Action
Install golangci-lint	go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest
Run linters	golangci-lint run
Run on path	golangci-lint run ./pkg/...
Config file	.golangci.yml in project root
CI integration	Run golangci-lint run in pipeline

Linter Selection Guidelines

When you need...	Use
Error handling coverage	errcheck
Import formatting	goimports
Style consistency	revive
Bug detection	govet, staticcheck
All of the above	golangci-lint with config

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See Also

• For core style principles: go-style-core
• For testing best practices: go-testing