Use when organizing functions within a Go file, formatting function signatures, designing return values, or following Printf-style naming conventions. Also use when a user is adding or refactoring any Go function, even if they don't mention function design or signature formatting. Does not cover functional options constructors (see go-functional-options).
Use when choosing a logging approach, configuring slog, writing structured log statements, or deciding log levels in Go. Also use when setting up production logging, adding request-scoped context to logs, or migrating from log to slog, even if the user doesn't explicitly mention logging. Does not cover error handling strategy (see go-error-handling).
Idiomatic context.Context usage in Golang — creation, propagation, cancellation, timeouts, deadlines, context values, and cross-service tracing. Apply when working with context.Context in any Go code.
Golang performance optimization patterns and methodology - if X bottleneck, then apply Y. Covers allocation reduction, CPU efficiency, memory layout, GC tuning, pooling, caching, and hot-path optimization. Use when profiling or benchmarks have identified a bottleneck and you need the right optimization pattern to fix it. Also use when performing performance code review to suggest improvements or benchmarks that could help identify quick performance gains. Not for measurement methodology (see golang-benchmark skill) or debugging workflow (see golang-troubleshooting skill).