using-go-tool-directive

name	using-go-tool-directive
description	Manages Go development tools using the Go 1.24+ tool directive in go.mod. Use when adding linters, generators, or dev tools to Go projects, running project-specific tools, integrating tools with go:generate, or migrating from tools.go patterns.

Using Go Tool Directive

Manage project-specific development tools in Go 1.24+ using the tool directive. Ensures consistent tool versions across team members and CI/CD environments.

Use this skill when adding dev tools (linters, generators, formatters) to Go projects, running tools via go tool, integrating with go:generate, or migrating from legacy tools.go patterns.

Supporting files: COMMANDS.md for full command reference, MIGRATION.md for migration patterns, ADVANCED.md for dependency isolation and caching.

Quick Start

Add a tool to your project:

go get -tool golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer@latest

This adds to go.mod:

tool golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer

Run the tool:

go tool stringer -type=MyType

Core Workflows

Adding Tools

# Add with latest version
go get -tool github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint

# Add with specific version
go get -tool honnef.co/go/tools/cmd/staticcheck@v0.5.1