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Quick Setup

Updated Jul 19, 2023 ·

Set up Go and VS Code​

Here's how to get started with Go and Visual Studio Code quickly.

  • Install Visual Studio Code
  • Install Go language
  • Install required Go tools

Install Visual Studio Code​

To write Go code, you need a code editor.

  • Search "vscode" in a browser
  • Download from code.visualstudio.com

Run the installer, click through the default options, and launch it after installation. It will show a "Get Started" screen.

Install Go​

You need the Go language installed before writing Go code.

  • Go to go.dev
  • Download Go for your OS (Windows, Mac, or Linux)

After installing, close and reopen VS Code to reload the environment correctly.

Install Go Extension in VS Code​

VS Code needs the Go extension to work properly with Go code.

  • Search “Go” in the Extensions sidebar
  • Click "Install"

This helps with auto-completion, linting, and debugging.

Install Go Tools​

After installing the Go extension, VS Code will ask you to install extra tools.

  • gotests
  • gomodifytags
  • goplay
  • dlv
  • gopls
  • staticcheck
  • go-outline
  • goimports

These tools help with testing, debugging, and formatting your code. Install all of them when prompted.

Check If Go Is Installed​

After installing Go on Windows using the .msi installer, you can verify that it's working correctly. Open a terminal in VS Code:

  1. Press Ctrl + ` (backtick) or go to Terminal > New Terminal

  2. Type this command and press Enter:

    go version

    Expected result (your version may be different):

    go version go1.22.0 windows/amd64

  3. Then run:

    go env

    This shows environment settings like the Go root path (GOROOT) and Go workspace (GOPATH).

    Example result:

    GO111MODULE=""
    GOARCH="amd64"
    GOOS="windows"
    GOPATH="C:\Users\YourName\go"
    GOROOT="C:\Program Files\Go"

    If you see outputs like above, Go is installed correctly and VS Code can access it.

Go Not Detected in WSL​

If you're using WSL and Go isn't detected, it means Go is only installed on Windows—not inside WSL.

  • go version returns "command not found"
  • WSL doesn’t use the Windows Go installation
  • You need to install Go separately inside WSL

WSL is like a separate Linux machine, so it needs its own Go setup. Below is a quick way to install Go manually in WSL (Ubuntu example):

  1. Open WSL terminal

  2. Download the latest Go archive:

    wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.22.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

  3. Extract it to /usr/local:

    sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.22.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
    rm -f go1.22.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

  4. Add Go to your PATH by editing your shell config:

    echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc

    (Use .zshrc if you're using Zsh.)

  5. Check version again:

    go version

    Expected output:

    go version go1.22.0 linux/amd64

Do You Still Need to Install Go in WSL?​

You still need to install Go inside WSL. The .msi installer installed Go on Windows, not inside your WSL environment.

  • WSL is like a separate Linux system
  • It doesn’t share installed programs with Windows
  • Your Go installation in Windows is not visible from WSL

What Are Your Options?

  1. Install Go Separately in WSL

    • Use Linux version of Go inside WSL
    • Fully native Go experience
    • Recommended if you write/run Go code from WSL

  2. Use Go Installed on Windows (Not Recommended)

    • Possible by adding /mnt/c/Program Files/Go/bin to WSL's PATH
    • May cause permission, path, or compatibility issues
    • Not ideal for builds and tools in WSL

If you still want the second option (Go Installed on Windows), try this:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:"/mnt/c/Program Files/Go/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Then test it:

go version

If that works, Go will run from WSL — but again, this is not the cleanest setup.

Create a Go Project Folder​

Start with a simple folder for your Go code.

  • Create a folder named go-helloworld
  • Open it using "Open Folder" in VS Code

This folder will hold your Go files.

Write Your First Go Program​

Create a file named main.go inside go-helloworld folder:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Printf("hello world\n")
}

Save the file. The Go extension may suggest installing goimports to fix imports—install it too.

Run Your Go Program​

You can run the program in two ways:

  • From the terminal:

    go run .

  • Or with debug:

    Click Run > Run Without Debugging or Start Debugging in VS Code.

    Both methods should print:

    hello world

    If you see this, everything works fine.

Build The Go Program​

Compile your Go code into an executable.

go build main.go

This creates a binary named main (or main.exe on Windows).

You can confirm the output file is created:

$ ls -l

-rwxrwxrwx 1 user user 30 Jul 18 15:06 go.mod
-rwxrwxrwx 1 user user 73 Jul 18 14:45 main.go  
-rwxrwxrwx 1 user user 87 Jul 18 15:10 main

Run the compiled program like this:

./main

This will execute the binary file generated from your Go code.

Run The Go Program Directly​

This compiles the code and runs it right away without creating a binary file. It's useful for testing small programs during development.

go run main.go

Initialize Go Module​

To set up your Go module to manage dependencies:

go mod init hello-world

This creates a go.mod file, which will contain:

module hello-world

go 1.22.0

This file tells Go the module name and version, and it helps track packages your app uses.