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

Core Concepts

| Topic | Description | Reference | |-------|-------------|-----------| | Formatting | Always use gofmt - this is non-negotiable | core-formatting | | Naming | MixedCaps for exported, mixedCaps for unexported | core-naming | | Error Handling | Check errors, return them, don't panic | core-error-handling | | Concurrency | Share memory by communicating (use channels) | core-concurrency | | Interfaces | Keep small (1-3 methods ideal); accept interfaces, return concrete types | core-interfaces | | Documentation | Document all exported symbols | core-documentation |

Key Reminders

Follow the conventions and patterns documented at https://go.dev/doc/effective_go:

• Formatting: Use gofmt - this is non-negotiable
• Naming: No underscores, use MixedCaps for exported names
• Error handling: Always check errors; return them, don't panic
• Concurrency: Share memory by communicating
• Interfaces: Keep small and accept interfaces, return structs
• Documentation: Document all exported symbols

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