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 Go isn’t detected in WSL, it means Go is installed on Windows but not inside the WSL environment.

• 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 this setup is not the cleanest.

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 might prompt you to install goimports to manage imports. Install it as well.

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.