golang-patterns

Guide idiomatic Go patterns for interfaces, error wrapping, and concurrency.

1|Updated Mar 20, 2024
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/flag3/dotfiles --skill golang-patterns
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: golang-patterns
Source: https://github.com/flag3/dotfiles/tree/main/.claude/skills/golang-patterns
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/flag3/dotfiles --skill golang-patterns

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Go developers often struggle to apply idiomatic patterns that balance clarity, correctness, and maintainability. This skill consolidates proven Go patterns into practical guidance to elevate code quality.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Simplicity and Clarity: Favor straightforward designs over clever hacks.
  • Interface-First Design: Accept interfaces and return concrete types to enable flexible composition.
  • Robust Error Handling: Use wrapping, sentinel errors, and error inspection to provide context.
  • Concurrency Patterns: Implement worker pools and context-based cancellation for scalable tasks.
  • Practical Scenarios: Refactor a service to use interfaces and error wrapping and add a worker pool for background tasks.

Quick Start

Start by outlining a small Go module that applies the patterns: define a service interface, implement a concrete type, wrap errors, and add a simple worker pool to process jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions about golang-patterns

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I write idiomatic Go code that's maintainable and reliable?

Idiomatic Go prioritizes simplicity and clarity over clever solutions. Apply proven patterns: use interfaces to enable flexible composition, wrap errors to provide context, implement concurrency patterns like worker pools for scalable tasks, and design clean package structures. These practices improve readability, correctness, and long-term maintainability across modules.

What's the best way to handle errors in Go?

Robust error handling in Go uses wrapping, sentinel errors, and error inspection to preserve context. Wrap errors with additional information as they propagate up the call stack, define sentinel errors for specific failure modes, and inspect errors at decision points. This approach enables clear debugging and graceful failure recovery.

How do I design interfaces in Go for flexible code?

Go's interface-first design pattern accepts interfaces and returns concrete types. Define small, focused interfaces that specify behavior rather than implementation. This enables loose coupling between components, simplifies testing through mock implementations, and allows swapping concrete types without changing client code.

What concurrency patterns should I use in Go?

Go concurrency patterns include worker pools for processing jobs efficiently and context-based cancellation for coordinating goroutines. Worker pools distribute tasks across multiple workers to prevent resource exhaustion, while context provides clean shutdown and timeout signaling. These patterns scale background task processing reliably.

Can I refactor an existing Go service to use idiomatic patterns?

Yes. Refactor existing Go services by introducing service interfaces, implementing error wrapping throughout the call stack, replacing manual goroutine management with worker pools, and restructuring packages for clarity. This improves code quality incrementally while maintaining backward compatibility.

When should I use interfaces versus concrete types in Go?

Accept interfaces as function parameters to enable flexibility and testability; return concrete types from constructors for clear, type-safe APIs. This boundary between interface and concrete reduces coupling, simplifies reasoning about dependencies, and makes mocking in tests straightforward.