Agent skill
go-linting
Use when setting up linting, configuring golangci-lint, or fixing linter warnings in Go projects. Provides recommended linter sets, golangci-lint configuration, CI integration, and Makefile targets.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/saisudhir14/claude-skills/tree/main/skills/go-linting
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- tags
- golang go linting golangci-lint staticcheck revive govet ci
- author
- saisudhir14
- category
- languages
SKILL.md
Go Linting
Recommended linters and configuration for Go projects.
golangci-lint Setup
golangci-lint is the standard linter aggregator for Go. Install it as a tool dependency in your module:
# Add to go.mod (Go 1.24+)
go get -tool github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint
# Or install directly
go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest
Recommended Configuration
Place .golangci.yml at the project root. This uses the golangci-lint v2 config format:
version: "2"
run:
timeout: 5m
go: "1.25"
linters:
enable:
- errcheck # unchecked errors
- govet # go vet checks
- staticcheck # comprehensive static analysis (includes gosimple)
- revive # flexible linter, replaces golint
- ineffassign # unused assignments
- unused # unused code
- misspell # spelling in comments and strings
- unconvert # unnecessary type conversions
- gocritic # opinionated style and performance checks
- errname # error naming conventions (Err prefix)
- errorlint # error wrapping patterns
- copyloopvar # loop variable copy issues (pre-Go 1.22)
- nilerr # returning nil when err is not nil
- bodyclose # unclosed HTTP response bodies
- prealloc # slice preallocation
settings:
revive:
rules:
- name: exported
arguments:
- "checkPrivateReceivers"
- name: blank-imports
- name: context-as-argument
- name: context-keys-type
- name: error-return
- name: error-strings
- name: error-naming
- name: increment-decrement
- name: var-naming
- name: package-comments
- name: range
- name: receiver-naming
- name: indent-error-flow
- name: empty-block
- name: superfluous-else
- name: unreachable-code
- name: redefines-builtin-id
gocritic:
enabled-tags:
- diagnostic
- style
- performance
errcheck:
check-type-assertions: true
check-blank: true
govet:
enable-all: true
exclusions:
rules:
# Allow unused parameters in interface implementations
- linters:
- revive
text: "unused-parameter"
# Test files can use dot imports
- path: _test\.go
linters:
- revive
text: "dot-imports"
formatters:
enable:
- goimports # import formatting and grouping
settings:
goimports:
local-prefixes:
- yourcompany.com
issues:
max-issues-per-linter: 0
max-same-issues: 0
Update local-prefixes under formatters.settings.goimports to match your module path.
Note: this config uses golangci-lint v2 format (version: "2"). If you are on golangci-lint v1, run golangci-lint migrate to convert, or remove the version line and move formatters back into linters.
Makefile Integration
.PHONY: lint lint-fix
lint: ## Run linters
go tool golangci-lint run ./...
lint-fix: ## Run linters with auto-fix
go tool golangci-lint run --fix ./...
If golangci-lint is not a tool dependency:
lint:
golangci-lint run ./...
CI Integration
GitHub Actions
name: lint
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
golangci-lint:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-go@v5
with:
go-version: "1.25"
- uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v6
with:
version: latest
Per-Linter Guidance
errcheck
Finds unchecked errors. Fix by handling or explicitly ignoring:
// Wrong: error ignored silently
json.Unmarshal(data, &v)
// Correct: handle the error
if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &v); err != nil {
return fmt.Errorf("unmarshal config: %w", err)
}
errorlint
Enforces proper error wrapping and comparison:
// errorlint flags this: use errors.Is instead
if err == ErrNotFound { }
// Correct
if errors.Is(err, ErrNotFound) { }
bodyclose
Catches unclosed HTTP response bodies:
resp, err := http.Get(url)
if err != nil {
return err
}
defer resp.Body.Close() // bodyclose checks for this
govet
Runs the same checks as go vet plus additional analyzers. Key checks:
- printf: format string / argument mismatch
- shadow: variable shadowing
- structtag: malformed struct tags
- copylocks: passing locks by value
Suppressing False Positives
//nolint:errcheck // intentionally ignoring close error on read-only file
_ = f.Close()
//nolint:gocritic // hugeParam: passing by value is intentional here
func process(cfg Config) { }
Use //nolint comments sparingly. Prefer fixing the issue over suppressing it.
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