Skip to main content

Go build

Building Go applications is an essential part of Go development. Below is a comprehensive guide covering Go builds from basic to advanced.

1. Basic Build Commands​

a. Simple Build​

The most basic way to build a Go application:

  • Builds the package in the current directory.
  • Produces an executable binary in the same directory.
go build

b. Naming the Output​

Specify the output binary name using the -o flag:

go build -o myapp

c. Building Specific Files​

To build a specific file (useful for multi-file projects):

go build main.go

2. Cross-Compilation​

Build for different platforms and architectures using GOOS and GOARCH.

a. List of Platforms​

Check supported platforms:

go tool dist list

b. Example Commands​

  1. Linux (64-bit):
GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o myapp
  1. Windows (64-bit):
GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o myapp.exe
  1. macOS (ARM):
GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 go build -o myapp

3. Build with metadata​

Build the application and pass metadata using ldflags:

go build -ldflags "-X main.version=1.0.0 -X main.buildDate=$(date +%Y-%m-%d) -X main.commit=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" -o app

Checkout this github