Go get vs. go install: When Should I Use Which?

Understanding the Differences Between go get and go install

While exploring the Go programming tool, you might have observed that go get performs multiple operations, including downloading, compiling, and installing software, while go install only compiles and installs. You might wonder why go install exists since go get seems to offer a more comprehensive solution.

Purpose of go install

go install plays a crucial role in the local development workflow. Consider a scenario where you want to utilize a library, but require modifications. In such a case, you would typically follow these steps:

1. go get -d library: Download the library without building it.
2. Make necessary changes to the downloaded package.
3. go install library: Install the modified, local version of the library.

go get lacks flags to prevent downloading, making it unsuitable for this workflow.

Similar Workflow for Developing Custom Packages

The same workflow is applicable when developing a new package from scratch. You would download the package's dependencies using go get -d, make necessary modifications, and then install the custom package using go install.

Recent Updates in Go 1.16

In Go 1.16, the usage of go install and go get has been updated and clarified. go install is now the recommended way to build and install packages in module mode. go get should be used with the -d flag to adjust module dependencies without building packages. The use of go get for building and installing packages is deprecated. Future releases will enable the -d flag by default.

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