Go Modules and go.mod

What Is a Module?

A Go module is a collection of related packages that are versioned and distributed together, identified by a module path (often a repository URL like github.com/user/project). Modules are Go's unit of dependency management, similar to a package.json in Node.js or a Cargo.toml in Rust.

Example: What Is a Module?

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println("A module groups packages under one versioned identity")
}

Creating go.mod with go mod init

Running 'go mod init' followed by a module path creates a go.mod file in the current directory. This file records the module's name and the minimum Go version it requires, and it becomes the anchor that all import paths within the project are resolved against.

Note: Use a real or placeholder repository path, e.g. 'github.com/yourname/project', even for local-only projects.

Example: Creating go.mod with go mod init

go mod init github.com/example/myapp

Reading a go.mod File

A go.mod file lists the module directive (its name), a go directive (minimum Go version), and a require block listing each dependency module with its exact version. Go tooling reads this file automatically -- you rarely edit it by hand.

Example: Reading a go.mod File

module github.com/example/myapp

go 1.22

require (
	github.com/some/dependency v1.4.0
)

Adding Dependencies

When your code imports a package that isn't part of the standard library, you fetch and record it with 'go get'. This updates go.mod with the new requirement and creates or updates go.sum, which stores cryptographic checksums to verify dependencies haven't been tampered with.

Note: 'go get' updates both go.mod and go.sum; never edit go.sum manually.

Example: Adding Dependencies

go get github.com/some/[email protected]