How to Install Go on Windows

Introduction

In this article, I will explain how to set up a Go development environment on Windows.
Installing Go itself is easy, but you need to be careful about the installation location and settings.
By default, the installation directory is C:\Program Files\Go and GOPATH is set to C:\Users\<username>\.go.

In this case, since the directory contains spaces, some tools might not recognize the path correctly.
Additionally, GOPATH stores configuration and package files directly under the home directory; however, since several directories already exist there, managing them becomes cluttered.

Because these default settings can be inconvenient, we will install Go to C:\lang\go this time.
GOPATH will also be set to C:/Users/<username>/.local/share/go in accordance with the XDG Base Directory specification.

1. Environment Preparation

1.1. Go Installation Path

I generally install programming languages under C:\lang\. Since we are installing Go, the path will be C:\lang\go.

C:\lang, unlike the typical Windows installation path C:\Program Files, does not contain spaces in the directory name.
Since directory names containing spaces can cause unexpected behavior in some tools, it is recommended to avoid them. You can prevent issues by using a directory name without spaces.

1.2. XDG Base Directory

The XDG Base Directory specification is a standard for defining where user-specific data and configuration files should be stored. It is supported by default in UNIX/Linux environments, and many applications store their configuration files according to XDG.

The XDG standard can also be utilized in Windows environments.
We set environment variables such as XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME, and XDG_STATE_HOME.
By preparing the directory structure accordingly, various applications can store their configuration files under the XDG hierarchy.

2. Installing Go

2.1. Installing Go via winget

Go is compatible with winget, the package manager for Windows.
By using winget, you don't need to download and run an installer via a browser; you can install it quickly by running winget in the command line.

winget has a --location option to specify the installation path, but the Go installer ignores it.
Therefore, we use a variable called INSTALLDIR.

Install Go using the following command:

winget install GoLang.Go --override "INSTALLDIR=C:\\lang\\go"

2.2. Setting Environment Variables

To use Go, you need to set certain environment variables. The environment variables and their values are as follows:

Environment Variable	Value	Description
GOPATH	C:/Users/<username>/.local/share/go	Path to the Go workspace. Set under XDG_DATA_HOME.
PATH	...;C:\lang\go\bin;%GOPATH%\bin	Add C:\lang\go\bin and %GOPATH%\bin to Path

Note

• Do not reference environment variables when setting GOPATH. If the path becomes a value like "%XDG_...%" instead of the actual directory, the created Go binaries will not be found.
• You need to restart to apply the settings to Windows.

How to set environment variables

You can set environment variables from the [System Properties] dialog.
The following steps describe how to set environment variables on Windows:

1. Right-click the [Start menu] and select [System].

2. Click [Advanced system settings].

3. The "System Properties" dialog appears; click [Environment Variables].

4. The "Environment Variables" dialog appears; select the environment variable you want to edit and click [Edit].

5. Edit the necessary environment variables and click [OK].

6. Click [OK] on each dialog to close them.

This completes the environment variable setup.
For specific settings, refer to the table in Setting Environment Variables.

2.3. Verifying Go Operation

If the environment variables are set correctly, Go will work properly.
The go version command outputs the current version of Go.
Run go version to confirm that Go is working correctly.

Terminal

> go version
go version goX.XX.X windows/amd64

>

As shown above, the Go version is displayed.

3. Your First Go Program

3.1. "Hello, World!!" with Go

Follow these steps to create a program that outputs "Hello, World!!" in Go:

1. Create a Go module directory

   mkdir hello & cd hello
   
   

   Create a new hello directory for your program and move into it.

2. Initialize the Go module

   go mod init hello
   
   

   The go mod init command creates and initializes a new Go module.
   In this case, we initialize the hello directory as the root of the Go module and create a go.mod file.

3. Create a hello.go file and write the code as follows:

   hello.go

   package main
   
   import "fmt"
   
   func main() {
     fmt.Println("Hello, World!!");
   }
   

   Create a Go language program within the Go module.

4. Run the Go program using the go run command

   go run hello.go
   
   

   Use the go run command to execute the program you created.

5. The message "Hello, World!!" is displayed

If the message is displayed as shown above, you have successfully created a program in Go.

Conclusion

So far, we have installed Go and created a simple program.
Now you can start programming with Go.
Go is a simple and powerful language that can be used to develop various applications.
I hope you use this article as a reference to set up your own development environment and explore the world of Go.

Happy Hacking!

Technical Terms and Annotations

• GOPATH: The Go language workspace directory. This is the location where Go projects are stored.
• XDG Base Directory: A unified standard for defining storage locations for configuration files and other data. This helps organize where configuration files are saved.
• winget: A package manager for Windows. It allows you to install applications from the Windows command line.

References

Websites

• Official Go Website: https://go.dev/
• XDG Base Directory: https://wiki.archlinux.jp/index.php/XDG_Base_Directory
• winget Package Manager: https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli