Installing Go and the Go Tools-Chain in Binary Format

Go binaries

The already compiled code that allows users to download the program on the machine without needing to compile the source code is called a binary.

You can download GO binaries here, where you choose the file appropriate for your OS and processor architecture: msi or zip for Windows, pkg for Mac OS and tar.gz for Linux and FreeBSD.

Installing Go binaries

The Go binary distributions assume they will be installed in /usr/local/go or c:\go, but it is possible to install them in a different location. During installation, the GOROOT environment variable is set by default to this root of the Go installation tree. For example, on Windows, GOROOT has the default value c:\go.

For Windows

Start the msi installer (double click) and follow the install wizard. The Go tree will install in c:\Go. Alternatively, extract the zip file (with Winzip or another popular compression tool) to c:\Go or another folder.

For FreeBSD and Linux

Extract the archive into /usr/local, creating a Go tree in /usr/local/go For example:

tar -C /usr/local -xzf go$VERSION.$OS-$ARCH.tar.gz

Choose the name of the archive file suitable for the installation. For instance, if you are installing Go version 1.13.3 for 64-bit x86 on Linux, the archive you want is called go1.13.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz. Typically, these commands must be run as root or through sudo keyword.

For Mac OS

Open the .pkg file and follow the prompts to install the Go tools. The package installs the Go distribution to /usr/local/go.

Making Go binaries system-wide available

To do that, the bin folder under GOROOT should be available in the PATH system environment variable. In Windows and Mac OS, this is taken care of by the installation process (any open Terminal sessions must be restarted for the changes to take effect). In Linux, you must do this manually: add the following line to your /etc/profile (for a system-wide installation) or $HOME/.profile.

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

or using GOROOT:

export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin

Installing to a custom folder

If you installed Go to another directory, say d:\golang or $HOME/goinstall, you must explicitly set GOROOT to that value to use the Go tooling. For example, with Linux and Mac OS, if you installed Go to your home directory ( $HOME is /home/user1 if you are logged in as user1), you should add the following commands to $HOME/.profile:

export GOROOT=$HOME/goinstall # only to be set if different from default
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin

After the changes, restart terminal or reload .profile with: source .profile and test the values with env | grep GO meaning or echo $GOROOT in a terminal window.

In Windows, change the GOROOT variable to your installation folder and add the path to the bin folder to PATH in the Environment Variables from System Configuration. To create or change an environment variable, do the following:

• Open Windows Explorer
• Select Computer
• Right Mouse Click: Properties -> Advanced System Settings ->Environment Variables ->System Variables -> New (or Edit).

Testing the installation

Using your favorite text editor, make a file with the following code, and save this as hello_world1.go.