Go Install Script

This script installs Go packages listed in a file. Each line of the .goinstall file should contain a Go package in the format github.com/username/repo@version.

This script does not install Go on your system. We reccomend using proto to install and manage tools like Go.

Usage

Default Usage

Running the install_go_packages.sh script will install the packages specified in the .goinstall file in the current directory:

./install_go_packages.sh

Custom .goinstall File

You can also specify a custom file by using the -f flag:

./install_go_packages.sh -f /path/to/custom_file.goinstall

Running Remotely

This script can be run remotely using curl:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/epicexecute/go-install-script/main/install_go_packages.sh | sh -s -- -f .goinstall

The .goinstall File

We reccomend creating a .goinstall file in your project's root. It should contain a list of Go packages or comments in the following format:

# comment
github.com/username/repo@version

Here's an example file that installs common Go tools and protoc plugins:

# go tools
github.com/segmentio/golines@latest
mvdan.cc/gofumpt@latest

# protoc plugins
github.com/sudorandom/protoc-gen-connect-openapi@main
github.com/voi-oss/protoc-gen-event/cmd/protoc-gen-event@latest

Using with proto Version Manager

This script expects Go to be installed in your $PATH and it uses go install to install Go packages in the default $GOBIN location (~/go/bin).

If you used proto to install Go with default settings, it sets the default $GOBIN location in your shell. It does not, however, add that location to your $PATH (source).

You must manually add your $GOBIN directory to your shell's $PATH. If you do not do this , packages installed by this script (or any other invocations of go install) will not be discoverable by your shell.

Using Devcontainer

Add the following to your devcontainer's Dockerfile:

RUN echo "\n # append default GOBIN to PATH \nexport PATH=\"\$HOME/go/bin:\$PATH;\"" >> ~/.zshrc

Remember to rebuild your devcontainer after saving the Dockerfile.

Using zsh Shell Profile

Run the following to append the default $GOBIN to the end of your $PATH within your .zshrc file, then reload your shell profile:

echo "\n # append default GOBIN to PATH \nexport PATH=\"\$HOME/go/bin:\$PATH;\"" >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Why Create This?

We needed to predictably install the same Go packages (i.e. golines, gofumpt, etc.) and protoc plugins in our Devcontainer and CI/CD environments. We also needed an easy way to re-install those packages when they changed for the project. Rather than manually keeping track of everything in other configs and README files, we chose to create a config file (.goinstall) and a script (install_go_packages.sh) to automate the process.

In our devcontainers, we call the script remotely in a postStartCommand to install the latest Go packages for the project every time our devcontainer starts:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/epicexecute/go-install-script/main/install_go_packages.sh | sh -s -- -f .goinstall

Requirements

• Go 1.17+ should be installed on your system.
• The go binary must be available in your shell $PATH.
• The $GOBIN variable should be set so packages are installed in a known, repeatable location.

License

This script is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more details.