Install Go on Linux

Before You Start

• Applies to: Go 1.21+ (examples verified with Go 1.22) · Prerequisites: Get Started · Read time: about 7 min

This guide will help you install Go language on Linux system.

Download Go

First, download the Go installation package suitable for your Linux system from the official website.

Choose the corresponding version based on your system architecture:

• linux-amd64 - 64-bit x86 architecture
• linux-arm64 - 64-bit ARM architecture
• linux-386 - 32-bit x86 architecture
• linux-armv6l - ARMv6 architecture

Installation Steps

1. Download the installation package

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.21.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

2. Delete old version (if any)

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

3. Extract to /usr/local

sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.21.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

4. Configure environment variables

Add the following to your ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc file:

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

5. Make environment variables take effect

source ~/.profile

Or:

source ~/.bashrc

6. Verify installation

go version

If the installation is successful, you should see output similar to:

go version go1.21.3 linux/amd64

Custom Installation Path

If you want to install Go to a custom path, you can:

1. Extract to custom directory

mkdir -p ~/go
tar -C ~/go -xzf go1.21.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

2. Configure environment variables

Add the following to your ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc file:

export GOROOT=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin

3. Make environment variables take effect

source ~/.profile

Configure GOPATH

By default, Go uses $HOME/go as the workspace directory. If you want to use a different path, you can set the GOPATH environment variable:

export GOPATH=$HOME/gopath
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin

Verify Installation

Create a simple Go program to verify that the installation is successful:

mkdir -p $HOME/hello
cd $HOME/hello
cat > hello.go << 'EOF'
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}
EOF
go run hello.go

If the output is Hello, World!, it means the installation is successful.

Uninstall

If you need to uninstall Go, just delete the installation directory:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

Then remove the Go-related environment variables from your ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc file.

Troubleshooting

Permission denied

If you encounter a permission denied error, please use sudo to execute the command:

sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.21.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Command not found

If the go command is not found, please check:

1. Whether the PATH environment variable is configured correctly
2. Whether the environment variables have taken effect
3. Try to restart the terminal or re-login

Version mismatch

If the displayed version does not match the installed version, please check:

1. Whether there are multiple Go installations
2. Whether the PATH environment variable points to the correct Go installation directory

Next Steps

After installation is complete, you can:

• Visit Go Getting Started Guide to learn Go language basics
• Visit Official Documentation for more detailed documentation
• Visit Go Tour to learn through interactive tutorials

Complete Example

After installing, use the program below to verify the toolchain from the command line. Copy it into a file and run go run main.go.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os/exec"
	"runtime"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	out, err := exec.Command("go", "version").Output()
	fmt.Println("go command found in PATH:", err == nil)
	fmt.Println("version output starts with go:", err == nil && strings.HasPrefix(string(out), "go"))
	fmt.Println("GOROOT is set:", runtime.GOROOT() != "")
}

Expected output:

go command found in PATH: true
version output starts with go: true
GOROOT is set: true

Common Pitfalls

• Add the bin directory to PATH. Unpack to /usr/local/go and export /usr/local/go/bin in ~/.profile or /etc/profile.d.
• Distribution packages lag behind. For the latest Go, use the official tarball instead of the distro repository.
• Keep old versions switchable. Replace /usr/local/go with a symlink (for example to go1.22) when multiple versions must coexist.
• Avoid sudo go build. Root-owned caches cause permission errors for later builds.
• Remove the old directory before unpacking a new one. Mixing two trees under the same path leads to confusing version output.

Change Log

• 2026-10-14: Added "Before You Start" notes, a complete runnable example with expected output, common pitfalls, and this change log.