Go Error Handling

Handles the full spectrum of Go error patterns: choosing between sentinel errors, custom types, and fmt.Errorf wrapping (%w vs %v), structuring error flow with early returns, and deciding whether to log or return (never both). Ships with a linter script that catches common anti-patterns like string comparison on err.Error() and log-and-return violations. The references cover wrapping strategy at package boundaries, when to escalate from simple errors.New to typed errors, and the handle-once pattern. Requires Go 1.13+ for errors.Is/As. Built from Google and Uber style guides, so you get opinionated guidance on things like error string capitalization and avoiding in-band error values.

skills.sh installs: 1.3K
GitHub stars: 193
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add cxuu/golang-skills --skill go-error-handling --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Go Error Handling

Compatibility: errors.Is, errors.As, and %w wrapping require Go 1.13+; structured logging examples may use log/slog from Go 1.21+.

Resource Routing

scripts/check-errors.sh - Run when checking string-based error matching, bare error propagation, and log-and-return patterns.
scripts/check-errors-ast.go - Implementation helper invoked by check-errors.sh; patch this when changing error-flow analysis behavior.
references/ERROR-FLOW.md - Read when deciding where to handle, wrap, log, or return errors.
references/ERROR-TYPES.md - Read when choosing sentinel errors, typed errors, or opaque errors.
references/WRAPPING.md - Read when choosing %w versus %v or crossing package boundaries.