Effective Go

Applies the official Effective Go guide as you write, review, or refactor Go code. It enforces idiomatic patterns and conventions directly from go.dev/doc/effective_go, so you're not constantly alt-tabbing to check naming rules or whether you're handling errors the Go way. Comes from the OpenShift HyperShift repo, which makes sense since they're shipping production Go at scale. If you're tired of bikeshedding style in reviews or just want your code to look like it was written by someone who knows the language, this keeps you honest without being preachy about it.

GitHub stars: 536
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

View on GitHub

Install

$ npx -y skills add openshift/hypershift --skill 'Effective Go' --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Effective Go

Apply best practices and conventions from the official Effective Go guide to write clean, idiomatic Go code.

When to Apply

Use this skill automatically when:

Writing new Go code
Reviewing Go code
Refactoring existing Go implementations

Key Reminders

Follow the conventions and patterns documented at https://go.dev/doc/effective_go, with particular attention to:

Formatting: Always use gofmt - this is non-negotiable
Naming: No underscores, use MixedCaps for exported names, mixedCaps for unexported
Error handling: Always check errors; return them, don't panic
Concurrency: Share memory by communicating (use channels)
Interfaces: Keep small (1-3 methods ideal); accept interfaces, return concrete types
Documentation: Document all exported symbols, starting with the symbol name