How to Install Go (Golang) Compiler on Ubuntu 20.04

Go, or Golang is an open-source programming language that Google created. It’s statically typed and produces compiled machine code binaries. Go language is a compiled language. This is popular amongst developers as it means you do not need to compile the source code to create an executable file. Developers that use Google’s Go language say it is the C for the twenty-first century when it comes to syntax.

You will know how to install and configure Go (Golang) on your Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa operating system in the following guide. The same principle will work for the newer version Ubuntu 21.04 (Hirsute Hippo).

Pre-requisites

• Recommended OS: Ubuntu 20.04 – optional (Ubuntu 21.04 and Linux Mint 20)
• User account: A user account with sudo or root access.

Before you begin, make sure your Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa system is up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Make sure the wget package is installed on the operating system:

sudo apt install wget

Install Go (Goland)

You can install Go (Golang) in two ways, through the apt package manager from Ubuntu default repositories, and secondly from adding the source repository, which typically is recommended for faster updates and features.

Apt Package Manger

Open a terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and execute the following command:

sudo apt install golang

You will get the following output of additional packages Go will install:

[email protected]:~$ sudo apt install golang
 [sudo] password for joshua: 
 Reading package lists… Done
 Building dependency tree       
 Reading state information… Done
 The following additional packages will be installed:
   binutils binutils-common binutils-x86-64-linux-gnu g++ g++-9 gcc gcc-9
   golang-1.13 golang-1.13-doc golang-1.13-go golang-1.13-race-detector-runtime
   golang-1.13-src golang-doc golang-go golang-race-detector-runtime golang-src
   libasan5 libatomic1 libbinutils libc-dev-bin libc6-dev libcrypt-dev
   libctf-nobfd0 libctf0 libgcc-9-dev libitm1 liblsan0 libquadmath0
   libstdc++-9-dev libtsan0 libubsan1 linux-libc-dev manpages-dev
 Suggested packages:
   binutils-doc g++-multilib g++-9-multilib gcc-9-doc gcc-multilib make
   autoconf automake libtool flex bison gcc-doc gcc-9-multilib gcc-9-locales
   bzr | brz git mercurial subversion glibc-doc libstdc++-9-doc
 The following NEW packages will be installed:
   binutils binutils-common binutils-x86-64-linux-gnu g++ g++-9 gcc gcc-9
   golang golang-1.13 golang-1.13-doc golang-1.13-go
   golang-1.13-race-detector-runtime golang-1.13-src golang-doc golang-go
   golang-race-detector-runtime golang-src libasan5 libatomic1 libbinutils
   libc-dev-bin libc6-dev libcrypt-dev libctf-nobfd0 libctf0 libgcc-9-dev
   libitm1 liblsan0 libquadmath0 libstdc++-9-dev libtsan0 libubsan1
   linux-libc-dev manpages-dev
 0 upgraded, 34 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
 Need to get 96.9 MB of archives.
 After this operation, 482 MB of additional disk space will be used.
 Do you want to continue? [Y/n] 

Type and enter (Y) to continue the installation, and overall it should take a few minutes, if not quicker.

Next, to finish off, check the software version to see what you are on and if it is recent enough for your requirements:

go version

Output:

[email protected]:~$ go version
 go version go1.13.8 linux/amd64

If the version is too far behind, then install Go from the source, as shown in the next part of our guide.

Source Install

Download the latest version of Go from their official website using the following command:

wget https://golang.org/dl/go1.16.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Note, at the time of this guide, version 1.16.5 is the latest. Visit the download page to check version numbers and replace the URL with an updated one if available.

Once the Go is downloaded, extract the downloaded file to the /usr/local/ directory:

tar -xzf go1.16.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz -C /usr/local/

Now, you will need to add the path of the Go directory to the $PATH variable in the /etc/profile directory using our favourite text editor nano:

sudo nano /etc/profile

Once the file is open, add the following line then (CTRL+O) to save, and (CTRL+X) to exit once done:

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

Next, activate the PATH environment variable that you just added. Type the following command:

source /etc/profile

Next, as before with using the apt package manager installation, check the version:

go version

Output:

[email protected]:~$ go version
 go version go1.16.5 linux/amd64

How to use Go – Create a program.

Now that you have installed Go, we will create a small program that will print (hello world).

First, create a directory:

sudo mkdir go-hello

Now, you will create a (.go) file. The quickest way to do this is using the nano editor:

sudo nano go-hello/hello.go

Next, add the following text below to create the (Hello World) Go program:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
     fmt.Printf("Hello, World\n") 
}

Save the file (CTRL+O), then exit (CTRL+X).

Now, you need to build (go.mod) file so you can execute the Go file you just created:

sudo nano go-hello/go.mod

Add the following line:

module example.com/mod

Now save the file (CTRL+O) and exit (CTRL+X).

Next, cd to the directory, then build the program by entering the following command:

cd go-hello && go build

Finally, execute the (Hello World) program by entering the following command:

./mod

You should get the following output:

Hello, World!

Comments and Conclusion:

In the guide, you have learnt how to install Go (Golang) successfully using either Ubuntu’s default repositories or direct from the source (Recommended) and successfully create your first Go program.

For more information on using and developing with Go, visit the official documentation.

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment below.