On $GOPATH | Notion

The GOPATH is an environment variable in Go that defines the root directory of your workspace, where your Go code, dependencies, and compiled binaries are stored — but it’s mostly relevant for older versions of Go (pre-1.11) or projects not using Go Modules.

📦 What Is `GOPATH` Used For?

Traditionally, GOPATH is used to organize and locate:

Subdirectory	Purpose
`src/`	Source code files (organized by import path, e.g., `github.com/user/app`)
`pkg/`	Compiled package objects (`.a` files) for reuse
`bin/`	Compiled executable binaries

For example, if your GOPATH is set to /home/user/go, a project might be located at:

/home/user/go/
├── src/github.com/maelton/myapp/
├── pkg/
└── bin/

⚙️ Why It’s Less Important Now

Starting with Go 1.11, the Go Modules system (go.mod) was introduced and became the default in Go 1.16. This allows you to:

Work outside the GOPATH directory.
Explicitly manage dependencies via go.mod and go.sum.
Have versioned dependencies, just like modern package managers.

📌 When Might You Still Use `GOPATH`?

When working on older Go projects that haven’t migrated to modules.
When using certain tools that expect binaries in $GOPATH/bin.
For backward compatibility or custom tooling/scripts that rely on GOPATH.

📦 What Is GOPATH Used For?

⚙️ Why It’s Less Important Now

📌 When Might You Still Use GOPATH?

🔍 How to Check or Set GOPATH

📦 What Is `GOPATH` Used For?

📌 When Might You Still Use `GOPATH`?

🔍 How to Check or Set `GOPATH`