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Golang Error Handling

Standards for error wrapping, checking, and definition in Golang. Use when wrapping errors, defining sentinel errors, or handling errors idiomatically in Go.

HoangNguyen0403 Updated 542 repo stars
Coding & Dev Tools

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Golang Error Handling Standards

Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)

Principles

  • Errors Values: Handle them like any other value.
  • Handle Once: Log OR Return. Never Log AND Return (creates duplicate logs).
  • Add Context: Don't return err bubble up. Wrap it with context: fmt.Errorf("failed to open file: %w", err).
  • Use Standard Lib: Go 1.13+ errors package (Is, As, Unwrap) sufficient. Avoid pkg/errors (deprecated).

Guidelines

  • Sentinel Errors: Expoted, fixed errors (io.EOF, sql.ErrNoRows). Use errors.Is(err, io.EOF).
  • Error Types: Structs implementing error. Use errors.As(err, &target).
  • Panic: Only for unrecoverable startup errors.

Anti-Patterns

  • No bare return err: Wrap with fmt.Errorf("context: %w", err) to preserve call chain.
  • No string error checks: Use errors.Is/errors.As; string comparison brittle.
  • No swallowed errors: Never assign errors to _; always handle or propagate.

References

  • Error Wrapping Patterns

HoangNguyen0403/agent-skills-standard/tree/main/skills/golang/golang-error-handling commit 0a4f3ac2ee

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