How do I install the Go Project Standard skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add painhardcore/go-project-standard in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Is Go Project Standard free to use?

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Who published Go Project Standard?

painhardcore (@painhardcore) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Go Project Standard by painhardcore

Name: Go Project Standard
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: painhardcore

File contents

go-project-standard

Lean Go module coach. Not a project-layout generator, and not a Make, CI, or Docker author.

Scope

Not here: Make target names (makefile-standard), GitHub Actions (ci-standard), Dockerfile and image build (dockerfile-standard), Compose topology (compose-standard). Full golang-standards/project-layout trees, hard coverage gates, and inventing binaries the repo does not need are out of scope.

Workflow

1. Inspect needs

Inventory: go.mod and Go version, existing packages and main entrypoints, current linter config, tests, tools.go against tool. Read Make and CI only to know where the handoffs are; do not redefine them here.

2. Detect profile

No main is a library. Cobra, urfave/cli, or kong is a cli. Any other binary is a service. Confirm with the human when it is ambiguous. Details: references/profiles.md.

3. Apply standard

Read references/rules.yaml, the source of truth for rule IDs. Full rules: references/go-project-standard.md.

Artifact	Greenfield start
Lint	`assets/.golangci.yml.template` → `.golangci.yml`
library layout	`assets/layout.library.md.template`
service layout	`assets/layout.service.md.template`
cli layout	`assets/layout.cli.md.template`

Replace every Adapt… marker. Migrate brownfield through references/migration-guide.md.

Logic packages get a _test.go. Go 1.24 and up prefer the tool directive over tools.go. The rest is in Hard rules below.

4. YAGNI

No empty pkg/ "for later".
No full project-layout directory tree.
No coverage percentage that blocks a merge.
No inventing Make, CI, or Docker from this skill. Hand off when evidenced.

A config file the standard requires is not "unrequested config". A v2 .golangci.yml ships even when the default linters currently pass.

5. Validate

python3 scripts/validate_go_project.py /path/to/module
python3 scripts/validate_go_project.py /path/to/module --profile service

Errors = fix. Warnings = human review. A structural check is not go test or golangci green.

6. Report

Profile, detected or overridden; layout changes such as cmd/, internal/, or a removed empty pkg/; golangci posture; test posture; validation result; and handoffs, meaning what you found that belongs to makefile-standard, ci-standard, dockerfile-standard, or compose-standard, named but not fixed here.

Hard rules

MUST ship a valid go.mod at the module root.
MUST use a golangci-lint v2 config (version: "2").
MUST NOT set linters.default: all.
MUST NOT leave an empty cargo-cult pkg/.
Multi-package binaries use a thin cmd/<name>/main.go, required when a root main sits beside other packages.
Apps must not depend on this repo at runtime.

Exceptions

# go-project-standard: except <rule-id> — <reason>

Every ignored MUST needs an exception line with a non-empty reason.

---name: go-project-standarddescription: Use when the user asks to create or review a Go module's layout (cmd/internal), go.mod, or golangci-lint config.---# go-project-standardLean Go module coach. Not a project-layout generator, and not a Make, CI, or Docker author.## ScopeNot here: Make target names (`makefile-standard`), GitHub Actions (`ci-standard`), Dockerfile and image build (`dockerfile-standard`), Compose topology (`compose-standard`). Full golang-standards/project-layout trees, hard coverage gates, and inventing binaries the repo does not need are out of scope.## Workflow### 1. Inspect needsInventory: `go.mod` and Go version, existing packages and `main` entrypoints, current linter config, tests, `tools.go` against `tool`. Read Make and CI only to know where the handoffs are; do not redefine them here.### 2. Detect profileNo `main` is a `library`. Cobra, urfave/cli, or kong is a `cli`. Any other binary is a `service`. Confirm with the human when it is ambiguous. Details: [`references/profiles.md`](references/profiles.md).### 3. Apply standardRead [`references/rules.yaml`](references/rules.yaml), the source of truth for rule IDs. Full rules: [`references/go-project-standard.md`](references/go-project-standard.md).| Artifact | Greenfield start ||----------|------------------|| Lint | [`assets/.golangci.yml.template`](assets/.golangci.yml.template) → `.golangci.yml` || library layout | [`assets/layout.library.md.template`](assets/layout.library.md.template) || service layout | [`assets/layout.service.md.template`](assets/layout.service.md.template) || cli layout | [`assets/layout.cli.md.template`](assets/layout.cli.md.template) |Replace every `Adapt…` marker. Migrate brownfield through [`references/migration-guide.md`](references/migration-guide.md).Logic packages get a `_test.go`. Go 1.24 and up prefer the `tool` directive over `tools.go`. The rest is in Hard rules below.### 4. YAGNI- No empty `pkg/` "for later".- No full project-layout directory tree.- No coverage percentage that blocks a merge.- No inventing Make, CI, or Docker from this skill. Hand off when evidenced.**A config file the standard requires is not "unrequested config".** A v2 `.golangci.yml` ships even when the default linters currently pass.### 5. Validate```bashpython3 scripts/validate_go_project.py /path/to/modulepython3 scripts/validate_go_project.py /path/to/module --profile service```Errors = fix. Warnings = human review. A structural check is not `go test` or golangci green.### 6. ReportProfile, detected or overridden; layout changes such as `cmd/`, `internal/`, or a removed empty `pkg/`; golangci posture; test posture; validation result; and **handoffs**, meaning what you found that belongs to `makefile-standard`, `ci-standard`, `dockerfile-standard`, or `compose-standard`, named but not fixed here.## Hard rules- **MUST** ship a valid `go.mod` at the module root.- **MUST** use a golangci-lint v2 config (`version: "2"`).- **MUST NOT** set `linters.default: all`.- **MUST NOT** leave an empty cargo-cult `pkg/`.- Multi-package binaries use a thin `cmd/<name>/main.go`, required when a root `main` sits beside other packages.- Apps must not depend on this repo at runtime.## Exceptions```text# go-project-standard: except <rule-id> — <reason>```Every ignored MUST needs an exception line with a non-empty reason.

Frequently asked questions

Go Project Standard