Xmake Go

Building Go with Xmake

Xmake builds Go via the Go toolchain (go build under the hood, wrapped in xmake's target model). Useful if your project mixes Go with C/C++/Rust and you want a single build tool.

1. Minimal project

xmake create -l go -t console hello
cd hello
xmake run

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")

target("hello")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.go")

2. Target kinds

target("app")       set_kind("binary")       -- executable
target("mylib")     set_kind("static")       -- Go archive
target("mydyn")     set_kind("shared")       -- Go shared lib (CGO-compatible)

3. Go modules

Keep a normal go.mod at the project root. Xmake picks it up automatically:

myproj/
├── xmake.lua
├── go.mod
├── go.sum
└── src/
    └── main.go

Dependencies declared in go.mod (require github.com/... vX.Y.Z) resolve through the Go toolchain as usual — xmake does not second-guess them.

4. Cross-compile

Go is famously easy to cross-compile, and xmake exposes it through standard flags:

xmake f -p windows -a x86_64
xmake                                    # builds a .exe from macOS/Linux

xmake f -p linux   -a arm64
xmake

xmake f -p macosx  -a arm64               # Apple Silicon
xmake

Xmake sets GOOS / GOARCH for you. Supported plats map to Go's naming automatically.

5. CGO (calling C from Go)

Keep import "C" in your .go files as usual. When building, add any C dependencies the Go code calls into:

target("app")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.go", "src/*.c")
    add_includedirs("include")
    add_links("foo")

Xmake compiles the .c files and links them alongside the Go objects.

6. Toolchain selection

xmake f --toolchain=go
xmake f --toolchain=go --sdk=/opt/go-1.22

--sdk pins a specific Go install; otherwise go on PATH is used.

7. Flags

target("app")
    add_files("src/*.go")
    add_gcflags("-N", "-l")               -- passed to `go tool compile`
    add_ldflags("-s -w")                  -- passed to `go tool link` (stripping)

add_gcflags is Go-specific (go compile flags). add_ldflags maps to go tool link -ldflags.

8. Tests

target("app_test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("tests/*_test.go")
    add_tests("default")

Or run Go's native test runner as an xmake task:

task("gotest")
    set_menu { usage = "xmake gotest", description = "Run go test" }
    on_run(function () os.exec("go test ./...") end)

Pitfalls

• Editing go.mod after xmake f. Run xmake f -c to re-resolve.
• CGO disabled in cross-compile. CGO_ENABLED=0 is often required for pure-Go cross builds. Set it via env or os.setenv in on_load.
• Mixing .go and .cpp (not .c) in one target. Use .c for the C side; Go's CGO expects C, not C++.
• GOFLAGS in env. Sometimes overrides what xmake sets — unset GOFLAGS if you hit weird behavior.

When to branch out

• CGO / mixing with C++ → xmake-targets
• Cross-compile flag plumbing → xmake-cross-compilation
• Packaging the built binary → xmake-xpack