/golang-gopls

name: golang-gopls
description: "Golang semantic code intelligence via `gopls`, the official Go language server — go-to-definition, find references, call/implementation hierarchy, workspace symbol search, package API discovery, diagnostics, safe rename, refactors (extract/inline/fill/rewrite code actions), formatting, and generated tests. Reaches an agent via gopls's own MCP server (`go_*` tools), Claude Code's native `LSP` tool, or the `gopls` CLI. Use when navigating or refactoring Go code — jumping to a definition, finding call sites before a rename, understanding a file's or package's dependencies, running diagnostics after an edit, or extracting/inlining/renaming. Not for the published ecosystem — packages not in your `go.mod`, versions, licenses, importers — → See `samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-pkg-go-dev` skill (`godig`). Not for a whole-tree vulnerability audit → See `samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-security` skill (`govulncheck`)."
user-invocable: true
license: MIT
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code or similar AI coding agents. Requires the gopls binary (go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest) v0.20+ on PATH.
metadata:
  author: samber
  version: "1.0.0"
  openclaw:
    emoji: "🛰️"
    homepage: https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang
    requires:
      bins:
        - go
        - gopls
    install:
      - kind: go
        package: golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest
        bins: [gopls]
    skill-library-version: "0.22.0"
allowed-tools: Read Edit Write Glob Grep Bash(go:*) Bash(golangci-lint:*) Bash(git:*) Agent Bash(gopls:*) LSP mcp__gopls__*

**Persona:** You are a Go engineer who reaches for semantic code intelligence instead of grep whenever a question is about the resolved build — grep finds text, `gopls` finds meaning (types, call graphs, shadowing, implementation relationships).

**Dependencies:** `gopls` — `go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest` (v0.20+). The native `LSP` tool additionally needs `ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1` and the `gopls-lsp@claude-plugins-official` marketplace plugin (see [references/mcp.md](references/mcp.md)).

`gopls` is the official Go language server. It only answers questions about **your specific, locally resolved build** — your workspace plus every dependency exactly as pinned in `go.sum`, including `replace` directives. For a package that isn't part of that build (versions, docs, licenses, CVEs of something you haven't added yet), → See `samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-pkg-go-dev` skill (`godig`) instead.

Three ways to reach gopls

Not interchangeable — pick by what you already know and what you need back:

• **gopls's own MCP server (preferred for most tasks)** — purpose-built for agents: tools take names, file paths, and fuzzy queries instead of raw cursor positions. Register once per machine: `claude mcp add gopls -- gopls mcp`. Runs headless over stdio, no editor attached, only sees files saved to disk — the right default for an agent-only workflow. See [references/mcp.md](references/mcp.md) for every tool.
• **The native `LSP` tool** — Claude Code's built-in editor-style integration. Off by default: set `ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1`, install `gopls`, and install the official `gopls-lsp@claude-plugins-official` marketplace plugin to wire it as the Go language server. Operations (`goToDefinition`, `findReferences`, `hover`, `documentSymbol`, `workspaceSymbol`, `goToImplementation`, call hierarchy) are keyed by `line`/`character`, so they're most useful once you already have a location — typically right after a grep or a read. Unique value: compiler diagnostics are pushed into context automatically after every edit, no explicit call needed.
• **The `gopls` CLI** — same engine, invoked as `gopls <command> <file:line:col>`. The Go team documents it as experimental and debugging-only — "not efficient, complete, flexible, or officially supported." Use it when neither MCP nor the native tool is wired up, or for a one-shot scripted check. Positions are `file:line:col` (1-indexed, UTF-8 bytes) or `file:#offset` (0-indexed). See [references/cli.md](references/cli.md).

**Preference order: MCP → native `LSP` → CLI.** MCP tools match how an agent thinks (by name/path, not cursor position); the native tool adds free automatic diagnostics; the CLI is the documented fallback of last resort. Wire as many as are available and let the task pick the tool — a query you already have a `line:col` for is cheap via `LSP`, a "where is X" query is cheap via `go_search`, a quick unattended check is cheap via the CLI.

Capability → CLI → MCP → native LSP

Full mapping of every capability to its CLI command, MCP tool, and native `LSP` op: [references/matrix.md](references/matrix.md).

Use cases

• **Navigation** — jump to a definition, an implementation, or trace a call graph before touching code you didn't write. Details: [references/features.md](references/features.md#navigation).
• **Code discovery** — learn a workspace's shape (`go_workspace`), fuzzy-search a symbol you can't place exactly (`go_search`), or read a dependency's public surface (`go_package_api`) before using it.
• **Documentation** — hover for type/doc/size info, signature help while calling a function, or browse rendered package docs (`source.doc`, including internal packages pkg.go.dev never sees).
• **Diagnostics & safety** — compiler and analyzer errors after every edit (`go_diagnostics` / automatic with `LSP`), plus a lightweight `go_vulncheck` reachability check: once as a baseline right after detecting the workspace, and again after any `go.mod` change.
• **Formatting** — canonical `gofmt`-equivalent formatting and import organization, both scriptable and code-action-driven.
• **Refactoring** — safe rename (blocks a change that would break interface satisfaction), extract/inline, and the full `refactor.rewrite.*` family (fill struct/switch, invert if, split/join lines, remove unused parameter, add struct tags, implement interface). Full catalog with gotchas: [references/featu