golang-how-to Skill (samber) for Claude: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes Claude pick and load the right Go skills for each task, and writes a rule into your project config so they always load.

Installs: 37.2K; on skills.sh
Stars: 3.7K; on GitHub
Files: 4; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

golang-how-to is the front door to the samber Go skill set. On any Go coding, review, debug or setup task, it tells Claude to load a primary skill and the related ones together, for example gRPC work loads the grpc, testing and error-handling skills.

It has three modes: orchestrate, disambiguate (a boundary table when two skills overlap) and configure (writes an always-load rule to CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or similar). It needs the other skills from the same repo to be installed, plus the go and gopls commands.

Good for

Go developers who install the whole samber skill set
Teams that want Go skills to load on every task in a repo
Anyone unsure which of the many Go skills fits a task

Install golang-how-to

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the golang-how-to skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang --all

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

golang-how-to loads other skills from the same repo (golang-testing, golang-security and others), so install the whole set. The README also gives a single-skill form. It expects the go and gopls commands on your machine.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Golang skills orchestrator — always active on any Golang coding, review, debug, or setup task. Reads the task context and loads the most relevant skills from samber/cc-skills-golang, often multiple at once: writing a gRPC service loads golang-grpc + golang-testing + golang-error-handling; debugging a panic loads golang-troubleshooting + golang-safety; auditing security loads golang-security + golang-lint + golang-safety. Also: disambiguates competing clusters when two skills seem to overlap (performance vs benchmark vs troubleshooting, samber/lo vs mo vs ro, DI cluster, safety vs security), and configures the project's agent-config file (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, Cursor rules, or Copilot instructions) to force-trigger skills in a project (/golang-how-to configure).

Sections in SKILL.md

Skill loading
Code navigation with gopls
godig vs gopls vs Context7 vs govulncheck
Categories at a glance
Competing clusters — boundary lines
Configure mode

Key facts

Author: samber
Repository: samber/cc-skills-golang
Installs on skills.sh: 37,218 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 3,749 for the whole samber/cc-skills-golang repo, 2026-11-02
License: MIT (SKILL.md frontmatter)
Last commit to the repo: 2026-11-01
What is inside: 5 files including SKILL.md: assets/cursor-go-skills.mdc and 3 reference guides (by-category, disambiguation, project-config)
Version: 1.4.2 (SKILL.md frontmatter)
Works in: Frontmatter says: "Designed for Claude Code, Codex or similar harness. Requires git."
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket warn, Snyk pass

What it includes

Load the primary skill plus related skills at the start of a Go task
A table maps 31 intents, such as database queries, gRPC or CI setup, to a primary skill and the skills to load with it. Claude loads them together.
Try: “Build a gRPC service for orders with tests.”
Read · Orchestrate
Boundary tables when two skills seem to overlap
Examples named in the skill: performance vs benchmark vs troubleshooting, samber/lo vs mo vs ro, the dependency injection cluster, and safety vs security.
Read · Disambiguate
Write an always-load rule into CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or similar
Run /golang-how-to configure. Claude asks questions through the question tool, one at a time. Per references/project-config.md it writes the directive to each agent-config file it finds, then an optional Required Go skills block after you confirm.
Try: “/golang-how-to configure”
Write · Configure
Points to the golang-gopls skill
The skill explains when gopls (your local build) is the right tool and when godig, Context7 or govulncheck fit better.
Runs code · Code navigation with gopls
Nine skill categories
A table lists skills under Code Quality, Architecture and Design, QA and Performance, Project Setup, APIs, Dependency Injection, Frameworks, samber libraries and Testing. references/by-category.md holds the full catalog.
Read · Categories at a glance

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

Configure mode edits your project agent-config files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md and any others that exist), and the skill lets Claude run go, git and gopls commands. Check the diff after you run /golang-how-to configure.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

Configure mode writes to every agent-config file it finds
The references/project-config.md workflow appends to CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md and Cursor rules if they exist, and writes the always-load directive without asking. Only the Required Go skills block is confirmed with you. Read the diff and drop the rule if you do not want it. github.com
It loads many other skills at once
Each loaded skill adds instructions to the context. Install the whole set only if you want that. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only switch is documented in SKILL.md.
Scopes	allowed-tools: Read, Edit, Write, Glob, Grep, Agent, AskUserQuestion, LSP Bash limited to go, git and gopls

Questions

What does golang-how-to do?

It is an orchestrator. It reads the Go task you give Claude and loads the most relevant skills from the samber/cc-skills-golang set, often several at once.

How do I install golang-how-to?

Use the install box at the top of this page, which installs the whole set. The skill routes to other skills in the same repo, so installing it alone leaves it with little to load.

Does it work without the other skills?

It is built to load other skills from the repo, such as golang-testing or golang-security, so install them too. The README also says installing only a subset gives a partial view.

What does /golang-how-to configure change in my project?

It writes an always-load directive for golang-how-to into every agent-config file it finds in the project (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, Cursor rules or Copilot instructions), without a confirmation step. It then asks you to confirm an optional Required Go skills block. Review the files in git afterwards.

Is golang-how-to safe to use?

It bundles no scripts. Its allowed-tools line lets Claude read and edit files, run go, git and gopls commands, and ask you questions. The configure mode edits your agent-config files, including the always-load directive that is written without a prompt, so check the diff.

Does it need gopls?

The frontmatter lists go and gopls as required commands and names a go install for gopls. Claude Code's built-in LSP tool also needs ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 and a Go language server, per the skill.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: samber/cc-skills-golang
Folder: skills/golang-how-to

samber/cc-skills-golang skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 3

samber/cc-skills-golang README · github.com
golang-how-to SKILL.md · github.com
golang-how-to project-config.md · github.com