Installing Go on Fedora: 1.27 and a domestic module proxy

sudo dnf install golang
go version

go version go1.27.1-X:nodwarf5 linux/amd64

X:nodwarf5 is Fedora’s build tag (DWARF stripped to cut package size); the compiler matches upstream 1.27.1.

Where the go binary, GOROOT and the module cache live

Where the environment lives

go env GOPATH GOMODCACHE GOPROXY

GOPATH: workspace, ~/go by default
GOMODCACHE: module cache, ~/go/pkg/mod
GOPROXY: module proxy, https://proxy.golang.org,direct

proxy.golang.org frequently times out here. Replace it:

go env -w GOPROXY=https://goproxy.cn,direct

direct is the fallback for modules the proxy lacks. Verify:

go env GOPROXY

https://goproxy.cn,direct

go env -w writes ~/.config/go/env, not a shell variable, so it survives new terminals.

First program

mkdir -p ~/hello && cd ~/hello
go mod init example.com/hello
cat > main.go <<'EOF'
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("hello from Go")
}
EOF
go run main.go

hello from Go

Build a binary:

go build -o hello .
./hello

Installing CLI tools

go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest

Binaries land in $GOPATH/bin (~/go/bin), which is not on PATH by default:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/go/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Repository version versus upstream

Situation	Choice
learning, building existing projects, CI	`dnf install golang` is enough; upgrades follow Fedora
an exact patch release (1.26.3)	upstream tarball or `go install golang.org/dl/go1.26.3@latest`
several versions	upstream tarballs in separate directories, switch via PATH

Upstream:

cd /usr/local
sudo curl -LO https://go.dev/dl/go1.27.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar xzf go1.27.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
export PATH=/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH
go version

Common traps

Symptom	Cause
`go: cannot find main module`	not inside a module; run `go mod init` first
module downloads hang	`GOPROXY` still points at the official proxy
binary missing after `go install`	`~/go/bin` not on PATH
`permission denied` while building	building inside `/usr`; work in your home directory
conflict with the repository build	two `go` binaries on PATH; check `which -a go`

Domestic mirrors — GOPROXY and other ecosystems
Containers and rootless — pinning a Go version
Toolchain and multiple versions — the overall strategy
Installing Rust — the other compiled toolchain
Official: Go