How to Install Go on Linux: Step-by-Step Guide

To install Go on Linux, download the latest .tar.gz archive from the official Go website, extract it to /usr/local, and add /usr/local/go/bin to your PATH. Then verify the installation by running go version in the terminal.

Syntax

Here are the main commands to install Go on Linux:

• wget: Downloads the Go archive from the official site.
• tar -C /usr/local -xzf: Extracts the archive to /usr/local.
• Update PATH: Adds Go binaries to your system path.
• go version: Checks the installed Go version.

bash

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.20.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.20.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
go version

Output

go version go1.20.5 linux/amd64

Example

This example shows how to download, install, and verify Go on a Linux system.

bash

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.20.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.20.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

# Verify installation
go version

Output

go version go1.20.5 linux/amd64

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when installing Go on Linux include:

• Not removing older Go versions before installing a new one, which can cause conflicts.
• Forgetting to add /usr/local/go/bin to the PATH, so the go command is not found.
• Running export PATH=... only in the current terminal session instead of adding it to ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc for persistence.

bash

## Wrong: Not updating PATH persistently
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
# This works only in current terminal

## Right: Add to ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin' >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile

Quick Reference

Summary tips for installing Go on Linux:

• Always download the latest stable version from https://go.dev/dl/.
• Use sudo to extract Go to /usr/local for system-wide access.
• Add Go binaries to your PATH permanently by editing your shell profile.
• Verify installation with go version.

Key Takeaways

Download the latest Go archive from the official site for Linux.

Extract Go to /usr/local and add /usr/local/go/bin to your PATH.

Make PATH changes permanent by editing your shell profile file.

Verify installation by running go version in the terminal.

Remove old Go versions before installing a new one to avoid conflicts.