01: Gearing Up

WARNING This exercise is in DRAFT status, so there may be errors. If you find any, please email me at help@learncodethehardway.com so I can fix them.

One major motivation to using Go is its install story. You install Go by mostly just untarring a pre-built binary and you're done. Most Go software is also installed this way, and deploying Go software is mostly as simple as copying a simple binary to a server or client. It may seem like a minor thing but compared to languages like C++, C, Python, Ruby, and JavaScript it's a dream. In this exercise you'll experience this for yourself, and learn how to get Go running on your computer of choice.

Windows

Windows is the most difficult to install, but that's mostly because of Windows and not really a Go problem. I primarily develop my Go projects on Windows, so I know it works well there. To get Go installed do this:

1. If you're on Windows 11 and later versions of Windows 10 you should have a command called winget. If not then make sure you have the App Installer on your version of Windows. Apparently this includes winget, and if that fails you can find winget on github.
2. Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal.
3. Type winget install GoLang.Go.
4. Be quick!. For some reason Windows installers have a delay timer that fails the install if you don't authenticate as admin. Use ALT-TAB to find the installer window because sometimes it loads behind everything else on the screen.
5. Once that's done you can exit the Terminal and start a new one.
6. Finally, type go version and you should see that you have a version later than 1.24.

As I've mentioned before this course assumes you have learned at least one other language before, so I'm guessing you have a favorite text editor. If not, then you can use winget to easily install a full setup like this:

winget install Geany.Geany
winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

Ubuntu Linux

I'm going to show you how to install on Ubuntu Linux because it has an outdated version of Go as the default. This means you need to install an official version from Go's website.

1. First check if you have Go already by typing go version. If you do and it's version 1.24 or greater then you are done. If not then you'll need to remove this first.
2. Go directly to the actual Go download page and select the Linux build for your system. For me it is (was) labeled go1.24.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz but the version might be different.
3. Now go to the Go download page and select the Linux tab if it's not already selected. In there are instructions for installing Go.
4. First you install Go with rm -rf /usr/local/go && tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
5. Next you need to add the /usr/local/go/bin to your PATH with export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin. This probably needs to go in your .bashrc or .bash_profile or where you usually maintain your PATH.
6. After that restart you terminal and you can type go version to confirm you have 1.24 or later.

OSX aka macOS

Installing on macOS is so easy I didn't even bother to make a video:

1. Check if you already have Go installed by typing go version in Terminal. If you do and it's 1.24 or greater than you're done. If not then you have to remove it to get the new one.
2. Go to the official download page.
3. Download the installer package.
4. Run it.
5. After it installs open a new Terminal and type: go version to see that you have a version after 1.24.

That's it. Like I said, very easy to get Go on most any computer.

Additional Tools

This course is primarily aimed at programmers who know at least one language, but I think an ambitious total beginner could complete it with extra effort. If you're highly motivated and know nothing, then you'll need two other things:

1. A Terminal. Most operating systems have this already, but Windows is a little weird which is why I included instructions for install Windows Terminal. If you're using another OS then find your Terminal and make sure you can run it easily.
2. A Text Editor. Just about any text editor will work, but try out Geany if you want something simple that can run on low power computers. You can use VSCode but it's mostly "too much" editor for the things you'd learn.

If you're a professional or already know a language then I leave you to your own tools. One recommendation I'll give you is turn off all your help. Disable your LSP, autocomplete, and AI tools while you're learning. These tools tend to keep you from really learning the material by doing too much for you, and if you disable them you'll learn better and retain more.