Files
coder/.claude/docs/GO.md
T
Ethan e99f7171e4 ci: require docs lint when docs change (#25608)
Move docs linting into the required CI umbrella and reuse the existing
`changes` job so docs lint runs when docs or CI files change, plus on
`main` as a backstop.

This is motivated by the docs lint failures on #25601. That PR touched
`.claude/docs/TESTING.md`; the standalone `Docs CI` workflow picked it
up because `docs-ci.yaml` used broad `**.md` matching, but local `pnpm
lint-docs` and `make lint` did not catch the same file because they only
scanned `docs/**` plus root `*.md`. The first failed Docs CI run
reported markdownlint errors in `.claude/docs/TESTING.md` (`MD040` and
`MD031`), and the next run reported a markdown table formatter failure
in the same file.

That mismatch is why this PR exists: prevent unrelated PRs from being
surprised by stale `.claude/docs/**` lint drift only after they happen
to touch one of those files. The local docs scripts now include
`.claude/docs/**`, and the old standalone `Docs CI` workflow is removed
so we do not maintain separate path-filter logic outside the required CI
workflow.

> Generated by mux, but reviewed by a human
2026-05-27 12:30:05 +10:00

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Markdown

# Modern Go (1.18-1.26)
Reference for writing idiomatic Go. Covers what changed, what it
replaced, and what to reach for. Respect the project's `go.mod` `go`
line: don't emit features from a version newer than what the module
declares. Check `go.mod` before writing code.
## Go LSP Navigation
Use Go LSP tools first for backend code navigation:
- **Find definitions**: `mcp__go-language-server__definition symbolName`
- **Find references**: `mcp__go-language-server__references symbolName`
- **Get type info**: `mcp__go-language-server__hover filePath line column`
- **Rename symbol**: `mcp__go-language-server__rename_symbol filePath line column newName`
## Code Comments
Code comments should be clear, well-formatted, and add meaningful context.
- Comments are sentences and should end with periods or other appropriate
punctuation.
- Explain why, not what. The code itself should be self-documenting
through clear naming and structure. Focus comments on non-obvious
decisions, edge cases, or business logic.
- Keep comment lines to 80 characters wide, including the comment prefix
like `//` or `#`. When a comment spans multiple lines, wrap it
naturally at word boundaries.
```go
// Good: Explains the rationale with proper sentence structure.
// We need a custom timeout here because workspace builds can take several
// minutes on slow networks, and the default 30s timeout causes false
// failures during initial template imports.
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Minute)
// Bad: Describes what the code does without punctuation or wrapping.
// Set a custom timeout
// Workspace builds can take a long time
// Default timeout is too short
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Minute)
```
## Avoid Unnecessary Changes
When fixing a bug or adding a feature, don't modify code unrelated to your
task. Unnecessary changes make PRs harder to review and can introduce
regressions.
- Don't reword existing comments or code unless the change is directly
motivated by your task.
- Don't delete existing comments that explain non-obvious behavior.
- When adding tests for new behavior, read existing tests first to
understand what's covered. Add new cases for uncovered behavior. Edit
existing tests as needed, but don't change what they verify.
## How modern Go thinks differently
**Generics** (1.18): Design reusable code with type parameters instead
of `interface{}` casts, code generation, or the `sort.Interface`
pattern. Use `any` for unconstrained types, `comparable` for map keys
and equality, `cmp.Ordered` for sortable types. Type inference usually
makes explicit type arguments unnecessary (improved in 1.21).
**Per-iteration loop variables** (1.22): Each loop iteration gets its
own variable copy. Closures inside loops capture the correct value. The
`v := v` shadow trick is dead. Remove it when you see it.
**Iterators** (1.23): `iter.Seq[V]` and `iter.Seq2[K,V]` are the
standard iterator types. Containers expose `.All()` methods returning
these. Combined with `slices.Collect`, `slices.Sorted`, `maps.Keys`,
etc., they replace ad-hoc "loop and append" code with composable,
lazy pipelines. When a sequence is consumed only once, prefer an
iterator over materializing a slice.
**Error trees** (1.20-1.26): Errors compose as trees, not chains.
`errors.Join` aggregates multiple errors. `fmt.Errorf` accepts multiple
`%w` verbs. `errors.Is`/`As` traverse the full tree. Custom error
types that wrap multiple causes must implement `Unwrap() []error` (the
slice form), not `Unwrap() error`, or tree traversal won't find the
children. `errors.AsType[T]` (1.26) is the type-safe way to match
error types. Propagate cancellation reasons with
`context.WithCancelCause`.
**Structured logging** (1.21): `log/slog` is the standard structured
logger. This project uses `cdr.dev/slog/v3` instead, which has a
different API. Do not use `log/slog` directly.
## Replace these patterns
The left column reflects common patterns from pre-1.22 Go. Write the
right column instead. The "Since" column tells you the minimum `go`
directive version required in `go.mod`.
| Old pattern | Modern replacement | Since |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|
| `interface{}` | `any` | 1.18 |
| `v := v` inside loops | remove it | 1.22 |
| `for i := 0; i < n; i++` | `for i := range n` | 1.22 |
| `for i := 0; i < b.N; i++` (benchmarks) | `for b.Loop()` (correct timing, future-proof) | 1.24 |
| `sort.Slice(s, func(i,j int) bool{…})` | `slices.SortFunc(s, cmpFn)` | 1.21 |
| `wg.Add(1); go func(){ defer wg.Done(); … }()` | `wg.Go(func(){…})` | 1.25 |
| `func ptr[T any](v T) *T { return &v }` | `new(expr)` e.g. `new(time.Now())` | 1.26 |
| `var target *E; errors.As(err, &target)` | `t, ok := errors.AsType[*E](err)` | 1.26 |
| Custom multi-error type | `errors.Join(err1, err2, …)` | 1.20 |
| Single `%w` for multiple causes | `fmt.Errorf("…: %w, %w", e1, e2)` | 1.20 |
| `rand.Seed(time.Now().UnixNano())` | delete it (auto-seeded); prefer `math/rand/v2` | 1.20/1.22 |
| `sync.Once` + captured variable | `sync.OnceValue(func() T {…})` / `OnceValues` | 1.21 |
| Custom `min`/`max` helpers | `min(a, b)` / `max(a, b)` builtins (any ordered type) | 1.21 |
| `for k := range m { delete(m, k) }` | `clear(m)` (also zeroes slices) | 1.21 |
| Index+slice or `SplitN(s, sep, 2)` | `strings.Cut(s, sep)` / `bytes.Cut` | 1.18 |
| `TrimPrefix` + check if anything was trimmed | `strings.CutPrefix` / `CutSuffix` (returns ok bool) | 1.20 |
| `strings.Split` + loop when no slice is needed | `strings.SplitSeq` / `Lines` / `FieldsSeq` (iterator, no alloc) | 1.24 |
| `"2006-01-02"` / `"2006-01-02 15:04:05"` / `"15:04:05"` | `time.DateOnly` / `time.DateTime` / `time.TimeOnly` | 1.20 |
| Manual `Before`/`After`/`Equal` chains for comparison | `time.Time.Compare` (returns -1/0/+1; works with `slices.SortFunc`) | 1.20 |
| Loop collecting map keys into slice | `slices.Sorted(maps.Keys(m))` | 1.23 |
| `fmt.Sprintf` + append to `[]byte` | `fmt.Appendf(buf, …)` (also `Append`, `Appendln`) | 1.18 |
| `reflect.TypeOf((*T)(nil)).Elem()` | `reflect.TypeFor[T]()` | 1.22 |
| `*(*[4]byte)(slice)` unsafe cast | `[4]byte(slice)` direct conversion | 1.20 |
| `atomic.LoadInt64` / `AddInt64` / `StoreInt64` etc. | `atomic.Int64` (also `Int32`, `Uint32`, `Uint64`, `Bool`, `Pointer[T]`) | 1.19 |
| `crypto/rand.Read(buf)` + hex/base64 encode | `crypto/rand.Text()` (one call) | 1.24 |
| Checking `crypto/rand.Read` error | don't: return is always nil | 1.24 |
| `time.Sleep` in tests | `testing/synctest` (deterministic fake clock) | 1.24/1.25 |
| `json:",omitempty"` on zero-value structs like `time.Time{}` | `json:",omitzero"` (uses `IsZero()` method) | 1.24 |
| `strings.Title` | `golang.org/x/text/cases` | 1.18 |
| `net.IP` in new code | `net/netip.Addr` (immutable, comparable, lighter) | 1.18 |
| `tools.go` with blank imports | `tool` directive in `go.mod` | 1.24 |
| `runtime.SetFinalizer` | `runtime.AddCleanup` (multiple per object, no pointer cycles) | 1.24 |
| `httputil.ReverseProxy.Director` | `.Rewrite` hook + `ProxyRequest` (Director deprecated in 1.26) | 1.20 |
| `sql.NullString`, `sql.NullInt64`, etc. | `sql.Null[T]` | 1.22 |
| Manual `ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(…)` + `t.Cleanup(cancel)` | `t.Context()` (auto-canceled when test ends) | 1.24 |
| `if d < 0 { d = -d }` on durations | `d.Abs()` (handles `math.MinInt64`) | 1.19 |
| Implement only `TextMarshaler` | also implement `TextAppender` for alloc-free marshaling | 1.24 |
| Custom `Unwrap() error` on multi-cause errors | `Unwrap() []error` (slice form; required for tree traversal) | 1.20 |
## New capabilities
These enable things that weren't practical before. Reach for them in the
described situations.
| What | Since | When to use it |
|--------------------------------------------------|-------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `cmp.Or(a, b, c)` | 1.22 | Defaults/fallback chains: returns first non-zero value. Replaces verbose `if a != "" { return a }` cascades. |
| `context.WithoutCancel(ctx)` | 1.21 | Background work that must outlive the request (e.g. async cleanup after HTTP response). Derived context keeps parent's values but ignores cancellation. |
| `context.AfterFunc(ctx, fn)` | 1.21 | Register cleanup that fires on context cancellation without spawning a goroutine that blocks on `<-ctx.Done()`. |
| `context.WithCancelCause` / `Cause` | 1.20 | When callers need to know WHY a context was canceled, not just that it was. Retrieve cause with `context.Cause(ctx)`. |
| `context.WithDeadlineCause` / `WithTimeoutCause` | 1.21 | Attach a domain-specific error to deadline/timeout expiry (e.g. distinguish "DB query timed out" from "HTTP request timed out"). |
| `errors.ErrUnsupported` | 1.21 | Standard sentinel for "not supported." Use instead of per-package custom sentinels. Check with `errors.Is`. |
| `http.ResponseController` | 1.20 | Per-request flush, hijack, and deadline control without type-asserting `ResponseWriter` to `http.Flusher` or `http.Hijacker`. |
| Enhanced `ServeMux` routing | 1.22 | `"GET /items/{id}"` patterns in `http.ServeMux`. Access with `r.PathValue("id")`. Wildcards: `{name}`, catch-all: `{path...}`, exact: `{$}`. Eliminates many third-party router dependencies. |
| `os.Root` / `OpenRoot` | 1.24 | Confined directory access that prevents symlink escape. 1.25 adds `MkdirAll`, `ReadFile`, `WriteFile` for real use. |
| `os.CopyFS` | 1.23 | Copy an entire `fs.FS` to local filesystem in one call. |
| `os/signal.NotifyContext` with cause | 1.26 | Cancellation cause identifies which signal (SIGTERM vs SIGINT) triggered shutdown. |
| `io/fs.SkipAll` / `filepath.SkipAll` | 1.20 | Return from `WalkDir` callback to stop walking entirely. Cleaner than a sentinel error. |
| `GOMEMLIMIT` env / `debug.SetMemoryLimit` | 1.19 | Soft memory limit for GC. Use alongside or instead of `GOGC` in memory-constrained containers. |
| `net/url.JoinPath` | 1.19 | Join URL path segments correctly. Replaces error-prone string concatenation. |
| `go test -skip` | 1.20 | Skip tests matching a pattern. Useful when running a subset of a large test suite. |
## Key packages
### `slices` (1.21, iterators added 1.23)
Replaces `sort.Slice`, manual search loops, and manual contains checks.
Search: `Contains`, `ContainsFunc`, `Index`, `IndexFunc`,
`BinarySearch`, `BinarySearchFunc`.
Sort: `Sort`, `SortFunc`, `SortStableFunc`, `IsSorted`, `IsSortedFunc`,
`Min`, `MinFunc`, `Max`, `MaxFunc`.
Transform: `Clone`, `Compact`, `CompactFunc`, `Grow`, `Clip`,
`Concat` (1.22), `Repeat` (1.23), `Reverse`, `Insert`, `Delete`,
`Replace`.
Compare: `Equal`, `EqualFunc`, `Compare`.
Iterators (1.23): `All`, `Values`, `Backward`, `Collect`, `AppendSeq`,
`Sorted`, `SortedFunc`, `SortedStableFunc`, `Chunk`.
### `maps` (1.21, iterators added 1.23)
Core: `Clone`, `Copy`, `Equal`, `EqualFunc`, `DeleteFunc`.
Iterators (1.23): `All`, `Keys`, `Values`, `Insert`, `Collect`.
### `cmp` (1.21, `Or` added 1.22)
`Ordered` constraint for any ordered type. `Compare(a, b)` returns
-1/0/+1. `Less(a, b)` returns bool. `Or(vals...)` returns first
non-zero value.
### `iter` (1.23)
`Seq[V]` is `func(yield func(V) bool)`. `Seq2[K,V]` is
`func(yield func(K, V) bool)`. Return these from your container's
`.All()` methods. Consume with `for v := range seq` or pass to
`slices.Collect`, `slices.Sorted`, `maps.Collect`, etc.
### `math/rand/v2` (1.22)
Replaces `math/rand`. `IntN` not `Intn`. Generic `N[T]()` for any
integer type. Default source is `ChaCha8` (crypto-quality). No global
`Seed`. Use `rand.New(source)` for reproducible sequences.
### `log/slog` (1.21)
`slog.Info`, `slog.Warn`, `slog.Error`, `slog.Debug` with key-value
pairs. `slog.With(attrs...)` for logger with preset fields.
`slog.GroupAttrs` (1.25) for clean group creation. Implement
`slog.Handler` for custom backends.
**Note:** This project uses `cdr.dev/slog/v3`, not `log/slog`. The
API is different. Read existing code for usage patterns.
## Pitfalls
Things that are easy to get wrong, even when you know the modern API
exists. Check your output against these.
**Version misuse.** The replacement table has a "Since" column. If the
project's `go.mod` says `go 1.22`, you cannot use `wg.Go` (1.25),
`errors.AsType` (1.26), `new(expr)` (1.26), `b.Loop()` (1.24), or
`testing/synctest` (1.24). Fall back to the older pattern. Always
check before reaching for a replacement.
**`slices.Sort` vs `slices.SortFunc`.** `slices.Sort` requires
`cmp.Ordered` types (int, string, float64, etc.). For structs, custom
types, or multi-field sorting, use `slices.SortFunc` with a comparator
function. Using `slices.Sort` on a non-ordered type is a compile error.
**`for range n` still binds the index.** `for range n` discards the
index. If you need it, write `for i := range n`. Writing
`for range n` and then trying to use `i` inside the loop is a compile
error.
**Don't hand-roll iterators when the stdlib returns one.** Functions
like `maps.Keys`, `slices.Values`, `strings.SplitSeq`, and
`strings.Lines` already return `iter.Seq` or `iter.Seq2`. Don't
reimplement them. Compose with `slices.Collect`, `slices.Sorted`, etc.
**Don't mix `math/rand` and `math/rand/v2`.** They have different
function names (`Intn` vs `IntN`) and different default sources. Pick
one per package. Prefer v2 for new code. The v1 global source is
auto-seeded since 1.20, so delete `rand.Seed` calls either way.
**Iterator protocol.** When implementing `iter.Seq`, you must respect
the `yield` return value. If `yield` returns `false`, stop iteration
immediately and return. Ignoring it violates the contract and causes
panics when consumers break out of `for range` loops early.
**`errors.Join` with nil.** `errors.Join` skips nil arguments. This is
intentional and useful for aggregating optional errors, but don't
assume the result is always non-nil. `errors.Join(nil, nil)` returns
nil.
**`cmp.Or` evaluates all arguments.** Unlike a chain of `if`
statements, `cmp.Or(a(), b(), c())` calls all three functions. If any
have side effects or are expensive, use `if`/`else` instead.
**Timer channel semantics changed in 1.23.** Code that checks
`len(timer.C)` to see if a value is pending no longer works (channel
capacity is 0). Use a non-blocking `select` receive instead:
`select { case <-timer.C: default: }`.
**`context.WithoutCancel` still propagates values.** The derived
context inherits all values from the parent. If any middleware stores
request-scoped state (deadlines, trace IDs) via `context.WithValue`,
the background work sees it. This is usually desired but can be
surprising if the values hold references that should not outlive the
request.
## Behavioral changes that affect code
- **Timers** (1.23): unstopped `Timer`/`Ticker` are GC'd immediately.
Channels are unbuffered: no stale values after `Reset`/`Stop`. You no
longer need `defer t.Stop()` to prevent leaks.
- **Error tree traversal** (1.20): `errors.Is`/`As` follow
`Unwrap() []error`, not just `Unwrap() error`. Multi-error types must
expose the slice form for child errors to be found.
- **`math/rand` auto-seeded** (1.20): the global RNG is auto-seeded.
`rand.Seed` is a no-op in 1.24+. Don't call it.
- **GODEBUG compat** (1.21): behavioral changes are gated by `go.mod`'s
`go` line. Upgrading the version opts into new defaults.
- **Build tags** (1.18): `//go:build` is the only syntax. `// +build`
is gone.
- **Tool install** (1.18): `go get` no longer builds. Use
`go install pkg@version`.
- **Doc comments** (1.19): support `[links]`, lists, and headings.
- **`go test -skip`** (1.20): skip tests by name pattern from the
command line.
- **`go fix ./...` modernizers** (1.26): auto-rewrites code to use
newer idioms. Run after Go version upgrades.
## Transparent improvements (no code changes)
Swiss Tables maps, Green Tea GC, PGO, faster `io.ReadAll`,
stack-allocated slices, reduced cgo overhead, container-aware
GOMAXPROCS. Free on upgrade.