Go or GOlang is a popular open-source programming language developed by Google. The primary objective of this language is the efficiency and reliability which make it effective for designing and implementing microservices with ease. GO is an effective language due to its efficiency and concurrency. Having it installed on Ubuntu 24.04 can help the developers in building, compiling, and testing several Go applications.
Quick answer
You can install Go on Ubuntu 24.04 with APT, Snap, wget, or curl. Use APT for the Ubuntu-packaged version, Snap for a quick install, or the official download method when your project needs a newer Go release.
In this article, we will cover different methods for installing GO on Ubuntu 24.04.
Method 1: Install GO on Ubuntu 24.04 Using APT Package Manager
APT or Advanced Package Tools is a command-line utility that provides several software packages for downloading, installing, updating, or removing. It is compatible with different Debian distributions such as LinuxMint, Ubuntu, etc. The APT package manager can be used to install the GO on Ubuntu 24.04. The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Update APT Package Manager
The following command updates the package lists inside a repository with the superuser privileges “sudo“. The flag “-y” indicates the “yes” response to all the prompts:
sudo apt update -y
Step 2: Install GO on Ubuntu 24.04
Provide the following command to the Ubuntu 24.04 terminal to install the GO from the APT package manager using superuser privileges:
sudo apt install golang-go
Step 3: Verify the Installation
The following command verifies the successful installation of the GO on Linux distribution:
sudo go version
The following command will create or edit the file “goapp.go“. The “goapp.go” file will be used to create and execute the GO application:
nano goapp.go
Append the following lines of code to the “goapp.go” file. Press CTRL+X to apply and save changes. Hit “Y” from the keyboard followed by “Enter” afterward:
package main
import "fmt"
func main()
{
fmt.Printf("My sample Go app\n")
}
To execute the “goapp.go” file, provide the following command to the terminal:
sudo go run goapp.go
Method 2: Install Go on Ubuntu 24.04 Using Wget Command-Line Utility
Wget is a command-line utility that downloads files from the web using network protocols such as HTTP, FTP, etc. This command utility helps download files when facing an unstable network issue. To download the GO via the Wget on Ubuntu 24.04, follow the below-mentioned steps.
Step 1: Download the Latest GO Version Using Wget
The “wget” is a command utility that is used to fetch and download the software from the internet. The command given below downloads the GO programming language and saves it as “go.tar.gz“:
wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.22.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz -O go.tar.gz
Step 2: Extract the Contents Using tar.gz
Provide the following command to the terminal to extract and display the contents of the “go.tar.gz” file:
tar -xvzf go.tar.gz
Step 3: Open the Extracted GO Directory
Navigate to the location of the extracted “GO” folder. Right-click on the folder to open it:
Step 4: Copy Directory Path
Copy the path of the extracted GO directory as shown in the image below. This path will be used later to set the environment variables:
Step 5: Open “.profile” File
The command “nano ~/.profile” opens the “.profile” file located in the home directory (~):
nano ~/.profile
Step 6: Configure Environment Variable
Add the following statements to configure the environment variables for the GO programming language. Replace the GOROOT path with your actual extracted directory path. After the required modifications, press “CTRL + X” to save changes. Enter “Y” for yes and then hit “Enter” to exit:
export GOROOT=/home/ubuntuuser/Desktop/go
export GOPATH=$HOME/GO
export PATH=$GOPATH/bin:$GOROOT/bin:$PATH
Step 7: Refresh “.profile” file
Refresh the “.profile” file by using the following command:
source ~/.profile
Step 8: Verify the Installation
The following command displays the current GO version installed on the Linux distribution using Ubuntu 24.04:
go versionMethod 3: Install GO on Ubuntu 24.04 Using Snap Packet Manager
The Snap packet manager downloads, installs, removes, or updates different software and packages in Debian-based distributions. It works exactly like the apt or yum packet managers. The steps are given as follows to install the Go programming language using the Snap packet manager:
Step 1: Install Go using Snap
The following statement installs the GO programming language from the Snap package manager. The “–classic” flag installs the package with permissions to access directories and files outside of its confined environment:
sudo snap install go --classic
Step 2: Verify the Installation
To verify if the GO language has been installed on Linux, use the following command:
sudo go version
The command given below creates and opens the file “gosample.go” using the nano text editor:
nano gosample.go
Append the given code to the “gosample.go” file that prints the following message specified in the “Printf()” method:
package main
import "fmt"
func main(){
fmt.Printf("Installing GO using the Snap\n")
}
The “gosample.go” file is executed using the command given as follows:
sudo go run gosample.go
Method 4: Install GO on Ubuntu 24.04 Using Curl Utility
The “curl” is a command-line utility that provides support for various Linux-based distributions including Ubuntu. The curl command transfers the data to or from the server using different protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, etc. In Ubuntu, the curl command is first installed using the apt package manager as it is not readily available by default. You can then use this utility to download and install the Go on Ubuntu 24.04. The steps are mentioned below:
Step 1: Install Curl
The following command installs curl from the apt package manager:
sudo apt install curl
Step 2: Download and Install Go via Curl
The following command downloads the Go programming language tarball using curl. The “-O” option saves the file with the same name as on the server:
curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.22.1.linux-amd64.tar.gzStep 3: Extract the Contents of the File
The following command extracts the contents of the downloaded Go file:
tar -xvzf go1.22.1.linux-amd64.tar.gzStep 4: Copy the File Path
Navigate to the location of the extracted directory and right-click on it to open it. Copy the path of the file as it is required later in this article:
Step 5: Configure Environment Variables
The following command appends the GOPATH environment variable to the .profile file in the home directory. Replace the path with your actual extracted directory location:
echo "export GOPATH=$HOME//home/usr/Desktop/go" >> ~/.profileSimilarly, configure the PATH variable using the export statement:
echo "export PATH=$PATH://usr/local/go/bin:$GOPATH/bin" >> ~/.profileStep 6: Refresh the profile file
Refresh the contents of the .profile file by using the following statement in Ubuntu 24.04:
source ~/.profileStep 7: Verify the Installation
For verification, use the following command. If the Go programming language has been successfully installed, it will return the version of the Go installed on Ubuntu 24.04:
go version
How to remove Go from Ubuntu 24.04
How to remove Go depends on which installation method you used:
| Install method | Remove command |
|---|---|
| APT | sudo apt remove golang-go && sudo apt autoremove |
| Snap | sudo snap remove go |
| wget or curl (tarball) | sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go then remove the PATH lines from ~/.profile |
After removal, run go version to confirm the command is no longer found.
Which Go install method should you choose?
APT is convenient and stable, but it may not always provide the newest Go release. Snap is simple for desktop or test systems, while the official tarball method is better when a project requires a specific Go version.
After installation, run go version. If the command is not found, check the PATH setup before installing extra tools or moving on to application work.