GO-VET(1)

💅 go-vet(1) — the manual, but make it make sense

okay bestie, we're doing the GO-VET page. this is a Go programming tools and commands situation and honestly? it's giving "your code has opinions and so do we." 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

go-vet — report likely mistakes in packages. that's it, that's the whole personality. your code's little snitch, but in a helpful way 🫶

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀 (yes it's up here, we don't make the rules)

go vet [build flags] [-vettool prog] [vet flags] [packages]

that's the shape of it. flags, tool, flags, packages. iconic order honestly ✨

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Vet runs the Go vet tool (cmd/vet) on the named packages and reports diagnostics. so like. you point it at your packages, it reads them, and it comes back with "hey girl this looks sus" — except professionally 💅

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

It supports these flags, and we are listing all of them, no skips, no cap:

• -c int — display offending line with this many lines of context (default -1). yes, it's an int, yes the default is -1, that's literally what it says 🍓
• -json — emit JSON output. for when you want your diagnostics machine-readable and honestly kind of aesthetic 📋
• -fix — instead of printing each diagnostic, apply its first fix (if any). note the "if any" bestie, some diagnostics just don't come with a fix ✨
• -diff — instead of applying each fix, print the patch as a unified diff. so you can look at the patch before you commit to it 🙈

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🛠️ the -vettool=prog moment 🛠️

The -vettool=prog flag selects a different analysis tool with alternative or additional checks. you're not stuck with the default, you can swap in your own girlies 🔥

For example, the shadow analyzer can be built and run using these commands:

go install golang.org/x/tools/go/analysis/passes/shadow/cmd/shadow@latest
go vet -vettool=$(which shadow)

real talk: Alternative vet tools should be built atop golang.org/x/tools/go/analysis/unitchecker, which handles the interaction with go vet. that's the contract, don't skip it.

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🔍 the default tool 🔍

The default vet tool is go tool vet or cmd/vet. that's who's showing up when you don't specify anyone 💅

• For help on its checkers and their flags, run go tool vet help.
• For details of a specific checker such as printf, see go tool vet help printf. (yes literally just say the checker's name, it's so simple slay ✨)
• For more about specifying packages, see go help packages.

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🌈 build flags, bestie 🌈

The build flags supported by go vet are those that control package resolution and execution, such as -C, -n, -x, -v, -tags, and -toolexec. write those down. every single one. -C, -n, -x, -v, -tags, -toolexec 👑

For more about these flags, see go help build.

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💖 SEE ALSO 💖

• go fmt(1)
• go fix(1)

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

This manual page was created using help2man and afterwards updating the output. It is maintained by the Debian Go Compiler Team <team+go-compiler@tracker.debian.org> for the Debian project (and may be used by others).

the "created using help2man and afterwards updating the output" is lowkey the most relatable origin story ever and I respect it 🫶

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and that's the whole page, diva 🦋 go forth, run go vet, let it read you to filth (lovingly). mwah 💋

this has been Go 1.27, August 2026, GO-VET(1) — thanks for coming to my ted talk ✨⭐🌈