Go Naming Conventions Cheat Sheet: Idiomatic Patterns for Clean Code

🧩 Part 2 of the Idiomatic Go Series — see Part 1: The Power of Idiomatic Go

Naming in Go isn’t just about style — it’s about writing idiomatic code that’s clear, predictable, and Go-like. This cheat sheet lays out key naming conventions for variables, types, interfaces, and packages, so you can avoid common pitfalls and write cleaner code with confidence. Whether you’re new to Go or refining your best practices, this guide has you covered.

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📌 Context and Cancellation

Go’s concurrency model relies on context, and clear naming keeps things tight.

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Context variable	ctx
Cancel function	cancel

Example:

// Use 'ctx' and 'cancel' for clarity
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Second)
defer cancel()

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📌 Error Handling

Errors are central to Go—keep their names simple to focus on the logic.

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Error variable	err

Example:

// 'err' as the last return value
result, err := doSomething()
if err != nil {
    return err
}

✅ Tip: Errors are returned as the last return value in Go functions.

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📌 Loop Variables

Short names for loops make iteration clean and intuitive.

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Index in loop	i, j
Value in loop	v, val
Key in a map	k, key

Example:

// 'i' and 'v' for index and value
for i, v := range items {
    fmt.Println(i, v)
}

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📌 Receivers

Receiver names should be concise and tied to the type.

Type Name	Receiver Name
User	u
Server	s
Client	c

Example:

// Short 'u' for User type
func (u *User) FullName() string {
    return u.First + " " + u.Last
}

🧠 Note: Use 1-letter lowercase receivers for brevity and clarity.

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📌 Constants

Constants in Go follow camelCase for unexported names and UpperCamelCase for exported ones.

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Exported constant	MaxRetries
Unexported constant	maxBufferSize

Example:

const MaxRetries = 3
const defaultTimeout = 30 * time.Second

✅ Tip: Use descriptive names for constants to reflect their purpose, and avoid single-letter names like c or k.

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📌 Package Naming

Package names should be short, lowercase, and descriptive, avoiding stuttering (e.g., don’t name a package userutils if it’s for User types).

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Package name	log, http, user

Example:

import "github.com/example/user"

✅ Tip: Keep package names singular (e.g., user not users) and avoid generic terms like utils.

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📌 Common Short Names

These shorthand names are standard across Go projects.

Meaning	Name
Temporary value	tmp
Buffer	buf
Configuration	cfg
Request	req
Response	resp
Logger	log, logger

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📌 Boolean Naming

Booleans should read naturally in if statements.

Purpose	Idiomatic Name
Flag for readiness	isReady
Permission check	hasPermission
Retry condition	shouldRetry

Example:

// Clear names for boolean logic
if isReady && hasPermission {
    doSomething()
}

✅ Tip: Name booleans to imply their truthy state.

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🧵 Wrapping Up

Naming conventions are a subtle but powerful part of idiomatic Go. These short, predictable patterns make your code easier to read, review, and maintain — especially when working across teams.

This cheat sheet gives you the patterns to make your code feel like it belongs in the Go ecosystem.

💬 Got a favorite Go naming convention or a tricky naming challenge? Share it below—let’s make this cheat sheet even better together!

 
💡 Curious why idiomatic Go matters?
Start with Part 1: The Power of Idiomatic Go — it’s the foundation for this cheat sheet.

📚 Want to go even deeper? Explore Effective Go and the Go Style Guide — they’re foundational reads for writing Go the idiomatic way.

 
 
 

This post was reviewed with AI assistance to refine clarity and structure

Comments

[Vladimir Cezar]

Super handy guide. Naming in Go feels deceptively simple, but getting it right takes practice. Bookmarked!

[jjpinto]

Appreciate that! Naming’s one of those deceptively tricky things in Go — glad the cheat sheet hit the mark. :)

[Diogo]

Very useful, thanks for taking the time to write that.

[jjpinto]

Appreciate it—thanks for reading!