Installing Go (Golang) on WSL Ubuntu

This guide walks you through installing Go programming language on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with Ubuntu.

Prerequisites

• WSL with Ubuntu installed and properly configured
• Internet connection
• Basic terminal knowledge

Installation Steps

There are two main methods to install Go on WSL Ubuntu:

Method 1: Using the Official Go Binary (Recommended)

This method ensures you get the latest version of Go directly from the official website:

# 1. Update your Ubuntu packages
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

# 2. Install required packages
sudo apt install -y wget git

# 3. Check the latest Go version
# Visit https://go.dev/dl/ for the latest version
# As of May 2025, Go 1.24.2 is the latest stable version

# 4. Download the Go binary package
# Replace 1.24.2 with the latest version as needed
# For standard Intel/AMD processors (most common):
wget https://dl.google.com/go/go1.24.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz

# For ARM64 architecture (e.g., if using WSL on ARM-based systems):
# wget https://dl.google.com/go/go1.24.2.linux-arm64.tar.gz

# 5. Extract the archive to /usr/local
# This requires root permissions
# For AMD64 architecture:
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz
# For ARM64 architecture:
# sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.2.linux-arm64.tar.gz

# 6. Remove the downloaded archive to save space (optional)
rm go1.24.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz

# 7. Create Go workspace directories
mkdir -p ~/go/{bin,src,pkg}

Method 2: Using Ubuntu's Package Manager (Simpler but may not be latest)

# Install Go using apt
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y golang-go

# Create Go workspace directories
mkdir -p ~/go/{bin,src,pkg}

Configuring Go Environment

After installing Go, you need to set up environment variables. Add the following to your shell configuration file:

For Bash (default in Ubuntu)

# Open .bashrc file
nano ~/.bashrc

# Add these lines at the end of the file
export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin:$GOPATH/bin

# Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

# Apply changes immediately
source ~/.bashrc

For Zsh (if you use it)

# Open .zshrc file
nano ~/.zshrc

# Add these lines at the end of the file
export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin:$GOPATH/bin

# Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

# Apply changes immediately
source ~/.zshrc

Verifying the Installation

# Check Go version
go version

# Check Go environment
go env

You should see output similar to:

go version go1.24.2 linux/amd64

Creating a Simple Hello World Program

Let's create a simple Go program to verify the installation works correctly:

# Navigate to your Go workspace
cd ~/go/src

# Create a new directory for your project
mkdir hello
cd hello

# Create a new Go file
nano hello.go

Add the following code to hello.go:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World from Go on WSL!")
}

Save and exit the editor, then compile and run the program:

# Run the program directly
go run hello.go

# Or build and then run the executable
go build
./hello

Setting Up VS Code Integration (Optional)

If you use Visual Studio Code, you can enhance your Go development experience:

1. Install VS Code on Windows
2. Install the "Remote - WSL" extension
3. Install the "Go" extension when working in WSL
4. Open your WSL terminal and navigate to your project
5. Run code . to open VS Code with WSL integration

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Command 'go' not found

If you encounter this error even after installation

Comments

[LukeZ]

the cutoff is funny. what you wanna do it restart bash if you installed go correctly. or restart the wsl session.

[Peter Ogbonna]

just new to wsl, thanks for this guide straightforward and works fine!