Golang escape backslash and escape string: raw literals vs "quoted"

People searching for golang escape, golang escape string, go escape string, or golang escape backslash are usually writing interpreted string literals in double quotes, where \ starts an escape sequence. A golang escape string problem often comes down to doubling \ or switching to a raw string literal between backticks. Golang escape characters follow the Go string literal rules. For multiline and raw-string style, see multiline strings in Go. Queries about Java on this URL are a different language; this page is Go-only.

Tested with Go 1.24 on Linux.

Double-quoted strings: double the backslash

Inside "...", a single \ must introduce a known escape or another \. To print one backslash, use \\:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println(`\Welcome to GoLinuxCloud\`)
	fmt.Println("\\Welcome to GoLinuxCloud\\")
	fmt.Println("Which is better: Golang \\\\ Java?")
}

You should see the same path-style line from the raw string and the interpreted string, then Which is better: Golang \\ Java? with two visible backslashes before Java.

If a \ is not followed by a valid continuation and is not the second half of \\, the literal will not compile—especially a trailing \ right before the closing ".

Raw string literals (fewer escapes)

Between backticks `...`, backslashes are usually literal, which is why go escape string style paths like `C:\Users\name` are readable. You still cannot put a bare backtick inside a raw string without ending it; split the string or use concatenation. See the spec and multiline strings in Go.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println(`\GoLinux\Cloud\`)
	fmt.Println(`GoLinux\\Cloud`)
	fmt.Println(`GoLinux\\\Cloud`)
}

You should see backslashes printed exactly as written inside each raw literal.

Golang escape backtick in double quotes

There is no \"-style escape for grave accents inside ". Common fixes: use a raw string for the substring that contains `, or insert U+0060 with "\x60" / "\u0060" when you only need the character.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println("run " + "\x60" + "go test" + "\x60" + " from the module root")
}

You should see run go test from the module root with backticks around go test.

Summary

Golang escape string and go escape string work differently in interpreted double-quoted literals versus raw backtick literals: backslash starts escapes only in the former, so golang escape backslash is normally \\. Golang escape characters are the sequences listed in the language spec; invalid pairings cause compile errors, not a mysterious runtime crash. For heavy backslash or golang escape backtick needs, prefer raw strings or small rune escapes, and use multiline strings in Go when layout matters.

References

• String literals (Go spec)
• Rune literals