How to Install Go on Debian

Go (Golang) is Debian’s preferred name for the golang-* packages in main. The metapackage golang-go installs the gc compiler, linker, and standard library—enough to go build and go run on servers and workstations. When Debian’s version lags your go.mod go directive, install the official .tar.gz from go.dev.

This guide covers install Go on Debian for Debian 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm), and 13 (Trixie): apt install golang-go, the upstream tarball, PATH / GOPATH, go mod, optional gccgo, update, and uninstall. I ran these steps on Debian 13 and kept real terminal output below. Ubuntu-specific notes live in install Go on Ubuntu.

Tested on: Debian 13 (trixie); kernel 6.12.94+deb13-amd64; amd64; go1.24.4 (golang-go); go1.26.4 (official tarball).

Choose an install method

Check packages.debian.org/golang for library golang-*-dev packages—those are dependencies for other apps, not the main go toolchain.

What each Debian release ships

Always confirm before installing:

. /etc/os-release && echo "$PRETTY_NAME"
apt-cache policy golang-go | head -8

On Trixie before install:

Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)
golang-go:
  Candidate: 2:1.24~2
     2:1.24~2 500
        500 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages

Prerequisites

• Debian 11, 12, or 13 on amd64 or arm64 (match the tarball architecture).
• sudo for apt installs.
• For tarball installs: curl or wget, tar, and sha256sum.
• For CGO builds: gcc and libc6-dev (CGO_ENABLED=1 by default on the test host).

go version 2>/dev/null || echo "go: not installed"
which go 2>/dev/null || true

Install Go with apt (recommended default)

The Reddit / forum FAQ answer on Debian is golang-go, not a bare golang or go package name:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y golang-go
go version
go env GOROOT GOPATH GOVERSION
which go

go version go1.24.4 linux/amd64
/usr/lib/go-1.24
/root/go
go1.24.4
/usr/bin/go

Packages pulled on Trixie:

ii  golang-1.24-go   1.24.4-1   amd64
ii  golang-1.24-src  1.24.4-1   all
ii  golang-go        2:1.24~2   amd64
ii  golang-src       2:1.24~2   all

Optional documentation:

sudo apt install -y golang-doc

Install Go from the official tarball

When go version from apt is too old, use Installing Go (download page).

Download the latest stable release

GO_VERSION=$(curl -sL 'https://go.dev/VERSION?m=text' | head -1)
echo "$GO_VERSION"
curl -sL "https://go.dev/dl/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz" -o "/tmp/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
ls -lh "/tmp/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz"

go1.26.4
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 64M Jun 29 09:33 /tmp/go1.26.4.linux-amd64.tar.gz

On arm64, replace linux-amd64 with linux-arm64.

Verify checksum (recommended)

Download the .sha256 file from the same Go downloads page and check:

curl -sL "https://go.dev/dl/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz.sha256" -o /tmp/go.sha256
sha256sum --check /tmp/go.sha256

Extract to /usr/local/go

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf "/tmp/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
/usr/local/go/bin/go version

go version go1.26.4 linux/amd64

Add to PATH only when you want this build to override Debian’s go:

echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
go version
which go

go version go1.26.4 linux/amd64
/usr/local/go/bin/go

Leave PATH unchanged if you keep golang-go as the default and use /usr/local/go/bin/go only for specific projects.

Verify with Hello World and modules

Single-file run (works without go.mod):

mkdir -p ~/gotest
cat > ~/gotest/hello.go <<'EOF'
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println("Hello from Debian golang-go")
}
EOF
cd ~/gotest
go run hello.go
go build -o hello hello.go
./hello

Hello from Debian golang-go
Hello from Debian golang-go

Note: go build -o hello . fails without go.mod in module mode:

go: go.mod file not found in current directory or any parent directory

Initialize a module for a small project:

cd ~/gotest
go mod init example.com/hello
go run .

go: creating new go.mod: module example.com/hello
Hello from Debian golang-go

GOROOT, GOPATH, and environment

Inspect settings:

go env GOROOT GOPATH GOVERSION CGO_ENABLED

/usr/lib/go-1.24
/root/go
go1.24.4
1

Persist custom GOPATH:

echo 'export GOPATH=$HOME/go' >> ~/.profile
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin' >> ~/.profile

gccgo alternative

Debian ships gccgo-go—Go front end on GCC—at the same meta version as golang-go:

apt-cache policy gccgo-go | head -6

gccgo-go:
  Candidate: 2:1.24~2

golang-go Conflicts with gccgo-go—install only one. Most tutorials and modules expect the gc toolchain from golang-go or go.dev.

Update Go

Debian package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade golang-go
go version

Official tarball: download a newer ${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz, remove /usr/local/go, extract again, and re-check sha256sum.

List installed Go packages with list installed packages on Debian:

dpkg -l 'golang-*' 2>/dev/null | grep ^ii | head -10

Uninstall Go

apt install

sudo apt remove --purge golang-go
sudo apt autoremove
go version 2>&1 || echo "go removed"

Dry-run on the test host:

REMOVING:
  golang-go
Remv golang-go [2:1.24~2]

Orphaned golang-1.24-go packages may remain until autoremove—see uninstall golang for a full cleanup checklist.

Official tarball

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
# remove /usr/local/go/bin from ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc

Troubleshooting

References

• go.dev — Install Go
• go.dev — Download
• packages.debian.org — golang
• LinuxCapable — Install Go on Debian
• On-site: install Go on Ubuntu, uninstall golang, install sudo on Debian, apt command, curl, list installed packages

Summary

Install Go on Debian with sudo apt install golang-go when the suite version matches your project (go1.24.4 on Trixie here). For newer upstream releases, download the linux-amd64.tar.gz from go.dev, extract to /usr/local/go, and add /usr/local/go/bin to PATH only if it should replace /usr/bin/go. Verify with go version, go mod init, and a go run test—and avoid mixing two toolchains without a clear PATH order.