g: a Go version manager

While working on Go projects, I found that different repositories needed different Go versions. Since I mostly use Python for experiments, I wondered whether Go had similar environment tools. It does: gvm, g, and others. I chose g. The guides I found skipped some beginner details, so I wrote down my own setup.

Step 1: download and install g

Download

I use Windows 11 and install the precompiled release.

Download g: release page

At the time of this setup, I chose version 1.7.0. Other releases are listed here: version tags

For 64-bit x86 Windows, choose g1.7.0.windows-amd64 and extract it.

The archive contains a precompiled application named g, which is the version manager we will use.

Configure environment variables

The environment settings were the trickiest part of this installation.

If you previously installed Go and configured its paths, remove or adjust the conflicting entries first.

The original setup records the following environment settings. Check the selected release’s documentation when configuring your own installation.

Adjust these paths for your machine:

Replace lier with your username. Put g.exe in the directory you configured.

Step 2: use g

Check the installation

You can use cmd or power shell for these commands.

Open a new command prompt, enter g —version, and inspect the output.

g commands

1、g ls-remote stable

List available stable Go releases.

2、g ls-remote

List all available Go releases.

3. g install VERSION

Install the specified Go version.

4、g ls

List installed Go versions.

5. g use VERSION

Switch to another installed Go version.

6. g uninstall VERSION

Remove an installed Go version.

7、g clean

Clear the downloaded Go package cache.

8、g —version

Show the g version.

9、g self update

Update g itself; this feature requires version 1.5.0 or later.

10、g self uninstall

Uninstall g itself.

Wrapping up

These steps cover the basic installation and use of g for managing Go versions.

Thanks for reading!