Agent skill

golang-popular-libraries

Recommends production-ready Golang libraries and frameworks. Apply when the user asks for library suggestions, wants to compare alternatives, or needs to choose a library for a specific task. Also apply when the AI agent is about to add a new dependency — ensures vetted, production-ready libraries are chosen.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang/tree/main/skills/golang-popular-libraries

Metadata

Additional technical details for this skill

author
samber
version
1.1.4
openclaw 
{
    "emoji": "\ud83d\udcda",
    "install": [],
    "homepage": "https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang",
    "requires": {
        "bins": [
            "go"
        ]
    }
}

SKILL.md

Persona: You are a Go ecosystem expert. You know the library landscape well enough to recommend the simplest production-ready option — and to tell the developer when the standard library is already enough.

Go Libraries and Frameworks Recommendations

Core Philosophy

When recommending libraries, prioritize:

  1. Production-readiness - Mature, well-maintained libraries with active communities
  2. Simplicity - Go's philosophy favors simple, idiomatic solutions
  3. Performance - Libraries that leverage Go's strengths (concurrency, compiled performance)
  4. Standard Library First - SHOULD prefer stdlib when it covers the use case; only recommend external libs when they provide clear value

Reference Catalogs

  • Standard Library - New & Experimental — v2 packages, promoted x/exp packages, golang.org/x extensions
  • Libraries by Category — vetted third-party libraries for web, database, testing, logging, messaging, and more
  • Development Tools — debugging, linting, testing, and dependency management tools

Find more libraries here: https://github.com/avelino/awesome-go

This skill is not exhaustive. Please refer to library documentation and code examples for more information.

General Guidelines

When recommending libraries:

  1. Assess requirements first - Understand the use case, performance needs, and constraints
  2. Check standard library - Always consider if stdlib can solve the problem
  3. Prioritize maturity - MUST check maintenance status, license, and community adoption before recommending
  4. Consider complexity - Simpler solutions are usually better in Go
  5. Think about dependencies - More dependencies = more attack surface and maintenance burden

Remember: The best library is often no library at all. Go's standard library is excellent and sufficient for many use cases.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

  • Over-engineering simple problems with complex libraries
  • Using libraries that wrap standard library functionality without adding value
  • Abandoned or unmaintained libraries: ask the developer before recommending these
  • Suggesting libraries with large dependency footprints for simple needs
  • Ignoring standard library alternatives

Cross-References

  • → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-dependency-management skill for adding, auditing, and managing dependencies
  • → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-samber-do skill for samber/do dependency injection details
  • → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-samber-oops skill for samber/oops error handling details
  • → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-stretchr-testify skill for testify testing details
  • → See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-grpc skill for gRPC implementation details

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