Prepare Your Computer

Your computer is your main workspace for development. When you are ready you push the executable to your VPS. Via Webmin or via an automated script. This is a brief description of the setup.

Install Go

Download and install Go from the official Go website. The installer sets up everything you need to compile and run Go programs. To verify that the installation is correct, run go version in your terminal. The installed version should then appear in the terminal.

Download Go
Install VS Code

VS Code is one of the most popular editors for Go development. It handles both backend and frontend work in a single environment. When you start VS Code for the first time:

1. Open the Extensions panel
2. Search for “Go”
3. Install the extension named “Rich Go language support for Visual Studio Code”

This extension will automatically install the Go tools you need (gopls, dlv, goimports, first time you open a .go file).

Download VS Code
Install several browsers for testing

Different browsers behave differently, so it's useful to have several installed: Chrome, Edge, Opera, Firefox and Safari. Not everything works the same across browsers. If you're unsure whether a feature is supported, CanIUse gives a clear overview.

CanIUse
Do not forget backups!

Protect your work from the start. Choose at least one method:

- Version control: Use Git for version control (for code history)
- System backups: Time Machine (Mac), File History (Windows)
- Simple backup: Regular copies to external drive, iCloud or OneDrive

For Go projects, version control (Git) may be the main choice. Your code should be committed and pushed regularly.