gvm: Go Version Manager

xwi88included in go

2022-03-08 2026-07-07 502 words 3 minutes views

Contents

gvm is a CLI tool for Linux, MacOS and Windows — similar to nvm / anaconda — that lets you conveniently manage and switch between multiple go environments. Highly recommended.

Installation

Mac OS X Requirements

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# Mac OS X Requirements
xcode-select --install
brew update
brew install mercurial

Install gvm

gvm

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# zsh
zsh < <(curl -s -S -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moovweb/gvm/master/binscripts/gvm-installer)

# bash use, choose one!
# bash < <(curl -s -S -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moovweb/gvm/master/binscripts/gvm-installer)

On success, a hidden .gvm directory is created under your home folder, and the following line is appended to the bottom of your .bashrc or .zshrc:

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[[ -s "$HOME/.gvm/scripts/gvm" ]] && source "$HOME/.gvm/scripts/gvm"

# shall set GO_SOURCE_URL to speed binary install
export GO_SOURCE_URL=https://github.com/golang/go

To support multiple shells at the same time, copy the snippet above into each shell’s config file manually.

Go environment config

Switching go versions with gvm use <version> changes several environment variables, such as:

GOMODCACHE="$HOME/.gvm/pkgsets/go1.17.7/global/pkg/mod"
GOPATH="$HOME/.gvm/pkgsets/go1.17.7/global"

The related gvm commands are: linkthis, pkgset, pkgenv. To reduce the impact of these env changes on development, you can pin GOPATH and friends:

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# shall set GO_SOURCE_URL to speed source install
# default https://go.googlesource.com/go
export GO_SOURCE_URL=https://github.com/golang/go

# if use gvm, shall set some go env after gvm init statements

# export GO111MODULE=on
export GOPATH="$HOME/go"
export GOBIN="$GOPATH/bin"
export PATH="$GOBIN:$PATH"
export GOPROXY=https://goproxy.cn,https://goproxy.io/,https://mirrors.aliyun.com/goproxy/,https://gocenter.io/,https://proxy.golang.org,direct

gvm usage

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Usage: gvm [command]

Description:
  GVM is the Go Version Manager

Commands:
  version    - print the gvm version number
  get        - gets the latest code (for debugging)
  use        - select a go version to use (--default to set permanently)
  diff       - view changes to Go root
  help       - display this usage text
  implode    - completely remove gvm
  install    - install go versions
  uninstall  - uninstall go versions
  cross      - install go cross compilers
  linkthis   - link this directory into GOPATH
  list       - list installed go versions
  listall    - list available versions
  alias      - manage go version aliases
  pkgset     - manage go packages sets
  pkgenv     - edit the environment for a package set

gvm install

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Usage: gvm install [version] [options]
    -s,  --source=SOURCE      Install Go from specified source.
    -n,  --name=NAME          Override the default name for this version.
    -pb, --with-protobuf      Install Go protocol buffers.
    -b,  --with-build-tools   Install package build tools.
    -B,  --binary             Only install from binary.
         --prefer-binary      Attempt a binary install, falling back to source.
    -h,  --help               Display this message.

Quick start

gvm use - select a go version to use (–default to set permanently)

gvm install go1.16.14 -B # if the machine has no go pre-installed
gvm install go1.17.7
gvm use go1.17.7 [–default]
gvm uninstall go1.17.7
gvm install go1.17.7 –source=https://xxx@github.com/xxx/go
gvm install go1.17.7 -s=https://godoc.org/golang.org/dl/go1.17.7
gvm implode uninstall gvm

Example

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# gvm list

gvm gos (installed)

   go1.16.14
=> go1.17.7
   go1.18rc1
   system