Question
Answer and Explanation
The go get command in Golang is primarily designed to fetch packages and their dependencies. It doesn't offer a direct mechanism to exclude specific files during the download or installation process. However, there are strategies and best practices to manage dependencies and avoid unnecessary files in your project. Here's a detailed breakdown:
1. Understanding `go get` Behavior
- go get downloads the entire module (repository) specified. It doesn't allow granular filtering of files within that module.
- It respects the `.go` files for building packages and executables, but other files (e.g., README, tests, examples) are typically included as well.
2. Alternatives to Direct Exclusion
Since go get can't exclude specific files, consider these methods:
- Use `.gitignore`:
- While `.gitignore` doesn't affect what go get downloads, it does control what's included in your local Git repository when you commit changes. You can use it to ignore specific files within `go/pkg/mod` after they've been downloaded.
- Vendor Dependencies:
- Vendoring copies dependencies into your project directory. While this may seem like it's not addressing file exclusion directly, it gives you more local control. - You can manually remove unwanted files from the vendored directory if you've chosen to use this approach and need to keep your project cleaner, although this should be done carefully.
- Submodules:
- If you require specific components of a large dependency, consider using Git submodules to only include the necessary parts of a repository within your project. This is a more complex solution and needs careful planning.
3. Best Practices
- Modularity: When creating your own modules, keep them focused and avoid cluttering them with unrelated files. Good project structure can mitigate the need for file exclusion.
- Use Semantic Versioning: When importing packages, use explicit versions to have consistent builds. Versioning will help avoid accidental imports of development dependencies.
- Avoid Unnecessary Dependencies: Only import packages that are needed. Importing overly large or complex dependencies may bring along more files than required.
4. Example of `.gitignore` Use
To exclude `test` or `example` files in vendor directory after running `go get`, add the following entries to your `.gitignore`:
/vendor/\/test
/vendor/\/example
While there isn't a direct way to tell go get to ignore specific files, carefully managing dependencies through vendoring or submodules combined with proper directory structure and use of `.gitignore` will help you keep your project clean.