---
date: August 2026
footer: go 1.XX
header: User Commands
section: 1
title: GO
---

# NAME

go - manual page for go 1.XX

# DESCRIPTION

usage: go tool \[-n\] command \[args\...\]

Tool runs the go tool command identified by the arguments.

Go ships with a number of builtin tools, and additional tools may be
defined in the go.mod of the current module. \'go get **-tool**\' can be
used to define additional tools in the current module\'s go.mod file.
See \'go help get\' for more information.

The command can be specified using the full package path to the tool
declared with a tool directive. The default binary name of the tool,
which is the last component of the package path, excluding the major
version suffix, can also be used if it is unique among declared tools.

With no arguments it prints the list of known tools.

The **-n** flag causes tool to print the command that would be executed
but not execute it.

The **-modfile**=*file*.mod build flag causes tool to use an alternate
file instead of the go.mod in the module root directory.

Tool also provides the **-C**, **-overlay**, and **-modcacherw** build
flags.

The go command places *\$GOROOT/bin* at the beginning of \$PATH in the
environment of commands run via tool directives, so that they use the
same \'go\' as the parent \'go tool\'.

For more about build flags, see \'go help build\'.

For more about each builtin tool command, see \'go doc
cmd/\<command\>\'.
