IDE Configuration and Processes

We recommend Jetbrains GoLand or IntelliJ IDEA with Go plugin for the development of the backend. It eases the writing of the tests, the debugging, formatting, linting, and the integration with Git.

We also recommend using GitHub Copilot (as of April 2024) for writing the code, as it’ll make you gain a lot of time.

Jetbrains GoLand or IntelliJ IDEA with Go plugin

If you’re using IntelliJ IDEA, you need to install the Go plugin. Go to File > Settings > Plugins and search for Go. Install it and restart the IDE.

Plugins

Go to File > Settings > Plugins and install the following plugins:

• Cucumber+, helps to edit the *.feature files, especially the tables.
• Gherkin, for the syntax of *.feature files.
• Makefile language support, for the syntax of the Makefile file.
• Go linter, to get the lint warnings in the IDE while editing files.
• File Watchers, to automatically format the code on save.

For Windows: Add diff executable in the PATH

If you use Windows, you need to add the diff executable in the PATH.

The easiest way to do this is to:

1. Install Git for Windows
2. Add the bin folder of Git for Windows to the PATH. The default path is C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin. See the details below.
3. Restart the IDE.

Details:

Search “environment” in Windows Search, then select “Edit the system environment variables”:

Click on “Environment Variables…”:

Select the Path variable in the User variables or in System variables section, then click on “Edit…”:

Click on “New”, then type the path (default is C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin), then click on “OK”:

Automatic code formatting on file save

Go to File > Settings > Tools > File Watchers and add a new watcher (if it is not there yet) with the following settings:

• Name: gofumpt
• File type: Go
• Scope: Project Files
• Program: go

Note: gofumpt is a tool that formats Go code. It is stricter than gofmt. This will make sure the code and the imports are formatted correctly to pass the lint checks, when you save a file.