Manage Go Versions Like a Pro with GVM on Linux

Managing multiple Go (Golang) versions can be challenging when you need to switch between them frequently. Manually uninstalling and reinstalling Go for each version change is time-consuming and inefficient.

Go Version Manager (GVM) solves this problem by allowing you to easily install, switch, and manage different Go versions on your system.

Requirements

Before we get started, make sure your Linux system has the tools needed:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install curl git mercurial make binutils bison gcc

Note: If you're using Fedora or CentOS, replace apt-get with dnf or yum.

Install GVM

To install GVM, run the following command:

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

This will download and install GVM on your system.

Load GVM into Your Shell

You need to configure your shell to recognize GVM.

For bash, add this line into your ~/.bashrc:

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

For zsh users → put it in your ~/.zshrc.

Then reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc

Install a Go Version

To install a specific Go version, use the following command:

gvm install go1.21.6

Make it your default:

gvm use go1.21.6 --default

Verify Installation

Verify which Go version is currently active:

go version

This should display the Go version you just installed.

Optional: Remove System Go

If you already installed Go using system packages (apt, dnf, yum), better remove it to avoid conflicts:

sudo apt-get remove golang

(or dnf remove golang / yum remove golang).

Useful GVM Commands

Here are some commonly used GVM commands:

gvm list                 # show installed Go versions
gvm listall              # list all available Go versions online
gvm install <version>    # install a specific version
gvm use <version>        # switch version
gvm uninstall <version>  # remove a version

Conclusion

You've successfully installed and configured GVM on Linux. You can now easily manage multiple Go versions on your system and switch between them as needed.