By name: go-errors description: "Use this skill when writing, reviewing, or debugging Go error handling — wrapping errors, sentinel errors, error type checking, panicking, or handling errors in defer."
Go Error Management
Critical patterns for robust Go error handling. Covers sentinel errors, error wrapping with context, type/value checking, defer error patterns, and when to use panic vs return.
When to Use This Skill
- Writing error handling for any Go function
- Reviewing code for ignored or swallowed errors
- Using
errors.Is/errors.Ascorrectly - Deciding whether to wrap or not wrap an error
- Handling errors inside defer statements
How It Works
- Identifies error handling anti-patterns (CRITICAL impact)
- Explains the production consequences of each mistake
- Shows correct error propagation and wrapping patterns
- Covers the full error handling lifecycle
Categories Covered
- Error Management — sentinel values, wrapping, type checking, panicking, defer errors, ignored returns
Present Results to User
When identifying issues:
❌ Found: Ignoring error return value
📍 Location: handlers/user.go:45
⚠️ Impact: CRITICAL - Silent failures in production
✅ Fix: Check and handle the error explicitly
[Show incorrect code]
[Show correct code]
[Explain why the fix matters]
Troubleshooting
When is it safe to ignore errors:
Close()in defer after a successful write is sometimes acceptable — but log it- Use explicit
_ = f.Close()to show the ignore is intentional, never silent
errors.Is vs errors.As:
errors.Ischecks for a specific error value (sentinel)errors.Aschecks for a specific error type and unwraps the chain