Read the whole setupGet the setup that works.
Drop your email and unlock the rest: what you need, the install for your agent of choice, the one setting to flip, and how to confirm it is actually firing.
One email. No follow-up unless I ship something that fits.
WHAT YOU NEED- The Go toolchain installed and on your PATH
- Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Junie, any one is enough
- GOTOOLCHAIN=auto, the default, so an older local Go can still fetch a compatible one on first run
INSTALLTwo commands inside Claude Code
Run both from inside a Claude Code session. The plugin installs into your existing plugin system, nothing project-local.
The install
claude code sessionrun in order
/plugin marketplace add JetBrains/go-modern-guidelines /plugin install modern-go-guidelines@goland-claude-marketplace → guidelines active on your next Go task
Codex and Cursor use the equivalent plugin marketplace add command from a terminal instead of inside a session. Junie uses /extensions marketplace add in its own CLI.
Prove itAsk the agent to write a function that finds the max of two ints. max(a, b) rather than an if-else block means the plugin is loaded and firing.
CONFIGUREThe one setting worth changing
There is no settings file. The only real configuration is whether Claude Code keeps this plugin current, and it does not by default.
claude codeone-time setting
/plugin → Marketplaces → goland-claude-marketplace → Enable auto-update
| Setting | Default | Why I change it |
|---|
| Auto-update | off, third-party marketplaces | A guidelines project that goes stale is worse than none. This is the whole reason to flip it. |
| Explicit invoke | automatic | Automatic is right almost always. Use /modern-go-guidelines:use-modern-go only when you want it applied to code the agent already wrote. |
Manual update pathWithout auto-update, run claude plugin marketplace update goland-claude-marketplace then claude plugin update modern-go-guidelines@goland-claude-marketplace yourself, and remember to.
DAILY DRIVINGIt runs itself
There is no workflow to learn. The agent invokes the skill automatically on Go tasks, and the only thing you do is occasionally check it fired.
- Write Go normally. No special prompt or flag needed. The plugin loads into the agent's context on relevant tasks.
- Force it once in a while. Run
/modern-go-guidelines:use-modern-go directly if you want an existing file swept for outdated idioms. - Reload after an update.
/reload-plugins applies a marketplace update to the current session without restarting Claude Code.
The value compounds quietly. You notice it less by what changed and more by how little pre-2023 Go shows up in review.
WHEN IT DRIFTSTwo failures, both configuration
Suggestions look outdated
Auto-update was never turned on. Run the manual update commands, then check FEATURES.md in the repo for what changed.
Plugin never seems to fire
go.mod is missing or unreadable from the project root. The version-detection step needs it to decide which idioms are safe to suggest.
ResetRemove the plugin and the local CLI cache at ~/.cache/go-modern-guidelines, then reinstall. Nothing in your project changes either way.
THE SHAPE OF ITWhere everything lives
~/.cache/go-modern-guidelinesthe installed CLI, fetched on first use FEATURES.mdevery guideline the plugin can suggest, with examples .claude-plugin/the Claude Code plugin manifest in this repo .cursor-plugin/ .junie-extension/the equivalent manifests for the other agents
Nothing writes to your project. Uninstalling the plugin from any agent leaves your code exactly as the agent last wrote it.
That is the whole setupTwo commands, one setting to flip, and the agent stops writing Go your model forgot existed. The idioms keep pace with the Go team's own modernizer as long as you leave auto-update on.
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