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“Code never lies. Comments sometimes do. Logs often scream.”

Debugging is a core skill for any Go developer. Whether you’re fixing a crashing service, tracking down performance bottlenecks, or just figuring out what your code is actually doing, knowing how to debug effectively can save hours of pain.

In this article, I’ll explore practical debugging techniques in Go, the role of Delve (Go’s debugger), and how modern IDEs like VSCode and IntelliJ IDEA (GoLand) can make your life easier.

🧠 Start With the Basics: Logging and Println

The oldest (and still very effective) debugging technique: adding fmt.Println() or log.Printf() statements. While not fancy, it can be fast and powerful, especially for quick investigations or local development.

🔥 Tip: Use structured logging (log/slog, zap, zerolog) for real-world debugging — especially in distributed systems.

🛠️ Delve: The Go Debugger

Delve is the official debugger for Go. It allows you to:

  • Set breakpoints

  • Step through code (step in, over, out)

  • Inspect variables and stack frames

  • Evaluate expressions at runtime

📦 Install Delve

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go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest

🔍 Basic Usage (CLI)

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dlv debug
> break main.go:42
> continue
> print someVar

Use dlv test to debug test functions interactively.

🖥️ Debugging in Visual Studio Code

VSCode with the Go extension by the Go team supports Delve under the hood.

✅ Features:

  • Interactive breakpoints

  • Variable watches

  • Step-by-step execution

  • Debug test files directly

⚙️ Quick Setup:

  1. Install the Go extension.

  2. Add a .vscode/launch.json file:

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    {
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Launch Main",
      "type": "go",
      "request": "launch",
      "mode": "debug",
      "program": "${workspaceFolder}/main.go"
     }
  ]
}

  3. Hit F5 or click the debug icon.

🧠 Debugging in IntelliJ IDEA / GoLand

JetBrains’ GoLand or the Go plugin for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate offers a premium Go debugging experience.

✅ Features:

  • Visual breakpoints with conditions

  • Inline variable values

  • Goroutine inspection

  • Smart watches and expression evaluation

🚀 How to Use:

  • Set breakpoints in the left margin

  • Right-click your Go file → Debug

  • Use the debug tool window to inspect state

💡 GoLand integrates with dlv and offers a rich UI on top of it.

🧪 Debugging Tests

Both VSCode and GoLand support debugging test cases individually.

  • VSCode: Right-click TestXxx → Debug Test

  • GoLand: Click the green bug icon next to the test function

Add t.Log() and use -v for more visibility.

📈 Advanced Techniques

  • pprof: Profile CPU, memory, goroutines, and more

  • trace: Detailed execution traces for concurrency issues

  • panic stack traces: Analyze logs to trace the root of panics

  • race detector: Run with go run -race or go test -race

🔁 Summary

  • Use fmt.Println() and logging for quick insights

  • Learn Delve — it’s your best friend in deep debugging

  • Leverage IDEs like VSCode or GoLand for full-featured debugging

  • Don’t forget Go’s built-in tools like pprof, trace, and the race detector

Happy debugging — may your bugs be shallow and your stack traces meaningful 🐞

🚀 Follow me on norbix.dev for more insights on Go, system design, and engineering wisdom.