Smarter Go Installation with a Version Variable in One-Liner Bash Command

When you’re managing multiple systems or setting up developer environments frequently, even a simple Go installation script can benefit from a small optimization—especially when it involves repetition of version numbers.

Let’s break down an enhanced version of a common one-liner used to install Go on Linux, and why using a variable is the better way.

🔧 The Original Command

You might often see or use this:

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.24.4.linux-amd64.tar.gz && sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.4.linux-amd64.tar.gz && go version && rm go1.24.4.linux-amd64.tar.gz

It works just fine—but the version number is repeated three times, which means if you want to install a different version next time, you need to change it in three places.

This is error-prone and not elegant.

✅ The Improved Version: Use a Version Variable

Let’s introduce a version variable to clean this up:

VER=1.24.4 && wget https://go.dev/dl/go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz && sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz && /usr/local/go/bin/go version && rm go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz

🔍 What Changed and Why It’s Better:

• VER=1.24.4 at the start makes it easy to change the version once.
• All go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz references become dynamic.
• Using /usr/local/go/bin/go version ensures we’re testing the newly installed Go version, even if the current shell hasn’t reloaded $PATH.

🧠 Why Use an Absolute Path for go version?

When Go is installed to /usr/local/go, it’s usually not in your PATH until a new shell is opened or your profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.) sources it.

By using:

/usr/local/go/bin/go version

…you ensure that the version check points directly to the new binary, not an older version in your PATH.

⚠️ Other Considerations

Here are a few additional things you might want to think about:

1. Clean PATH Configuration

Make sure your shell config includes:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Otherwise, the go command won’t be available unless you call it by full path.

2. Use a Safer TMP Directory

To avoid clutter or accidental file overwrites, consider downloading into a temporary directory:

VER=1.24.4 && TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d) && cd $TMP_DIR && \
wget https://go.dev/dl/go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz && \
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && \
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz && \
/usr/local/go/bin/go version && \
cd ~ && rm -rf $TMP_DIR

This ensures no leftover tarballs and isolates the process nicely.

3. Use sha256sum for Integrity Check (Optional but Recommended)

Each Go release provides a SHA256 checksum file. If you’re concerned about integrity:

wget https://go.dev/dl/go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz.sha256
sha256sum -c go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz.sha256

This adds extra security and integrity validation, especially when automating.

🎯 Finally

Using a variable like VER=1.24.4 in your one-liner Go install script:

• Reduces repetition
• Prevents errors
• Makes updates easier
• Improves maintainability

If you're setting up Go across multiple environments or provisioning with scripts, this small change makes a big difference.

Keep your tools clean, your scripts DRY, and your installations versioned properly. 🧼

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