gofdocs

Getting Started

The shortest reliable path from zero to a running gof program.

Choose your starting point

If you want the latest released toolchain:

Unix-like systems:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GofMan5/gof-lang/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GofMan5/gof-lang/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

This is the right path if you want to try the language as a user.

If you are developing the language itself or want the freshest bootstrap state:

cargo run -q -p gof-cli --bin gof -- run examples/hello_print.gof

This is the right path if you want to inspect compiler behavior, examples, and tests.

If you only want to write and run gof programs, do not stay on the Rust path. Install gof, put it on PATH, and use the normal CLI directly.

Your first program

Write this:

fn main() -> int:
    print("hello from gof")
    return 42

Save it as hello.gof and run:

gof run hello.gof

What happens

  • print("hello from gof") writes text to standard output
  • return 42 becomes the final displayed program value in the bootstrap CLI path

That split is intentional. print is side effect. return is program result.

The first commands you should actually know

Format a file:

gof fmt hello.gof

Check whether formatting is already correct:

gof fmt hello.gof --check

Run the fixture suite:

gof test tests/fixtures

Build the backend artifact:

gof build hello.gof

Build a bootstrap-native executable:

gof build hello.gof --native

If you are hacking on gof from the repository before installing it, prefix the same commands with:

cargo run -q -p gof-cli --bin gof --

Understand the two build modes correctly

This is one of the easiest places to learn the wrong thing, so be precise:

  • gof run executes through the bootstrap evaluator
  • gof build emits the structured backend artifact by default
  • gof build --native emits a real host executable

--native is still a bootstrap-native path. It does not mean the project already has final direct code generation.

That distinction matters because the language is intentionally being honest about its stage.

A good first study sequence

After you can gof run any example:

  1. read the Language Tour to build the mental model
  2. explore Types and Data for the current type surface
  3. follow Control Flow for branching, matching, and error propagation
  4. visit Concurrency when you are ready for tasks, channels, and select
  5. check Testing for the shipped testing platform baseline
  6. use the examples/ folder as a working reference for real programs

Introduction

Learn the gof language by the right mental model, not by guesswork.

Language Tour

The shortest honest overview of the current gof surface.

On this page

Choose your starting pointYour first programWhat happensThe first commands you should actually knowUnderstand the two build modes correctlyA good first study sequence