Master Go concurrency with goroutines, channels, sync primitives, and context. Use when building concurrent Go applications, implementing worker pools, or debugging race conditions.
View on GitHubwshobson/agents
systems-programming
January 19, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/wshobson/agents/blob/main/plugins/systems-programming/skills/go-concurrency-patterns/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill go-concurrency-patternsInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/go-concurrency-patterns/# Go Concurrency Patterns
Production patterns for Go concurrency including goroutines, channels, synchronization primitives, and context management.
## When to Use This Skill
- Building concurrent Go applications
- Implementing worker pools and pipelines
- Managing goroutine lifecycles
- Using channels for communication
- Debugging race conditions
- Implementing graceful shutdown
## Core Concepts
### 1. Go Concurrency Primitives
| Primitive | Purpose |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------- |
| `goroutine` | Lightweight concurrent execution |
| `channel` | Communication between goroutines |
| `select` | Multiplex channel operations |
| `sync.Mutex` | Mutual exclusion |
| `sync.WaitGroup` | Wait for goroutines to complete |
| `context.Context` | Cancellation and deadlines |
### 2. Go Concurrency Mantra
```
Don't communicate by sharing memory;
share memory by communicating.
```
## Quick Start
```go
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"sync"
"time"
)
func main() {
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
defer cancel()
results := make(chan string, 10)
var wg sync.WaitGroup
// Spawn workers
for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
wg.Add(1)
go worker(ctx, i, results, &wg)
}
// Close results when done
go func() {
wg.Wait()
close(results)
}()
// Collect results
for result := range results {
fmt.Println(result)
}
}
func worker(ctx context.Context, id int, results chan<- string, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
defer wg.Done()
select {
case <-ctx.Done():
return
case results <- fmt.Sprintf("Worker %d done", id):
}
}
```
## Patterns
### Pattern 1: Worker Pool
```go
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"sync"
)
type Job struct {
ID int
Data string
}
type Result struct {
JobID int