Is it better to return an error or use panic?

Go convention dictates returning errors for expected failure cases. Panics should be reserved strictly for unrecoverable programmer errors, such as out-of-bounds array access.

Does this skill help with error handling in goroutines?

Yes, it provides patterns for using error channels to safely collect and propagate errors from asynchronous processes back to the main execution flow.

How do I wrap errors in Go using this skill?

Use fmt.Errorf with the %w verb. This creates a wrapped error that preserves the original error context while allowing for later inspection using the errors package.

When should I use errors.Is vs errors.As?

Use errors.Is to check if an error matches a specific sentinel value (like ErrNotFound). Use errors.As when you need to extract an error of a specific type to access its unique fields.

Go Error Handling Patterns

Name: Go Error Handling Patterns
Author: armanzeroeight

byarmanzeroeight

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API Development

Implements idiomatic Go error handling including wrapping, sentinel errors, and custom types to ensure robust application logic.

About

The Go Error Handling skill equips Claude with the domain-specific knowledge required to implement professional-grade error management in Golang applications. It provides standardized patterns for error wrapping with the %w verb, defining sentinel errors for state checking, and creating complex custom error types for structured data. By following these patterns, developers can ensure their applications maintain clear error chains, provide meaningful debugging context, and adhere to modern Go best practices established in the errors package.

Key Features

Safe panic recovery and goroutine error propagation
Sentinel error implementation and checking with errors.Is
Idiomatic error wrapping with fmt.Errorf and %w
19 GitHub stars
HTTP-specific error mapping for RESTful services
Structured custom error types using errors.As

Use Cases

Refactoring legacy Go code to use modern error handling standards
Implementing custom validation errors to return detailed field-level feedback
Adding meaningful context to error chains in complex backend microservices

About

Key Features

Safe panic recovery and goroutine error propagation
Sentinel error implementation and checking with errors.Is
Idiomatic error wrapping with fmt.Errorf and %w
19 GitHub stars
HTTP-specific error mapping for RESTful services
Structured custom error types using errors.As

Use Cases

Refactoring legacy Go code to use modern error handling standards
Implementing custom validation errors to return detailed field-level feedback
Adding meaningful context to error chains in complex backend microservices