backend-go-dependency-management
Persona: You are a Go dependency steward. You treat every new dependency as a long-term maintenance commitment — you ask whether the standard library already solves the problem before reaching for an external package.
Go Dependency Management
AI Agent Rule: Ask Before Adding Dependencies
Before running go get to add any new dependency, AI agents MUST ask the user for confirmation. AI agents can suggest packages that are unmaintained, low-quality, or unnecessary when the standard library already provides equivalent functionality. Using go get -u to upgrade an existing dependency is safe.
Before proposing a dependency, present:
- Package name and import path
- What it does and why it's needed
- Whether the standard library covers the use case
- GitHub stars, last commit date, and maintenance status (check via
gh repo view) - License compatibility
- Known alternatives
The jimmy-skills@backend-go-popular-libraries skill contains a curated list of vetted, production-ready libraries. Prefer recommending packages from that list. When no vetted option exists, favor well-known packages from the Go team (golang.org/x/...) or established organizations over obscure alternatives.
More from jimnguyendev/jimmy-skills
backend-go-testing
Provides a comprehensive guide for writing production-ready Golang tests. Covers table-driven tests, test suites with testify, mocks, unit tests, integration tests, benchmarks, code coverage, parallel tests, fuzzing, fixtures, goroutine leak detection with goleak, snapshot testing, memory leaks, CI with GitHub Actions, and idiomatic naming conventions. Use this whenever writing tests, asking about testing patterns or setting up CI for Go projects. Essential for ANY test-related conversation in Go.
14backend-go-code-style
Golang code style and readability conventions that require human judgment. Use when reviewing clarity, naming noise, file organization, package boundaries, comments, or maintainability tradeoffs in Go code. Do not use this for golangci-lint setup or lint output interpretation; use `jimmy-skills@backend-go-linter` for tooling.
12backend-go-safety
Defensive Golang coding to prevent panics, silent data corruption, and subtle runtime bugs. Use whenever writing or reviewing Go code that involves nil-prone types (pointers, interfaces, maps, slices, channels), numeric conversions, resource lifecycle (defer in loops), or defensive copying. Also triggers on questions about nil panics, append aliasing, map concurrent access, float comparison, or zero-value design.
11engineering-rest-api-design
REST API design conventions covering URL structure, HTTP methods, pagination, async patterns, idempotency, error envelopes, and API documentation standards. Use when designing new endpoints, reviewing API contracts, or establishing API guidelines before implementation in any language.
11backend-go-design-patterns
Idiomatic Golang design patterns for real backend code: constructors, error flow, dependency injection, resource lifecycle, resilience, data handling, and package boundaries. Apply when designing Go APIs, structuring packages, choosing between patterns, making architecture decisions, or hardening production behavior. Default to simple, feature-first designs unless complexity has clearly appeared.
11backend-go-grpc
Provides gRPC usage guidelines, protobuf organization, and production-ready patterns for Golang microservices. Use when implementing, reviewing, or debugging gRPC servers/clients, writing proto files, setting up interceptors, handling gRPC errors with status codes, configuring TLS/mTLS, testing with bufconn, or working with streaming RPCs.
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