GoReleaser Skill

GoReleaser automates the release process for software projects. It builds binaries, creates archives, publishes to package managers, builds Docker images, and generates changelogs.

Quick Reference

references/builds.md

references/archives.md

references/docker.md

references/nfpm.md

references/homebrew.md

references/signing.md

references/changelog.md

references/ci.md

references/templates.md

references/examples.md

Essential Commands

# Initialize new config
goreleaser init

# Validate configuration
goreleaser check

# Test build locally (no publish)
goreleaser release --snapshot --clean

# Create release (usually run in CI)
goreleaser release

Configuration File

GoReleaser uses

.goreleaser.yaml

.goreleaser.yml

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://goreleaser.com/static/schema.json
version: 2

# Project name (defaults to directory name)
project_name: myapp

Minimal Go Configuration

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://goreleaser.com/static/schema.json
version: 2

builds:
  - main: ./cmd/myapp
    binary: myapp
    goos: [linux, darwin, windows]
    goarch: [amd64, arm64]
    ldflags:
      - -s -w
      - -X main.version={{.Version}}

archives:
  - formats: [tar.gz]
    format_overrides:
      - goos: windows
        formats: [zip]

changelog:
  sort: asc
  filters:
    exclude:
      - "^docs:"
      - "^test:"

Build Targets

Go (default)

builds:
  - builder: go  # optional, default
    main: ./cmd/app
    goos: [linux, darwin, windows]
    goarch: [amd64, arm64]
    goarm: ["6", "7"]  # for ARM builds

Rust

builds:
  - builder: rust
    targets:
      - x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
      - x86_64-apple-darwin
      - aarch64-apple-darwin

Zig

builds:
  - builder: zig
    targets:
      - x86_64-linux-gnu
      - x86_64-macos
      - aarch64-macos

Prebuilt Binaries

builds:
  - builder: prebuilt
    prebuilt:
      path: dist/myapp_{{ .Os }}_{{ .Arch }}/myapp{{ .Ext }}

Common Patterns

Version Injection (Go)

builds:
  - ldflags:
      - -X main.version={{.Version}}
      - -X main.commit={{.Commit}}
      - -X main.date={{.Date}}

CGO Disabled

builds:
  - env:
      - CGO_ENABLED=0

Multiple Binaries

builds:
  - id: cli
    main: ./cmd/cli
    binary: myapp
  - id: server
    main: ./cmd/server
    binary: myapp-server

Publishing

Homebrew Tap

brews:
  - repository:
      owner: myorg
      name: homebrew-tap
    homepage: https://example.com
    description: "My application"

Docker Images

dockers_v2:
  - dockerfile: Dockerfile
    images:
      - "ghcr.io/myorg/myapp:{{ .Tag }}"
      - "ghcr.io/myorg/myapp:latest"

GitHub Release

release:
  github:
    owner: myorg
    name: myrepo
  draft: false
  prerelease: auto

Environment Variables

GITHUB_TOKEN

GITLAB_TOKEN

GITEA_TOKEN

GORELEASER_KEY

Workflow

1. Initialize:

   goreleaser init

   creates

   .goreleaser.yaml

2. Configure: Edit config for your needs (see reference files)
3. Validate:

   goreleaser check

   verifies configuration
4. Test:

   goreleaser release --snapshot --clean

   tests locally
5. Release: Tag and push, CI runs

   goreleaser release

When to Load References

• Setting up builds: Load

  references/builds.md

  for complete build options
• Configuring Docker: Load

  references/docker.md

  for multi-arch images
• Linux packages: Load

  references/nfpm.md

  for deb/rpm/apk packages
• Package managers: Load

  references/homebrew.md

  for Homebrew/Scoop/AUR/etc.
• CI setup: Load

  references/ci.md

  for GitHub Actions/GitLab CI
• Template syntax: Load

  references/templates.md

  for available variables
• Complete examples: Load

  references/examples.md

  for copy-paste configs