explaingit

go-delve/delve

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

24,722GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

Delve is a debugger built specifically for Go programs, letting you pause execution, step through code line by line, and inspect variables with proper support for goroutines and other Go-specific features.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((delve))
    What it does
      Set breakpoints
      Step through code
      Inspect variables
      Switch goroutines
    Go-specific
      Goroutine support
      Defer handling
      Closures
    Usage
      CLI commands
      VS Code plugin
      GoLand plugin
    Audience
      Go developers
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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Pause a running Go web server and inspect variable values at a specific line to find the source of a bug.

USE CASE 2

Step through goroutines one at a time to debug a race condition or concurrency issue in Go code.

USE CASE 3

Set breakpoints in VS Code or GoLand that use Delve under the hood when you click the debug button.

USE CASE 4

Attach Delve to a running Go process in production to diagnose a live issue without restarting the server.

What is it built with?

Go

How does it compare?

go-delve/delvegorilla/websocketflipped-aurora/gin-vue-admin
Stars24,72224,68224,641
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
MIT, use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, with no restrictions beyond keeping the copyright notice.

In plain English

Delve is a debugger specifically designed for the Go programming language. A debugger is a tool that lets you pause a running program, step through it line by line, inspect the values of variables at any point, and understand exactly what your code is doing, which is invaluable when something is not working as expected. Delve was built from the ground up to understand Go's unique runtime characteristics, such as goroutines (Go's lightweight threads), defer statements, and closures. Generic debuggers designed for other languages often struggle with these Go-specific concepts, so Delve exists to fill that gap properly. The project's stated goal is to be simple to invoke and to stay out of your way, you are already dealing with a bug, so the last thing you need is a complicated tool. You use Delve from the command line or through an editor plugin. Most major Go development environments, including VS Code, GoLand, and others, integrate with Delve under the hood when you click a debug button. You would reach for Delve directly when you need to debug a Go program, whether that is a web server, a command-line tool, or any other Go application. It is written in Go and licensed under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I use Delve to debug a Go HTTP server, set a breakpoint on a specific handler and inspect the request and response variables?
Prompt 2
Show me Delve commands to list all running goroutines, switch between them, and inspect the stack trace of a goroutine that appears stuck.
Prompt 3
How do I attach Delve to an already-running Go process by PID to debug it without restarting?
Prompt 4
Create a VS Code launch.json configuration that uses Delve to debug a local Go binary with environment variables set.
Prompt 5
How do I use Delve to debug a Go test, step through a failing test function line by line to find where the assertion breaks?

Frequently asked questions

What is delve?

Delve is a debugger built specifically for Go programs, letting you pause execution, step through code line by line, and inspect variables with proper support for goroutines and other Go-specific features.

What language is delve written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go.

What license does delve use?

MIT, use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, with no restrictions beyond keeping the copyright notice.

How hard is delve to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is delve for?

Mainly developer.

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