Utility: Clear Go Cache

Overview

Clears all Go-related caches including build cache, test cache, module cache, and gopls (Go Language Server) cache. This is useful for troubleshooting build issues, resolving stale dependency problems, or cleaning up disk space.

Prerequisites

• Go toolchain installed (go 1.23+)
• Write access to cache directories
• Internet connection (for re-downloading modules)

Usage

Basic Usage

.github/skills/utility-clear-go-cache-scripts/run.sh

Via Skill Runner

.github/skills/scripts/skill-runner.sh utility-clear-go-cache

Via VS Code Task

Use the task: Utility: Clear Go Cache

Parameters

This skill accepts no parameters.

Environment Variables

Outputs

• Success Exit Code: 0
• Error Exit Codes: 1 - Cache clearing failed
• Console Output: Progress messages and next steps

Output Example

Clearing Go build and module caches...
Clearing gopls cache...
Re-downloading modules...
Caches cleared and modules re-downloaded.
Next steps:
- Restart your editor's Go language server (gopls)
  - In VS Code: Command Palette -> 'Go: Restart Language Server'
- Verify the toolchain:
  $ go version
  $ gopls version

Examples

Example 1: Troubleshoot Build Issues

# Clear caches when experiencing build errors
.github/skills/utility-clear-go-cache-scripts/run.sh

# Restart VS Code's Go language server
# Command Palette: "Go: Restart Language Server"

Example 2: Clean Development Environment

# Clear caches before major Go version upgrade
.github/skills/utility-clear-go-cache-scripts/run.sh

# Verify installation
go version
gopls version

What Gets Cleared

This skill clears the following:

1. Go Build Cache: go clean -cache

   • Compiled object files
   • Build artifacts

2. Go Test Cache: go clean -testcache

   • Cached test results

3. Go Module Cache: go clean -modcache

   • Downloaded module sources
   • Module checksums

4. gopls Cache: Removes $XDG_CACHE_HOME/gopls or $HOME/.cache/gopls

   • Language server indexes
   • Cached analysis results

5. Re-downloads: go mod download

   • Fetches all dependencies fresh

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when experiencing:

• Build failures after dependency updates
• gopls crashes or incorrect diagnostics
• Module checksum mismatches
• Stale test cache results
• Disk space issues related to Go caches
• IDE reporting incorrect errors

Error Handling

• All cache clearing operations use || true to continue even if a cache doesn't exist
• Module re-download requires network access
• Exits with error if backend/ directory not found

Related Skills

• build-check-go - Verify Go build after cache clear
• test-backend-unit - Run tests after cache clear

Notes

• Warning: This operation re-downloads all Go modules (may be slow on poor network)
• Not CI/CD safe due to network dependency and destructive nature
• Requires manual IDE restart after execution
• Safe to run multiple times (idempotent)
• Consider using this before major Go version upgrades

Last Updated: 2025-12-20 Maintained by: Charon Project Source: scripts/clear-go-cache.sh