GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline configuration for Golang projects — workflow files for test, lint, SAST, coverage and vulnerability-scan jobs, Dependabot and Renovate config files, GoReleaser release pipelines, Docker build/push, repository security settings, and AI-driven PR review. Use when setting

Persona: You are a Go DevOps engineer. You treat CI as a quality gate — every pipeline decision is weighed against build speed, signal reliability, and security posture. Modes: Setup — adding CI to a project for the first time: start with the Quick Reference table, then generate workflows in this order: test → lint → security → release. Prefer the latest stable major version for each GitHub Action. Improve — auditing or extending an existing pipeline: read current workflow files first, identify gaps against the Quick Reference table, then propose targeted additions without duplicating existing steps. Dependencies: goreleaser: go install github.com/goreleaser/goreleaser/v2@latest gh: brew install gh Go Continuous Integration Set up production grade CI/CD pipelines for Go projects using GitHub Actions. Action Versions The versions in the examples below are reference versions that may be outdated. GitHub Actions release frequently — the current major version for each action ( actions/checkout , actions/setup go , golangci/golangci lint action , codecov/codecov action , goreleaser/goreleaser action , etc.) may differ from what is shown here. Quick Reference Stage Tool Purpose Test go test race Unit + race detection Coverage codecov/codecov action Coverage reporting Lint golangci lint Comprehensive linting Vet go vet Built in static analysis SAST gosec , CodeQL , Bearer Security static analysis Vuln scan govulncheck Known vulnerability detection Docker docker/build push action Multi platform image builds Deps Dependabot / Renovate Automated dependency updates Release GoReleaser Automated binary releases AI Review Claude Code / Copilot AI powered PR review Testing .github/workflows/test.yml — see [test.yml](./assets/test.yml) Adapt the Go version matrix to match go.mod : Use fail fast: false so a failure on one Go version doesn't cancel the others. Go 1.27 raises the Darwin floor to macOS 13 (Ventura). macos latest / macos 14 + runners are unaffected; only pin an older macos 12 runner if a project still needs it, and note it can no longer build with a Go 1.27 toolchain. Test flags: race : CI MUST run tests with the race flag (catches data races — undefined behavior in Go) shuffle=on : Randomize test order to catch inter test dependencies coverprofile : Generate coverage data git diff exit code : Fails if go mod tidy changes anything Coverage Configuration CI SHOULD enforce code coverage thresholds. Configure thresholds in codecov.yml at the repo root — see [codecov.yml](./assets/codecov.yml) Integration Tests .github/workflows/integration.yml — see [integration.yml](./assets/integration.yml) Use count=1 to disable test caching — cached results can hide flaky service interactions. Linting golangci lint MUST be run in CI on every PR. .github/workflows/lint.yml — see [lint.yml](./assets/lint.yml) golangci lint Configuration Create .golangci.yml at the root of the project. See the samber/cc skills golang@golang lint skill for the recommended configuration. Security & SAST .github/workflows/security.yml — see [security.yml](./assets/security.yml) CI MUST run govulncheck — it only reports vulnerabilities in code paths your project actually calls, unlike generic CVE scanners. CodeQL results appear in the repository's Security tab. Bearer is good at detecting sensitive data flow issues. CodeQL Configuration Create .github/codeql/codeql config.yml to use the extended security query suite — see [codeql config.yml](./assets/codeql config.yml) Available query suites: default : Standard security queries security extended : Extra security queries with slightly lower precision security and quality : Security queries plus maintainability and reliability checks Container Image Scanning If the project produces Docker images, Trivy container scanning is included in the Docker workflow — see [docker.yml](./assets/docker.yml) Dependency Management Dependabot .github/dependabot.yml — see [dependabot.yml](./assets/dependabot.yml) Minor/patch updates are grouped into a single PR. Major updates get individual PRs since they may have breaking changes. Auto Merge for Dependabot .github/workflows/dependabot auto merge.yml — see [dependabot auto merge.yml](./assets/dependabot auto merge.yml) Security warning: This workflow requires contents: write and pull requests: write — these are elevated permissions that allow merging PRs and modifying repository content. The if: github.actor == 'dependabot[bot]' guard restricts execution to Dependabot only. Do not remove this guard. Note that github.actor checks are not fully spoof proof — branch protection rules are the real safety net . Ensure branch protection is configured (see [Repository Security Settings]( repository security settings)) with required status checks and required approvals so that auto merge only succeeds after all checks pass, regardless of who triggered the workflow. Renovate (alternative) Renovate is a more mature and configurable alternative to Dependabot. It supports automerge natively, grouping, scheduling, regex managers, and monorepo aware updates. If Dependabot feels too limited, Renovate is the go to choice. Install the [Renovate GitHub App](https://github.com/apps/renovate), then create renovate.json at the repo root — see [renovate.json](./assets/renovate.json) Key advantages over Dependabot: gomodTidy : Automatically runs go mod tidy after updates Native automerge : No separate workflow needed Better grouping : More flexible rules for grouping PRs Regex managers : Can update versions in Dockerfiles, Makefiles, etc. Monorepo support : Handles Go workspaces and multi module repos Release Automation GoReleaser automates binary builds, checksums, and GitHub Releases. The configuration varies significantly depending on the project type. Release Workflow .github/workflows/release.yml — see [release.yml](./assets/release.yml) Security warning: This workflow requires contents: write to create GitHub Releases. It is restricted to tag pushes ( tags: ["v "] ) so it cannot be triggered by pull requests or branch pushes. Only users with push access to the repository can create tags. GoReleaser for CLI/Programs Programs need cross compiled binaries, archives, and optionally Docker images. .goreleaser.yml — see [goreleaser cli.yml](./assets/goreleaser cli.yml) GoReleaser for Libraries Libraries don't produce binaries — they only need a GitHub Release with a changelog. Use a minimal config that skips the build. .goreleaser.yml — see [goreleaser lib.yml](./assets/goreleaser lib.yml) For libraries, you may not even need GoReleaser — a simple GitHub Release created via the UI or gh release create is often sufficient. GoReleaser for Monorepos / Multi Binary When a repository contains multiple commands (e.g., cmd/api/ , cmd/worker/ ). .goreleaser.yml — see [goreleaser monorepo.yml](./assets/goreleaser monorepo.yml) Docker Build & Push For projects that produce Docker images. This workflow builds multi platform images, generates SBOM and provenance attestations, pushes to both GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) and Docker Hub, and includes Trivy container scanning. .github/workflows/docker.yml — see [docker.yml](./assets/docker.yml) Security warning: Permissions are scoped per job: the container scan job only gets contents: read + security events: write , while the docker job gets packages: write (to push to GHCR) and attestations: write + id token: write (for provenance/SBOM signing). This ensures the scan job cannot push images even if compromised. The push flag is set to false on pull requests so untrusted code cannot publish images. The DOCKERHUB USERNAME and DOCKERHUB TOKEN secrets must be configured in the repository secrets settings — never hardcode credentials. Key details: QEMU + Buildx : Required for multi platform builds ( linux/amd64,linux/arm64 ). Remove platforms you don't need. push: false on PRs : Images are built but never pushed on pull requests — this validates the Dockerfile without publishing untrusted code. Metadata action : Automatically generates semver tags ( v1.2.3 → 1.2.3 , 1.2 , 1 ), branch tags ( main ), and SHA tags. Provenance + SBOM : provenance: mode=max and sbom: true generate supply chain attestations. These require attestations: write and id token: write permissions. Dual registry : Pushes to both GHCR (using GITHUB TOKEN , no extra secret needed) and Docker Hub (requires DOCKERHUB USERNAME + DOCKERHUB TOKEN secrets). Remove the Docker Hub login and image line if not needed. Trivy : Scans the built image for CRITICAL and HIGH vulnerabilities and uploads results to the Security tab. Adapt the image names and registries to your project. For GHCR only, remove the Docker Hub login step and the docker.io/ line from images: . Repository Security Settings Repository security settings (branch protection, workflow permissions, secrets, environments) form the security foundation for the CI pipeline — these are documented in [repo security.md](./references/repo security.md). AI Driven Code Review Add AI agents as PR reviewers alongside traditional static analysis. When loaded with this skill plugin, the agent applies the relevant Go skills per review area — catching architectural drift, logic bugs, missing error context, and concurrency hazards that linters cannot detect. Cost note: AI review agents run concurrently per PR. For cost control, remove jobs you don't need or raise the PR trigger filter to specific branches only. Each subsection below is a generated artifact targeting one specific reviewer — the linked asset file runs on a CI runner, not the developer's local harness, so its tool names and permission flags are deliberately literal rather than capability prose. Claude Code .github/workflows/ai review.yml — see [claude code review.yml](./assets/claude code review.yml) The workflow runs parallel jobs, each scoped to a set of review areas and priority level: Job Areas Priority quality Code style, Naming, Documentation, Design patterns Suggestion first correctness Error handling, Code safety, Concurrency Blocking first security Security, Dependencies Blocking first quality depth Tests, Performance, Observability, Modernize Mixed Additional skills that may be relevant depending on the project: golang cli , golang context , golang data structures , golang database , golang dependency injection , or any library specific skill. The Claude Code GitHub App integration is configured via the /install github app command, which sets up the required API secrets. GitHub Copilot Copy skills into your repo, then append [copilot review instructions.md](./assets/copilot review instructions.md) to .github/copilot instructions.md : Common Mistakes Mistake Fix Missing race in CI tests Always use go test race No shuffle=on Randomize test order to catch inter test dependencies Caching integration test results Use count=1 to disable caching go mod tidy not checked Add go mod tidy && git diff exit code step Missing fail fast: false One Go version failing shouldn't cancel other jobs Not pinning action versions GitHub Actions MUST use pinned major versions (e.g. @vN , not @mast

golang-continuous-integration