Complete Guide to the net Package in Go

The net package in Go provides a simple, uniform interface for network I/O, supporting TCP, UDP, IP, and Unix domain sockets. Use net.Listen to start a server and net.Dial to connect to one.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"net"
	"io"
)

func main() {
	// Start a TCP server
	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp", ":8080")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer listener.Close()

	// Accept a connection
	conn, err := listener.Accept()
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer conn.Close()

	// Read and write data
	buf := make([]byte, 1024)
	conn.Write([]byte("Hello from server"))
	n, _ := io.ReadFull(conn, buf)
	fmt.Printf("Received: %s\n", string(buf[:n]))
}

The net package is the standard tool for making your Go programs talk to other computers over the internet or your local network. It handles the complex details of connecting, sending, and receiving data so you can focus on your application logic. Think of it as the universal adapter that lets your code plug into any network socket, whether it's a web server, a database, or a local file system.