How to Use GoReleaser to Automate Go Releases

Create a .github/workflows/goreleaser.yml file in your repository root to trigger builds on tags and publish releases.

name: Goreleaser

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - "*"

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  goreleaser:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v6
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - name: Set up Go
        uses: actions/setup-go@v6
        with:
          go-version: "^1"
      - name: Run GoReleaser
        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v7
        with:
          distribution: goreleaser
          version: latest
          args: release --clean
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      - name: Trigger Go module reindex (pkg.go.dev)
        run: |
          curl -sSf "https://proxy.golang.org/github.com/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY,,}/@v/${GITHUB_REF_NAME}.info"

Push a new tag (e.g., git tag v1.0.0 && git push origin v1.0.0) to start the release process.

GoReleaser is a tool that automatically builds your Go code for different operating systems and uploads the results to GitHub when you create a version tag. It handles the complex steps of compiling, signing, and packaging so you don't have to do it manually. Think of it as an automated factory that turns your source code into ready-to-install software whenever you say "release."