How to Write a Go Script That Runs Like a Shell Script

Write a Go program with a main function, compile it to a binary, and execute it directly or via go run to achieve shell-script-like behavior. Unlike shell scripts, Go requires compilation, but the resulting binary runs natively without an interpreter.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	if len(os.Args) < 2 {
		fmt.Println("Usage: script <arg>")
		os.Exit(1)
	}
	fmt.Println("Running with:", os.Args[1])
}

Run it with go run script.go hello or compile and run with go build -o script script.go && ./script hello.

A Go script is a program written in the Go language that you compile into a standalone file. It works like a shell script but runs faster and doesn't need a separate interpreter installed. Think of it as baking a cake (compiling) so you can eat it instantly anywhere, rather than needing the kitchen (interpreter) every time.