When to Use panic vs Returning an Error in Go

Error Handling

2026-04-17T12:05:42+00:00

Return errors for recoverable issues and panic only for unrecoverable logic failures or fatal system errors.

Use panic only for unrecoverable errors like invalid invariants or fatal system failures; return an error for expected, recoverable conditions.

// Recoverable: return error
func readFile(path string) ([]byte, error) {
    data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err // Caller can handle missing file
    }
    return data, nil
}

// Unrecoverable: panic
func divide(a, b int) int {
    if b == 0 {
        panic("division by zero is not allowed") // Logic error
    }
    return a / b
}