golang-structs-interfaces

How to shape the types a Go program is built from — several small interfaces rather than one big one, when to embed a type instead of holding it, and pointer or value on a method.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Design a Go interface with one to three methods instead of one large contract.
Decide whether a function should accept an interface and return a concrete type.
Choose between embedding a type and holding it as a named field.
Add a compile-time check that a type still satisfies an interface.
Tag struct fields so JSON, YAML, or database serialization survives a rename.
Decide whether a method needs a pointer receiver or a value receiver.

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In this document (14)

Persona: You are a Go type system designer. You favor small, composable interfaces and concrete return types — you design for testability and clarity, not for abstraction's sake.

Community default. A company skill that explicitly supersedes samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-structs-interfaces skill takes precedence.

Go Structs & Interfaces

Interface Design Principles

Keep Interfaces Small

"The bigger the interface, the weaker the abstraction." — Go Proverbs

Interfaces SHOULD have 1-3 methods. Small interfaces are easier to implement, mock, and compose. If you need a larger contract, compose it from small interfaces:

→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-naming skill for interface naming conventions (method + "-er" suffix, canonical names)

type Reader interface {
    Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

type Writer interface {
    Write(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

// Composed from small interfaces
type ReadWriter interface {
    Reader
    Writer
}

Compose larger interfaces from smaller ones:

type ReadWriteCloser interface {
    io.Reader
    io.Writer
    io.Closer
}

Define Interfaces Where They're Consumed

Interfaces Belong to Consumers.

Interfaces MUST be defined where consumed, not where implemented. This keeps the consumer in control of the contract and avoids importing a package just for its interface.

// package notification — defines only what it needs
type Sender interface {
    Send(to, body string) error
}

type Service struct {
    sender Sender
}

The email package exports a concrete Client struct — it doesn't need to know about Sender.

Accept Interfaces, Return Structs

Functions SHOULD accept interface parameters for flexibility and return concrete types for clarity. Callers get full access to the returned type's fields and methods; consumers upstream can still assign the result to an interface variable if needed.

// Good — accepts interface, returns concrete
func NewService(store UserStore) *Service { ... }

// Bad — an interface return hides every other method of the concrete type from callers
func NewService(store UserStore) ServiceInterface { ... }

Don't Create Interfaces Prematurely

"Don't design with interfaces, discover them."

An interface written before a second implementation exists is a guess about which methods will vary — and the guess is usually wrong, so the abstraction has to be reshaped anyway. Meanwhile it costs a layer of indirection that hides the concrete type from readers and tooling. Start with concrete types; extract an interface once a second consumer, a second implementation, or a test mock demands it.

// Bad — premature interface with a single implementation
type UserRepository interface {
    FindByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*User, error)
}
type userRepository struct { db *sql.DB }

// Good — start concrete, extract an interface later when needed
type UserRepository struct { db *sql.DB }

Make the Zero Value Useful

Design structs so they work without explicit initialization. A well-designed zero value reduces constructor boilerplate and prevents nil-related bugs:

// Good — zero value is ready to use
var buf bytes.Buffer
buf.WriteString("hello")

var mu sync.Mutex
mu.Lock()

// Bad — zero value is broken, requires constructor
type Registry struct {
    items map[string]Item // nil map, panics on write
}

// Good — lazy initialization guards the zero value
func (r *Registry) Register(name string, item Item) {
    if r.items == nil {
        r.items = make(map[string]Item)
    }
    r.items[name] = item
}

Avoid `any` / `interface{}` When a Specific Type Will Do

Since Go 1.18+, MUST prefer generics over any for type-safe operations. Use any only at true boundaries where the type is genuinely unknown (e.g., JSON decoding, reflection):

// Bad — loses type safety
func Contains(slice []any, target any) bool { ... }

// Good — generic, type-safe
func Contains[T comparable](slice []T, target T) bool { ... }

Key Standard Library Interfaces

Interface	Package	Method
`Reader`	`io`	`Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)`
`Writer`	`io`	`Write(p []byte) (n int, err error)`
`Closer`	`io`	`Close() error`
`Stringer`	`fmt`	`String() string`
`error`	builtin	`Error() string`
`Handler`	`net/http`	`ServeHTTP(ResponseWriter, *Request)`
`Marshaler`	`encoding/json`	`MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error)`
`Unmarshaler`	`encoding/json`	`UnmarshalJSON([]byte) error`

Canonical method signatures MUST be honored — if your type has a String() method, it must match fmt.Stringer. Don't invent ToString() or ReadData().

Compile-Time Interface Check

Verify a type implements an interface at compile time with a blank identifier assignment. Place it near the type definition:

var _ io.ReadWriter = (*MyBuffer)(nil)

This costs nothing at runtime. If MyBuffer ever stops satisfying io.ReadWriter, the build fails immediately.

Type Assertions & Type Switches

Type assertions MUST use the comma-ok form (s, ok := val.(string)) — the single-value form panics on a type mismatch instead of branching. Use a type switch to dispatch on the dynamic type, and an assertion to a small optional interface (if f, ok := w.(Flusher); ok) to exploit richer implementations without widening the declared parameter type.

→ See Type Assertions & Type Switches for type switch ordering, nil cases, and the optional-behavior pattern.

Struct & Interface Embedding

Struct Embedding

Embedding promotes the inner type's methods and fields to the outer type — composition, not inheritance:

type Logger struct {
    *slog.Logger
}

type Server struct {
    Logger
    addr string
}

// s.Info(...) works — promoted from slog.Logger through Logger
s := Server{Logger: Logger{slog.Default()}, addr: ":8080"}
s.Info("starting", "addr", s.addr)

The receiver of promoted methods is the inner type, not the outer. The outer type can override by defining its own method with the same name.

When to Embed vs Named Field

Use	When
Embed	You want to promote the full API of the inner type — the outer type "is a" enhanced version
Named field	You only need the inner type internally — the outer type "has a" dependency

// Embed — Server exposes all http.Handler methods
type Server struct {
    http.Handler
}

// Named field — Server uses the store but doesn't expose its methods
type Server struct {
    store *DataStore
}

Dependency Injection via Interfaces

Accept dependencies as interfaces in constructors. This decouples components and makes testing straightforward:

type UserStore interface {
    FindByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*User, error)
}

type UserService struct {
    store UserStore
}

func NewUserService(store UserStore) *UserService {
    return &UserService{store: store}
}

In tests, pass a mock or stub that satisfies UserStore — no real database needed.

Struct Field Tags

Exported fields in serialized structs MUST have field tags — without one, the encoder falls back to the Go field name, so renaming a field silently changes the wire format:

type Order struct {
    ID        string    `json:"id"         db:"id"`
    Total     float64   `json:"total"      db:"total"`
    CreatedAt time.Time `json:"created_at" db:"created_at"`
    Internal  string    `json:"-"          db:"-"`
}

→ See Struct Fields: Tags and Copy Safety for the full tag directive table, the omitempty vs omitzero trap, and go vet diagnostics.

Pointer vs Value Receivers

Use pointer `(s *Server)`	Use value `(s Server)`
Method modifies the receiver	Receiver is small and immutable
Receiver contains `sync.Mutex` or similar	Receiver is a basic type (int, string)
Receiver is a large struct	Method is a read-only accessor
Consistency: if any method uses a pointer, all should	Map and function values (already reference types)

Receiver type MUST be consistent across all methods of a type — if one method uses a pointer receiver, all methods should.

Preventing Struct Copies with `noCopy`

A struct holding a mutex, a channel, or internal pointers breaks when copied: the copy duplicates the lock state, so two goroutines guard two different mutexes and the invariant disappears silently. Embed a noCopy sentinel so go vet reports every value copy, and pass such structs by pointer.

Diagnose: 1- go vet ./... — copylocks reports value copies of lock-bearing structs

→ See Struct Fields: Tags and Copy Safety for the noCopy implementation and how vet detects it.

Cross-References

→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-naming skill for interface naming conventions (Reader, Closer, Stringer)
→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-design-patterns skill for functional options, constructors, and builder patterns
→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-dependency-injection skill for DI patterns using interfaces
→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-code-style skill for value vs pointer function parameters (distinct from receivers)
→ See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-gopls skill for safe rename and the implementInterface code action — renaming a method or receiver that participates in interface satisfaction updates every call site and refuses a rename that would silently break the interface, which grep/sed cannot detect

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Large interfaces (5+ methods)	Split into focused 1-3 method interfaces, compose if needed
Defining interfaces in the implementor package	Define where consumed
Returning interfaces from constructors	Return concrete types
Bare type assertions without comma-ok	Always use `v, ok := x.(T)`
Embedding when you only need a few methods	Use a named field and delegate explicitly
Missing field tags on serialized structs	Tag all exported fields in marshaled types
Mixing pointer and value receivers on a type	Pick one and be consistent
Forgetting compile-time interface check	Add `var _ Interface = (*Type)(nil)`
Using `ToString()` instead of `String()`	Honor canonical method names
Premature interface with a single implementation	Start concrete, extract interface when needed
Nil map/slice in zero value struct	Use lazy initialization in methods
Using `any` for type-safe operations	Use generics (`[T comparable]`) instead

This skill ships inside the Samber Golang Skills plugin.

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01
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/plugin marketplace add samber/cc
```
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/plugin install cc-skills-golang@samber
```

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