Go rules for Bazel

Mailing list: bazel-go-discuss

Announcements

2019-12-05: Releases v0.20.3 and v0.19.9 are now available with support for Go 1.13.5 and 1.12.14.
2019-10-31: Releases v0.20.2 and v0.19.8 are now available with support for Go 1.13.4 and 1.12.13.
2019-10-17: Releases v0.20.1 and v0.19.7 are now available with support for Go 1.13.3, 1.13.2, 1.12.12, and 1.12.11.

Announcements
Contents
- Documentation
- Quick links
Overview
Setup
FAQ

Overview

The rules are in the beta stage of development. They support:

libraries
binaries
tests
vendoring
cgo
cross compilation
auto generating BUILD files via gazelle
build-time code analysis via nogo
protocol buffers

They currently do not support (in order of importance):

bazel-style auto generating BUILD (where the library name is other than go_default_library)
C/C++ interoperation except cgo (swig etc.)
coverage

Note: The latest version of these rules (0.20.3) requires Bazel ≥ 0.23.0 to work.

The master branch is only guaranteed to work with the latest version of Bazel.

Setup

Create a file at the top of your repository named WORKSPACE and add one of the snippets below, verbatim. This will let Bazel fetch necessary dependencies from this repository and a few others.

If you want to use the latest stable release, add the following:

load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/repo:http.bzl", "http_archive")

http_archive(
    name = "io_bazel_rules_go",
    urls = [
        "https://storage.googleapis.com/bazel-mirror/github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
        "https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
    ],
    sha256 = "e88471aea3a3a4f19ec1310a55ba94772d087e9ce46e41ae38ecebe17935de7b",
)

load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:deps.bzl", "go_rules_dependencies", "go_register_toolchains")

go_rules_dependencies()

go_register_toolchains()

If you want to use a specific commit (for example, something close to master), add the following instead:

load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/repo:git.bzl", "git_repository")

git_repository(
    name = "io_bazel_rules_go",
    remote = "https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go.git",
    commit = "f5cfc31d4e8de28bf19d0fb1da2ab8f4be0d2cde",
)

load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:deps.bzl", "go_rules_dependencies", "go_register_toolchains")

go_rules_dependencies()

go_register_toolchains()

You can add more external dependencies to this file later (see go_repository).

Add a file named BUILD.bazel in the root directory of your project. In general, you need one of these files in every directory with Go code, but you need one in the root directory even if your project doesn't have any Go code there.
If your project can be built with go build, you can generate your build files using Gazelle. If your project isn't compatible with go build or if you prefer not to use Gazelle, you can write build files by hand.

Generating build files

If your project can be built with go build, you can generate and update your build files automatically using gazelle.

Add the bazel_gazelle repository and its dependencies to your WORKSPACE file before go_rules_dependencies is called. It should look like this:

load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/repo:http.bzl", "http_archive")

http_archive(
    name = "io_bazel_rules_go",
    urls = [
        "https://storage.googleapis.com/bazel-mirror/github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
        "https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
    ],
    sha256 = "e88471aea3a3a4f19ec1310a55ba94772d087e9ce46e41ae38ecebe17935de7b",
)

load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:deps.bzl", "go_rules_dependencies", "go_register_toolchains")

go_rules_dependencies()

go_register_toolchains()

http_archive(
    name = "bazel_gazelle",
    urls = [
        "https://storage.googleapis.com/bazel-mirror/github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-gazelle/releases/download/v0.19.1/bazel-gazelle-v0.19.1.tar.gz",
        "https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-gazelle/releases/download/v0.19.1/bazel-gazelle-v0.19.1.tar.gz",
    ],
    sha256 = "86c6d481b3f7aedc1d60c1c211c6f76da282ae197c3b3160f54bd3a8f847896f",
)

load("@bazel_gazelle//:deps.bzl", "gazelle_dependencies")

gazelle_dependencies()

Add the code below to the BUILD or BUILD.bazel file in the root directory of your repository. Replace the string after prefix with the prefix you chose for your project earlier.
```
load("@bazel_gazelle//:def.bzl", "gazelle")

# gazelle:prefix github.com/example/project
gazelle(name = "gazelle")
```
After adding the gazelle rule, run the command below:
```
bazel run //:gazelle
```
This will generate a BUILD.bazel file for each Go package in your repository. You can run the same command in the future to update existing build files with new source files, dependencies, and options.

Writing build files by hand

If your project doesn't follow go build conventions or you prefer not to use gazelle, you can write build files by hand.

In each directory that contains Go code, create a file named BUILD.bazel

Add a load statement at the top of the file for the rules you use.

load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_binary", "go_library", "go_test")

For each library, add a go_library rule like the one below. Source files are listed in srcs. Other packages you import are listed in deps using Bazel labels that refer to other go_library rules. The library's import path should be specified with importpath.

go_library(
    name = "go_default_library",
    srcs = [
        "foo.go",
        "bar.go",
    ],
    deps = [
        "//tools:go_default_library",
        "@org_golang_x_utils//stuff:go_default_library",
    ],
    importpath = "github.com/example/project/foo",
    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
)

For each test, add a go_test rule like either of the ones below. You'll need separate go_test rules for internal and external tests.

# Internal test
go_test(
    name = "go_default_test",
    srcs = ["foo_test.go"],
    importpath = "github.com/example/project/foo",
    embed = [":go_default_library"],
)

# External test
go_test(
    name = "go_default_xtest",
    srcs = ["bar_test.go"],
    deps = [":go_default_library"],
    importpath = "github.com/example/project/foo",
)

For each binary, add a go_binary rule like the one below.

go_binary(
    name = "foo",
    srcs = ["main.go"],
    deps = [":go_default_library"],
)

Adding external repositories

For each Go repository, add a go_repository rule like the one below. This rule comes from the Gazelle repository, so you will need to load it. gazelle update-repos can generate or update these rules automatically from a go.mod or Gopkg.lock file.

load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/repo:http.bzl", "http_archive")

# Download the Go rules
http_archive(
    name = "io_bazel_rules_go",
    urls = [
        "https://storage.googleapis.com/bazel-mirror/github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
        "https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_go/releases/download/v0.20.3/rules_go-v0.20.3.tar.gz",
    ],
    sha256 = "e88471aea3a3a4f19ec1310a55ba94772d087e9ce46e41ae38ecebe17935de7b",
)

# Load and call the dependencies
load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:deps.bzl", "go_rules_dependencies", "go_register_toolchains")

go_rules_dependencies()

go_register_toolchains()

# Download Gazelle
http_archive(
    name = "bazel_gazelle",
    urls = [
        "https://storage.googleapis.com/bazel-mirror/github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-gazelle/releases/download/v0.19.1/bazel-gazelle-v0.19.1.tar.gz",
        "https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-gazelle/releases/download/v0.19.1/bazel-gazelle-v0.19.1.tar.gz",
    ],
    sha256 = "86c6d481b3f7aedc1d60c1c211c6f76da282ae197c3b3160f54bd3a8f847896f",
)

# Load and call Gazelle dependencies
load("@bazel_gazelle//:deps.bzl", "gazelle_dependencies", "go_repository")

gazelle_dependencies()

# Add a go repository
go_repository(
    name = "com_github_pkg_errors",
    importpath = "github.com/pkg/errors",
    sum = "h1:iURUrRGxPUNPdy5/HRSm+Yj6okJ6UtLINN0Q9M4+h3I=",
    version = "v0.8.1",
)

FAQ

Can I still use the `go` tool?

Yes, this setup was deliberately chosen to be compatible with go build. Make sure your project appears in GOPATH or has a go.mod file, and it should work.

Note that go build won't be aware of dependencies listed in WORKSPACE, so you may want to download your dependencies into your GOPATH or module cache so that your tools are aware of them. You may also need to check in generated files.

Does this work with Go modules?

Yes, but not directly. Modules are a dependency management feature in cmd/go, the build system that ships with the Go SDK. Bazel uses the Go compiler and linker in the Go toolchain, but it does not use cmd/go. You need to describe your Go packages and executables and their dependencies in go_library, go_binary, and go_test rules written in build files, and you need to describe your external dependencies in Bazel's WORKSPACE file.

If your project follows normal Go conventions (those required by cmd/go), you can generate and update build files using gazelle. You can import external dependencies from your go.mod file with a command like gazelle update-repos -from_file=go.mod. This will add go_repository rules to your WORKSPACE. Each go_repository rule can download a module and generate build files for the module's packages using Gazelle. See gazelle update-repos for more information.

What's up with the `go_default_library` name?

This was used to keep import paths consistent in libraries that can be built with go build before the importpath attribute was available.

In order to compile and link correctly, rules_go must know the Go import path (the string by which a package can be imported) for each library. This is now set explicitly with the importpath attribute. Before that attribute existed, the import path was inferred by concatenating a string from a special go_prefix rule and the library's package and label name. For example, if go_prefix was github.com/example/project, for a library //foo/bar:bar, rules_go would infer the import path as github.com/example/project/foo/bar/bar. The stutter at the end is incompatible with go build, so if the label name was go_default_library, the import path would not include it. So for the library //foo/bar:go_default_library, the import path would be github.com/example/project/foo/bar.

Since go_prefix was removed and the importpath attribute became mandatory (see #721), the go_default_library name no longer serves any purpose. We may decide to stop using it in the future (see #265).

How do I access testdata?

Bazel executes tests in a sandbox, which means tests don't automatically have access to files. You must include test files using the data attribute. For example, if you want to include everything in the testdata directory:

go_test(
    name = "go_default_test",
    srcs = ["foo_test.go"],
    data = glob(["testdata/**"]),
    importpath = "github.com/example/project/foo",
)

By default, tests are run in the directory of the build file that defined them. Note that this follows the Go testing convention, not the Bazel convention followed by other languages, which run in the repository root. This means that you can access test files using relative paths. You can change the test directory using the rundir attribute. See go_test.

Gazelle will automatically add a data attribute like the one above if you have a testdata directory unless it contains buildable .go files or build files, in which case, testdata is treated as a normal package.

How do I cross-compile?

You can cross-compile by setting the --platforms flag on the command line. For example:

$ bazel build --platforms=@io_bazel_rules_go//go/toolchain:linux_amd64 //cmd

By default, cgo is disabled when cross-compiling. To cross-compile with cgo, add a _cgo suffix to the target platform. You must register a cross-compiling C/C++ toolchain with Bazel for this to work.

$ bazel build --platforms=@io_bazel_rules_go//go/toolchain:linux_amd64_cgo //cmd

Platform-specific sources with build tags or filename suffixes are filtered automatically at compile time. You can selectively include platform-specific dependencies with select expressions (Gazelle does this automatically).

go_library(
    name = "go_default_library",
    srcs = [
        "foo_linux.go",
        "foo_windows.go",
    ],
    deps = select({
        "@io_bazel_rules_go//go/platform:linux_amd64": [
            "//bar_linux:go_default_library",
        ],
        "@io_bazel_rules_go//go/platform:windows_amd64": [
            "//bar_windows:go_default_library",
        ],
        "//conditions:default": [],
    }),
)

rules_go can generate pure Go binaries for any platform the Go SDK supports. If your project includes cgo code, has C/C++ dependencies, or requires external linking, you'll need to write a CROSSTOOL file for your toolchain and set the --cpu flag on the command line, in addition to setting --platforms. You'll also need to set pure = "off" on your go_binary. We don't fully support this yet, but people have gotten this to work in some cases.

In some cases, you may want to set the goos and goarch attributes of go_binary. This will cross-compile a binary for a specific platform. This is necessary when you need to produce multiple binaries for different platforms in a single build. However, note that select expressions will not work correctly when using these attributes.

How do I access `go_binary` executables from `go_test`?

The location where go_binary writes its executable file is not stable across rules_go versions and should not be depended upon. The parent directory includes some configuration data in its name. This prevents Bazel's cache from being poisoned when the same binary is built in different configurations. The binary basename may also be platform-dependent: on Windows, we add an .exe extension.

To depend on an executable in a go_test rule, reference the executable in the data attribute (to make it visible), then expand the location in args. The real location will be passed to the test on the command line. For example:

go_binary(
    name = "cmd",
    srcs = ["cmd.go"],
)

go_test(
    name = "cmd_test",
    srcs = ["cmd_test.go"],
    args = ["$(location :cmd)"],
    data = [":cmd"],
)

See //tests/core/cross for a full example of a test that accesses a binary.

Alternatively, you can set the out attribute of go_binary to a specific filename. Note that when out is set, the binary won't be cached when changing configurations.

go_binary(
    name = "cmd",
    srcs = ["cmd.go"],
    out = "cmd",
)

go_test(
    name = "cmd_test",
    srcs = ["cmd_test.go"],
    data = [":cmd"],
)

How do I run Bazel on Travis CI?

References:

Running Bazel Tests on Travis CI by Kevin Burke
korfuri/bazel-travis Use Bazel with Travis CI

In order to run Bazel tests on Travis CI, you'll need to install Bazel in the before_install script. See our configuration file linked above.

You'll want to run Bazel with a number of flags to prevent it from consuming a huge amount of memory in the test environment.

--host_jvm_args=-Xmx500m --host_jvm_args=-Xms500m: Set the maximum and initial JVM heap size. Keeping the same means the JVM won't spend time growing the heap. The choice of heap size is somewhat arbitrary; other configuration files recommend limits as high as 2500m. Higher values mean a faster build, but higher risk of OOM kill.
--bazelrc=.test-bazelrc: Use a Bazel configuration file specific to Travis CI. You can put most of the remaining options in here.
build --spawn_strategy=standalone --genrule_strategy=standalone: Disable sandboxing for the build. Sandboxing may fail inside of Travis's containers because the mount system call is not permitted.
test --test_strategy=standalone: Disable sandboxing for tests as well.
--local_resources=1536,1.5,0.5: Set Bazel limits on available RAM in MB, available cores for compute, and available cores for I/O. Higher values mean a faster build, but higher contention and risk of OOM kill.
--noshow_progress: Suppress progress messages in output for cleaner logs.
--verbose_failures: Get more detailed failure messages.
--test_output=errors: Show test stderr in the Travis log. Normally, test output is written log files which Travis does not save or report.

Downloads on Travis are relatively slow (the network is heavily contended), so you'll want to minimize the amount of network I/O in your build. Downloading Bazel and a Go SDK is a huge part of that. To avoid downloading a Go SDK, you may request a container with a preinstalled version of Go in your .travis.yml file, then call go_register_toolchains(go_version = "host") in a Travis-specific WORKSPACE file.

You may be tempted to put Bazel's cache in your Travis cache. Although this can speed up your build significantly, Travis stores its cache on Amazon, and it takes a very long time to transfer. Clean builds seem faster in practice.

How do I test a beta version of the Go SDK?

rules_go only supports official releases of the Go SDK. However, we do have an easy way for developers to try out beta releases.

In your WORKSPACE file, add a call go_download_sdk like the one below. This must be named go_sdk, and it must come before the call to go_register_toolchains.

load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:deps.bzl",
    "go_download_sdk",
    "go_register_toolchains",
    "go_rules_dependencies",
)

go_rules_dependencies()

go_download_sdk(
    name = "go_sdk",
    sdks = {
        "darwin_amd64": ("go1.10beta1.darwin-amd64.tar.gz", "8c2a4743359f4b14bcfaf27f12567e3cbfafc809ed5825a2238c0ba45db3a8b4"),
        "linux_amd64":  ("go1.10beta1.linux-amd64.tar.gz", "ec7a10b5bf147a8e06cf64e27384ff3c6d065c74ebd8fdd31f572714f74a1055"),
    },
)

go_register_toolchains()

How do I get information about the Go SDK used by rules_go?

You can run: bazel build @io_bazel_rules_go//:go_info which outputs go_info_report with information like the used Golang version.

How do I avoid conflicts with protocol buffers?

See Avoiding conflicts in the proto documentation.

How do I build proto libraries and gRPC?

The go_rules_dependencies macro used to declare all dependencies needed to generate and compile protocol buffers. Managing this got too complicated, and the declarations caused confusion in workspaces that declared different versions of the same repositories, so these dependencies are no longer declared in go_rules_dependencies. They must be declared separately.

In order to build anything that uses protoc (including proto_library), you must declare a repository rule for com_google_protobuf. See Proto dependencies for an example.

In order to build anything that uses gRPC, several additional repositories must be declared. See gRPC dependencies for instructions and an example.

Can I use a vendored gRPC with go_proto_library?

This is not supported. When using go_proto_library with the @io_bazel_rules_go//proto:go_grpc compiler, an implicit dependency is added on @org_golang_google_grpc//:go_default_library. If you link another copy of the same package from //vendor/google.golang.org/grpc:go_default_library or anywhere else, you may experience conflicts at compile or run-time.

If you're using Gazelle with proto rule generation enabled, imports of google.golang.org/grpc will be automatically resolved to @org_golang_google_grpc//:go_default_library to avoid conflicts. The vendored gRPC should be ignored in this case.

If you specifically need to use a vendored gRPC package, it's best to avoid using go_proto_library altogether. You can check in pre-generated .pb.go files and build them with go_library rules. Gazelle will generate these rules when proto rule generation is disabled (add # gazelle:proto disable_global to your root build file).

Eagle-X/rules_go

Go rules for Bazel