# Enabling AI Coding Agents with Modern Go Skills The GoLand team has developed a new tool to help AI agents write up-to-date Go code. - **Source:** [The JetBrains Blog](https://brifing.si/source/782eebd1-7be8-49cc-b27c-e552516691b2) - **Published:** 2026-08-24 - **Topic:** [Software & Engineering](https://brifing.si/c/engineering) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/75cc86b6-e97c-4f69-b817-ab396b1dcaf2 ## Why AI Agents Need Modern Go Skills AI coding agents can produce working Go code but often rely on outdated patterns. Older syntax appears more frequently in their training data. The GoLand team developed Modern Go Guidelines to bridge this gap. This tool teaches agents new language features and standard library additions in modern Go versions. As a result, agents can write code compatible with your project's Go version. ## Version-Specific Skills Modern Go Guidelines provides skills tailored to the Go version declared in your go.mod file. For example, if your project uses Go 1.25, the agent only receives skills for 1.25 and earlier versions. This ensures the generated code is compatible with your project. Additionally, it reduces the amount of context the agent needs to read, improving efficiency. ## CLI Tool with Focused Output Agents use a CLI tool included with the go-modern-guidelines plugin. The tool offers two main subcommands: list and explain. The list command returns short, relevant guidelines, while explain provides detailed explanations and code examples for specific rules. This allows agents to quickly access the information they need and write more accurate code. ## Detailed Explanations and Code Samples Agents can use the explain command to get detailed information about specific Go features. For instance, requesting an explanation for generic_methods returns before-and-after code examples comparing old and new patterns. This helps agents correctly apply modern Go features. Multiple rules can be explained in a single command, streamlining the learning process. ## Comprehensive Language Feature Support Modern Go Guidelines covers useful language features and standard library additions from Go 1.0 through 1.27. Agents can use modern patterns like slices.Contains to write more efficient code. Functions like min and max eliminate the need for handwritten comparisons. These features make the code more readable and easier to maintain. ## Compatibility with Go Modernize Analyzer The project includes patterns handled by the Go modernize analyzer. Agents can use modern concurrency patterns like sync.WaitGroup.Go. Type-safe error matching methods such as errors.AsType are supported for Go 1.26 and later. These features enhance code safety and resilience to errors. ## Working with Local Cache The Modern Go Guidelines plugin operates from a local cache without modifying your project. This preserves project integrity while improving agent performance. The plugin requires the Go toolchain and can be installed from GitHub or a local repository. This flexibility allows easy use in various development environments. ## An Open-Source Contribution Modern Go Guidelines is an open-source contribution from the GoLand team to the Go community. The tool can be used with supported AI coding agents in the terminal. Developers can leverage it to help AI agents produce more up-to-date and effective code. This project significantly supports the continuous evolution of the Go ecosystem. ## Sources covering this story - https://blog.jetbrains.com/go/2026/08/24/help-ai-coding-agents-write-up-to-date-code-with-modern-golang-skills/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._