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Go error: "os" imported and not used

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tool
Go
exit code
1
versions
Go 1.20+ (message format), Go 1.x
os
any

"os" imported and not used is a Go compile error: the file imports a package and never uses it. Go treats unused imports as errors, not warnings, so the build stops. Delete the import, or let goimports / gopls manage imports on save. If the package is needed only for its init() side effects, such as a SQL driver, import it with the blank identifier: import _ "github.com/lib/pq".

Example

main.go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	fmt.Println("hello")
}

go build or go run . stops with the file, line and column of the import:

text
./main.go:5:2: "os" imported and not used

Since Go 1.20 the message puts the package path first; older releases printed imported and not used: "os". When the import has a name (import str "strings"), the message is "strings" imported as str and not used.

Fixes

go
import (
	"fmt"                    // used
	_ "github.com/lib/pq"   // imported for its init() side effects only
)
bash
go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest
goimports -w .              # rewrite files: add missing, remove unused imports

In VS Code with the Go extension, gopls organizes imports on save by default for Go files.

Sources

Related pages

errors · goGo: declared and not used: xGo refuses to compile a function that declares a local variable it never reads. Use the variable, delete it, or assign it to the blank identifier _ to debug.commands · gogo mod init: create a Go module (go.mod)go mod init MODULE_PATH creates go.mod in the current directory and starts a Go module. How to choose the module path, then add dependencies with go mod tidy.errors · goGo fatal error: all goroutines are asleep - deadlock!Go stops when every goroutine is blocked, typically a send on an unbuffered channel with no receiver. Start the receiver, buffer the channel or close it.