Using Private Go Modules with golangci-lint in GitHub Actions

If you’re working with private Go modules and using golangci-lint in your CI pipeline, you’ve probably hit the authentication wall. Here’s how to solve it cleanly in GitHub Actions.

The Problem

When golangci-lint runs in GitHub Actions, it needs to fetch your private Go modules. By default, go commands can’t access private repositories without proper authentication.

The Solution

Configure GOPRIVATE and set up Git credentials before running the linter.

- name: Configure git for private modules
  run: |
    git config --global url."https://${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}@github.com/".insteadOf "https://github.com/"

- name: Set GOPRIVATE
  run: echo "GOPRIVATE=github.com/your-org/*" >> $GITHUB_ENV

- name: Run golangci-lint
  uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v3
  with:
    version: latest

Key Takeaways

1. Always set GOPRIVATE to skip the Go module proxy for your private repos
2. Use insteadOf git config to inject authentication tokens
3. Place the git configuration step before any Go-related steps

This approach keeps your CI pipeline clean and avoids leaking credentials.