How to Uninstall Golang (Go Compiler) on Linux, macOS, and Windows

If you no longer need the Go programming language (Golang) on your system, you may want to remove it completely to free space or install a different version. The exact uninstall method depends on how Go was originally installed—using a tarball archive, package manager, Homebrew, or Windows installer.

This quick reference shows the most common commands to uninstall Golang from Linux, macOS, and Windows systems.

Golang Uninstall Quick Reference (Cheat Sheet)

Pre-requisite: Identify How Golang Was Installed

Before uninstalling Go, it is useful to determine how Go was installed on the system. The removal steps differ depending on whether Go was installed from a tarball archive, package manager, or system installer.

Check Go binary location using which go

First locate the Go executable using:

which go

Example output:

/usr/local/go/bin/go

This indicates that Go was installed manually from the official tarball in /usr/local/go.

If the output points to another directory such as /usr/bin/go, it may have been installed using a package manager.

Detect Go installation directory using go env

You can also check Go's internal configuration:

go env GOROOT

Example:

/usr/local/go

This shows the main installation directory that should be removed when uninstalling Go.

Identify package manager installations

On Linux systems, Go may have been installed using a package manager.

You can verify this using:

Debian / Ubuntu

dpkg -l | grep golang

RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux

rpm -qa | grep golang

If Go appears in the output, it should be removed using the corresponding package manager instead of deleting directories manually.

Uninstall Golang Installed from Official Tarball

The most common installation method for Go on Linux and macOS is downloading the official tar.gz archive from the Go website and extracting it into /usr/local.

In this case, uninstalling Go simply requires removing the extracted directory.

Determine Go installation directory

First check where the Go binary is located:

which go

Example output:

/usr/local/go/bin/go

You can also verify the Go installation directory using:

go env GOROOT

Example output:

/usr/local/go

This directory contains the Go compiler, runtime, and standard library.

Remove Go installation directory manually

Delete the Go installation directory:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

This command removes:

• Go compiler
• Standard library
• Runtime files
• Go binaries

Delete Go binary path from environment variables

If Go was added to your PATH manually, remove the entry from your shell configuration file.

Example entry to remove:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Open your shell configuration file:

nano ~/.bashrc

Remove any lines referencing:

/usr/local/go/bin
GOROOT
GOPATH

Reload shell configuration after removal

After updating the configuration file, reload your shell settings:

source ~/.bashrc

Finally verify Go was removed:

go version

If Go was successfully uninstalled, the system should return:

command not found

Uninstall Golang Using apt on Ubuntu or Debian

If Golang was installed using the APT package manager, you should remove it using APT rather than deleting directories manually. This ensures that the package database remains consistent and avoids leftover configuration files.

Check if golang-go package is installed

First verify whether the Go package is installed using:

dpkg -l | grep golang

Example output:

ii  golang-go   2:1.20~1ubuntu1   amd64   Go programming language compiler

You can also check the installed Go version:

go version

Remove Go using apt remove

To uninstall the Go compiler while keeping configuration files:

sudo apt remove golang-go

This removes the golang-go package but may leave configuration files on the system.

Completely purge Go packages using apt purge

To remove Go completely including configuration files:

sudo apt purge golang-go

You can also remove unused dependencies installed along with Go:

sudo apt autoremove

After removal, verify that the Go command is no longer available:

go version

Uninstall Golang Using dnf or yum (RHEL, Rocky, AlmaLinux)

On Red Hat based Linux distributions such as RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and CentOS, Golang is typically installed using dnf or yum.

Check installed Golang packages

First check whether Golang packages are installed:

rpm -qa | grep golang

Example output may include:

golang
golang-bin
golang-src

Remove Go compiler packages

Remove the Golang packages using dnf:

sudo dnf remove golang golang-bin golang-src

On older systems using yum:

sudo yum remove golang

This removes the Go compiler and related packages installed through the package manager.

Clean unused dependencies

After uninstalling Go, you can remove unused dependencies:

sudo dnf autoremove

Finally verify that Go was removed:

go version

If Go was successfully removed, the command should return command not found.

Uninstall Golang on macOS Systems

On macOS, Golang can be installed using the official PKG installer or package managers like Homebrew. The uninstall process depends on the installation method.

Remove Go installed using official pkg installer

If Go was installed using the official installer, the installation directory is typically:

/usr/local/go

Remove the directory using:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

Delete Go installation directory

After removing the main installation directory, verify whether Go binaries still exist:

which go

If the command returns no output, the Go compiler has been successfully removed.

Remove Go PATH configuration

Some installations add Go to the system PATH through shell configuration files.

Check your shell configuration files:

• ~/.bash_profile
• ~/.zshrc
• ~/.bashrc

Example entry that may exist:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Remove this line and reload your shell configuration:

source ~/.zshrc

Finally confirm that Go is no longer installed:

go version

Uninstall Golang Installed with Homebrew

Many macOS users install Golang using Homebrew, a popular package manager for macOS. In this case, Go should be removed using Homebrew commands rather than deleting directories manually.

Check Go installation with brew list

First verify whether Go is installed using Homebrew:

brew list | grep go

You can also check detailed package information:

brew info go

If Go is installed using Homebrew, it will appear in the output along with its installation path.

Remove Go using brew uninstall

To uninstall Golang installed with Homebrew:

brew uninstall go

This command removes the Go compiler and all related files managed by Homebrew.

If you also want to remove unused dependencies:

brew autoremove

Verify Go removal after Homebrew uninstall

After uninstalling Go, verify that the go command is no longer available:

go version

You can also confirm that Go is no longer installed via Homebrew:

brew list | grep go

If the uninstall was successful, these commands should return no results.

Uninstall Golang on Windows

On Windows systems, Golang is typically installed using an MSI installer downloaded from the official Go website. The easiest way to remove Go is through the Windows application management interface.

Remove Go using Windows Apps and Features

Follow these steps to uninstall Go:

1. Open Settings on Windows.
2. Navigate to Apps → Installed Apps (or Apps & Features).
3. Locate Go Programming Language in the list.
4. Click the application and select Uninstall.
5. Follow the prompts to complete the removal process.

This removes the Go compiler and associated files installed by the MSI package.

Uninstall Go using command line with msiexec

You can also uninstall Go using the Windows command line.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

go version

Example Output:

go version go1.21.5 windows/amd64

Next execute the following command to trigger the uninstall:

msiexec /x go<version>.windows-amd64.msi

Replace <version> with the installed Go version.

Example:

msiexec /x go1.21.5.windows-amd64.msi

This command silently removes the installed Go package.

Remove Go environment variables in Windows

The Go installer typically adds Go to the system PATH.

To remove these entries:

1. Open System Properties.
2. Click Environment Variables.
3. Locate the Path variable under System variables.
4. Remove any entries referencing:

C:\Program Files\Go\bin

After updating the environment variables, restart your terminal to apply the changes.

Remove Remaining Golang Environment Variables

After uninstalling Golang, some systems may still contain environment variables pointing to old Go directories. Cleaning these ensures that the system no longer references removed Go binaries.

Remove GOPATH and GOROOT entries from shell profiles

Check your shell configuration files for Go-related variables.

Common entries include:

export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Remove these lines from the configuration files.

Clean Go paths from bashrc, zshrc, and profile files

Open your shell configuration file using a text editor.

Examples:

nano ~/.bashrc

or

nano ~/.zshrc

Delete any lines referencing Go installation directories such as:

/usr/local/go/bin
GOROOT
GOPATH

Reload shell configuration

After editing the configuration files, reload the shell environment:

source ~/.bashrc

or for Zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

Finally verify that Go is no longer available:

go version

If Golang was removed successfully, the system should return command not found.

Verify Golang Was Completely Removed

After uninstalling Golang, it is recommended to perform a few verification checks to ensure that the Go compiler, runtime, and related configuration files have been fully removed from the system.

Check Go command availability

First verify whether the go command still exists:

go version

If Golang was removed successfully, the terminal should return:

command not found

You can also check whether the Go binary still exists in the system PATH:

which go

If no path is returned, the Go executable is no longer available.

Confirm removal of Go directories

Next verify that the Go installation directory has been removed.

Common installation paths include:

You can check if the directory still exists:

ls /usr/local/go

If the directory does not exist, the Go runtime and standard library have been successfully removed.

Validate environment variables cleanup

Finally check that no Go-related environment variables remain configured.

Run:

env | grep GO

If Golang was fully removed, this command should return no results.

If variables such as GOROOT or GOPATH still appear, remove them from your shell configuration files such as:

• ~/.bashrc
• ~/.bash_profile
• ~/.zshrc

Then reload the shell:

source ~/.bashrc

Troubleshooting Golang Removal Issues

Sometimes the go command may still appear even after uninstalling Golang. This usually happens when multiple installations exist or environment variables still reference old paths.

Go command still exists after uninstall

If go version still works after uninstalling, it means another Go installation is still present on the system.

Check where the binary is located:

which go

If a path is returned, delete the corresponding directory or uninstall the package using the appropriate package manager.

Multiple Go installations causing conflicts

In some systems, Go may be installed using multiple methods such as:

• Official tarball installation
• Package manager installation
• Homebrew installation (macOS)

Check for multiple Go directories:

find / -name go -type d 2>/dev/null

Remove any remaining Go installation directories that are no longer needed.

PATH still pointing to old Go directory

If the Go binary was removed but the PATH still contains the Go directory, the shell may attempt to locate Go in a non-existent location.

Check your PATH variable:

echo $PATH

If you see entries such as:

/usr/local/go/bin

Remove them from your shell configuration files and reload your environment.

Summary

Uninstalling Golang involves removing the Go compiler, runtime files, and related environment variables from your system. The exact steps depend on how Go was installed—using a tarball archive, a package manager such as apt or dnf, Homebrew on macOS, or the Windows MSI installer.

In most cases, the process includes deleting the Go installation directory, removing Go-related PATH entries, and verifying that the go command is no longer available. Your existing Go projects and source code remain unaffected by uninstalling the Go compiler.

Following the verification and troubleshooting steps in this guide ensures that Golang is fully removed from Linux, macOS, or Windows systems without leaving residual configuration files.

Official Documentation

For more details about installing and managing Golang environments, refer to the official Go documentation:

Uninstall Go – Official Documentation