Go plugin vs Module plugin

[jacobhokanson]

Just curious, which of these options is recommended? It seems like the go plugins method is architecture specific- is the module method not?

I want to pick whichever option will be easier to setup in ci / for others to setup on their dev environments

P.S. I was a bit confused by the documentation for these (didn't realize they were different options until I saw linters.settings.custom type reference said it could be "module" or "goplugin"). Maybe it could use a bit more detail

[ldez]

Hello,

goplugin is more complex to use because:

• You need to compile the linter as a Go plugin (require CGO)
• You need to use the exact same version of the dependencies as golangci-lint.
• You need to compile the plugin and golangci-lint with the exact same toolchain.
• It doesn't work on Windows.

module is easier to use:

• There is a dedicated command custom and a build configuration.
• The dependencies are handled like a classic Go module.

goplugin was the first plugin system inside golangci-lint, but the constraints to use it drove us to create the module plugin system.

I recommend using module.

References:

• https://pkg.go.dev/plugin
• https://golangci-lint.run/plugins/module-plugins/
• https://golangci-lint.run/plugins/go-plugins/

[ldez]

Ok the bug is because you are not using the right load mode.

You should replace register.LoadModeSyntax with register.LoadModeTypesInfo.

The goplugin works because it always uses register.LoadModeTypesInfo.

[jacobhokanson]

It works after changing! Thanks!! What is the difference between the two load modes?

[ldez]

I updated the example with some documentation: https://github.com/golangci/example-plugin-module-linter/blob/564ddee1e1118181e0c2f204e2f22eeed845586b/example.go#L52-L54

For the details, this is because you are using pass.TypesInfo.

[swills]

Thank you for this! The hint to run ./custom-gcl -v run instead of the normal golangci-lint run was something I had been missing. The docs at https://golangci-lint.run/plugins/module-plugins/ simply say to "Run your custom version of golangci-lint" which apparently wasn't enough for me. Perhaps the docs could be more explicit.

[ldez]

#5851