cmd/go: document GOBIN and 'go install' locations

* In doc/install-source.html, clarify the meaning of $GOBIN and
  describe where executables from the Go distribution are
  installed. Also describe $GOPATH, since it provides a default value
  for $GOBIN and may conflict with $GOROOT.
* Add more detail to 'go help install' as well.

Fixes #31576

Change-Id: Ib8a8c21677c3aa0ebef97a3b587b6f8fe338b80e
Reviewed-on: https://go-review.googlesource.com/c/go/+/182341
Run-TryBot: Jay Conrod <jayconrod@google.com>
TryBot-Result: Gobot Gobot <gobot@golang.org>
Reviewed-by: Bryan C. Mills <bcmills@google.com>

diff --git a/doc/install-source.html b/doc/install-source.html
index 6a0c3844ae9501794cfd84a9fbb0022fb9182f12..79c2a14b18092e5c3e0c54104e61464f5436a9ff 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/install-source.html
+++ b/doc/install-source.html
@@ -218,15 +218,14 @@ To build without <code>cgo</code>, set the environment variable
 
 <h2 id="fetch">Fetch the repository</h2>
 
-<p>Go will install to a directory named <code>go</code>.
-Change to the directory that will be its parent
-and make sure the <code>go</code> directory does not exist.
-Then clone the repository and check out the latest release tag
-(<code class="versionTag">go1.9</code>, for example):</p>
+<p>Change to the directory where you intend to install Go, and make sure
+the <code>goroot</code> directory does not exist. Then clone the repository
+and check out the latest release tag (<code class="versionTag">go1.12</code>,
+for example):</p>
 
 <pre>
-$ git clone https://go.googlesource.com/go
-$ cd go
+$ git clone https://go.googlesource.com/go goroot
+$ cd goroot
 $ git checkout <span class="versionTag"><i>&lt;tag&gt;</i></span>
 </pre>
 
@@ -234,6 +233,13 @@ $ git checkout <span class="versionTag"><i>&lt;tag&gt;</i></span>
 Where <code>&lt;tag&gt;</code> is the version string of the release.
 </p>
 
+<p>Go will be installed in the directory where it is checked out. For example,
+if Go is checked out in <code>$HOME/goroot</code>, executables will be installed
+in <code>$HOME/goroot/bin</code>. The directory may have any name, but note
+that if Go is checked out in <code>$HOME/go</code>, it will conflict with
+the default location of <code>$GOPATH</code>.
+See <a href="#gopath"><code>GOPATH</code></a> below.</p>
+
 <h2 id="head">(Optional) Switch to the master branch</h2>
 
 <p>If you intend to modify the go source code, and
@@ -441,6 +447,43 @@ but move it elsewhere after the build, set
 </p>
 </li>
 
+<li id="gopath"><code>$GOPATH</code>
+<p>
+The directory where Go projects outside the Go distribution are typically
+checked out. For example, <code>golang.org/x/tools</code> might be checked out
+to <code>$GOPATH/src/golang.org/x/tools</code>. Executables outside the
+Go distribution are installed in <code>$GOPATH/bin</code> (or
+<code>$GOBIN</code>, if set). Modules are downloaded and cached in
+<code>$GOPATH/pkg/mod</code>.
+</p>
+
+<p>The default location of <code>$GOPATH</code> is <code>$HOME/go</code>,
+and it's not usually necessary to set <code>GOPATH</code> explicitly. However,
+if you have checked out the Go distribution to <code>$HOME/go</code>,
+you must set <code>GOPATH</code> to another location to avoid conflicts.
+</p>
+</li>
+
+<li><code>$GOBIN</code>
+<p>
+The directory where executables outside the Go distribution are installed
+using the <a href="/cmd/go">go command</a>. For example,
+<code>go get golang.org/x/tools/cmd/godoc</code> downloads, builds, and
+installs <code>$GOBIN/godoc</code>. By default, <code>$GOBIN</code> is
+<code>$GOPATH/bin</code> (or <code>$HOME/go/bin</code> if <code>GOPATH</code>
+is not set). After installing, you will want to add this directory to
+your <code>$PATH</code> so you can use installed tools.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Note that the Go distribution's executables are installed in
+<code>$GOROOT/bin</code> (for executables invoked by people) or
+<code>$GOTOOLDIR</code> (for executables invoked by the go command;
+defaults to <code>$GOROOT/pkg/$GOOS_GOARCH</code>) instead of
+<code>$GOBIN</code>.
+</p>
+</li>
+
 <li><code>$GOOS</code> and <code>$GOARCH</code>
 <p>
 The name of the target operating system and compilation architecture.
@@ -577,17 +620,6 @@ For example, you should not set <code>$GOHOSTARCH</code> to
 <code>arm</code> on an x86 system.
 </p>
 
-<li><code>$GOBIN</code>
-<p>
-The location where Go binaries will be installed.
-The default is <code>$GOROOT/bin</code>.
-After installing, you will want to arrange to add this
-directory to your <code>$PATH</code>, so you can use the tools.
-If <code>$GOBIN</code> is set, the <a href="/cmd/go">go command</a>
-installs all commands there.
-</p>
-</li>
-
 <li><code>$GO386</code> (for <code>386</code> only, default is auto-detected
 if built on either <code>386</code> or <code>amd64</code>, <code>387</code> otherwise)
 <p>

diff --git a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
index df6b9e3e5da77612708462d07d0f6cdc10ce9418..d2ce578564969d9e2be607f838d7d33b5031d368 100644 (file)
--- a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
@@ -674,6 +674,15 @@
 //
 // Install compiles and installs the packages named by the import paths.
 //
+// Executables are installed in the directory named by the GOBIN environment
+// variable, which defaults to $GOPATH/bin or $HOME/go/bin if the GOPATH
+// environment variable is not set. Executables in $GOROOT
+// are installed in $GOROOT/bin or $GOTOOLDIR instead of $GOBIN.
+//
+// When module-aware mode is disabled, other packages are installed in the
+// directory $GOPATH/pkg/$GOOS_$GOARCH. When module-aware mode is enabled,
+// other packages are built and cached but not installed.
+//
 // The -i flag installs the dependencies of the named packages as well.
 //
 // For more about the build flags, see 'go help build'.

diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/work/build.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/work/build.go
index 9c03f0818de37c88b61e0614d04daa42aabb2414..ed5a149da355f82fb4e0d6219b8b3c11f19ca255 100644 (file)
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/work/build.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/work/build.go
@@ -404,6 +404,15 @@ var CmdInstall = &base.Command{
        Long: `
 Install compiles and installs the packages named by the import paths.
 
+Executables are installed in the directory named by the GOBIN environment
+variable, which defaults to $GOPATH/bin or $HOME/go/bin if the GOPATH
+environment variable is not set. Executables in $GOROOT
+are installed in $GOROOT/bin or $GOTOOLDIR instead of $GOBIN.
+
+When module-aware mode is disabled, other packages are installed in the
+directory $GOPATH/pkg/$GOOS_$GOARCH. When module-aware mode is enabled,
+other packages are built and cached but not installed.
+
 The -i flag installs the dependencies of the named packages as well.
 
 For more about the build flags, see 'go help build'.