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Use Go install command support in Azure Repos Git

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

Go is an open-source programming language, also referred to as Golang. In Go, you can use the install command to download and install packages and dependencies. Azure Repos Git provides support for go install within an Azure Repos Git repository. With go install, you're able to download packages with their dependencies named by the import paths. You can also use the import key word inside a go file to specify the import path, using the same syntax described in the following sections.

Go install with public projects

If your Azure Repos Git repo is in a public project, you can use go install using the web repo url in the following format. For version, you can use latest or a specific version.

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git@<version>

You can also install a Go package in a subfolder of a repo by appending the subfolder names, as shown in the following examples.

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git/subfolder1@<version>

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git/subfolder1/subfolder2@<version>

Go install with private projects

If your Azure Repos Git repository is private, you can authenticate using SSH keys, Microsoft Entra ID tokens (recommended), or Personal Access Tokens (PATs).

Important

To access private Azure Repos Git repositories using go install, you must first set the environment variable GOPRIVATE=dev.azure.com. You can set this environment variable locally before building or running.

SSH

To use SSH with go install, have SSH keys set up for Azure DevOps as described in Use SSH Key authentication.

When you have SSH keys set up, add this entry to your.gitconfig file:

[url "git@ssh.dev.azure.com:v3/<organization>/<project>/<repo>"]
	insteadOf = https://dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/<repo>

With this entry and a specific URL format, you can now use go install.

Note

Be sure to use .git after the repo name. Also, _git isn't included in the package URL that you're passing to go install because you're using the SSH URL.

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/<repo>.git

HTTPS

To use HTTPS with go install, you can authenticate using either Microsoft Entra ID tokens (recommended) or Personal Access Tokens (PATs).

Microsoft Entra ID tokens provide better security and are the recommended authentication method. You can obtain these tokens through:

  • Azure CLI (for development/testing):

    az account get-access-token --resource 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798 --query "accessToken" --output tsv

  • Service Principal (for production/automated scenarios):

    • Register an application in Microsoft Entra ID
    • Create a client secret for the application
    • Grant the application appropriate permissions in Azure DevOps
    • Use the service principal credentials to obtain tokens programmatically

For more information, see Microsoft Entra authentication.

After you obtain the Microsoft Entra ID token, add this entry to your .gitconfig file:

[url "https://<user>:<token>@dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>"]
	insteadOf = https://dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>

The <user> part can be any nonempty string; we suggest using entra or your username.

Tip

Get a one-time Microsoft Entra token from Azure CLI: You can quickly obtain a Microsoft Entra ID token for Git operations using the Azure CLI, which is useful for development and testing scenarios. When generating tokens on behalf of a service principal, make sure to sign in as the service principal first.

Token management: Microsoft Entra ID tokens have expiration times, so you might need to refresh them periodically. For automated workflows, consider using service principals with appropriate token refresh mechanisms.

Personal Access Tokens (alternative)

If you prefer to use PATs, create a PAT as described in Authenticate access with personal access tokens. This PAT requires only the Code (read) scope.

After you create the PAT, add this entry to your .gitconfig file:

[url "https://<user>:<token>@dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>"]
	insteadOf = https://dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>

The <user> part can be any nonempty string; we suggest the word pat.

With this entry and a specific URL format, you can now use go install.

Note

Be sure to use .git after the repo name.

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git@<version>

You can also install a Go package in a subfolder of a repo by appending the subfolder names, as shown in the following examples.

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git/subfolder1@<version>

go install dev.azure.com/<organization>/<project>/_git/<repo>.git/subfolder1/subfolder2@<version>