Go Structs & Methods Cheat Sheet

Explains defining Go structs, value versus pointer method receivers, struct embedding for composition, and how Go achieves reuse without inheritance.

2 PagesBeginnerApr 2, 2026

Structs

Declaring and initializing struct values.

type Point struct {    X, Y int}p := Point{X: 3, Y: 4}       // Named fieldsp2 := Point{5, 6}            // Positional (must set all fields, in order)p3 := Point{}                // Zero value: X=0, Y=0fmt.Println(p.X, p.Y)

Methods with Value & Pointer Receivers

Choosing between copying and mutating the receiver.

func (p Point) Distance() float64 {          // Value receiver: operates on a copy    return math.Sqrt(float64(p.X*p.X + p.Y*p.Y))}func (p *Point) Scale(factor int) {          // Pointer receiver: mutates the original    p.X *= factor    p.Y *= factor}p := Point{X: 3, Y: 4}fmt.Println(p.Distance())   // 5p.Scale(2)                  // Go automatically takes &p for pointer receiversfmt.Println(p)              // {6 8}

Embedding (Composition)

Reusing fields and methods without classical inheritance.

type Base struct {    ID int}func (b Base) Describe() string {    return fmt.Sprintf("ID=%d", b.ID)}type User struct {    Base            // Embedded struct -- promotes Base's fields and methods    Name string}u := User{Base: Base{ID: 1}, Name: "Alice"}fmt.Println(u.ID)          // Promoted field, accessible directlyfmt.Println(u.Describe())  // Promoted method

Concepts

Key rules for structs and their method sets.

Zero value- A struct's fields default to their type's zero value if not explicitly initialized
Value vs pointer receiver- Pointer receivers avoid copying and allow mutation; use them consistently across a type's methods
Struct embedding- Go's mechanism for composition; the embedded type's fields/methods are "promoted" to the outer type
No inheritance- Go has no classical inheritance -- embedding plus interfaces achieve similar reuse
Struct comparison- Structs are comparable with == if all of their fields are comparable
Struct tags- `json:"name"` metadata used by encoding/json and other reflection-based libraries
Anonymous structs- x := struct{ A int }{A: 1} defines a one-off, unnamed struct type

Pro Tip

Be consistent with receiver types across a struct's method set -- mixing value and pointer receivers can cause a type to unexpectedly fail to satisfy an interface, since only *T gets the pointer-receiver methods.

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