Install delve with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• dlv

Project history

The official repository describes Delve's goal as a simple, full-featured debugger for Go that stays out of the user's way. GitHub repository metadata places the public project in May 2014, during the period when Go users were outgrowing general-purpose debugger workflows and needed tooling that understood Go runtime behavior.

Delve's documentation grew around a command family rather than a single mode: dlv debug, exec, attach, core, test, trace, replay, connect, dap, and related subcommands. That breadth made it useful both as an interactive terminal debugger and as the debug engine behind editors.

Adoption history

Delve became the practical default debugger for Go because it is distributed as a Go command, publishes prebuilt binaries, and exposes integrations for plugins, GUIs, and DAP clients. The official installation docs document go install, binary releases, and building from the repository.

The release feed shows ongoing maintenance through the 1.27.0 release in June 2026, which matters for Go tooling because debugger support must track compiler, runtime, OS, and architecture changes.

How it is used

Typical CLI use starts with dlv debug for the package in the current directory, dlv test for test binaries, dlv exec for an existing binary, or dlv attach for a running process. The usage docs emphasize controlling execution, evaluating variables, and inspecting goroutine, thread, and CPU register state.

In editor workflows, Delve commonly runs as a headless debug server or DAP server. That lets IDEs and editors provide breakpoints and stepping while reusing the same Go-specific debugger backend.

Why package nerds care

Delve is interesting to package maintainers because it is both a developer CLI and a moving compatibility target for the Go toolchain. A stale debugger package can fail even when ordinary Go builds still work.

Its packaging footprint is also a marker of Go's maturation: once a language has a dedicated debugger in every major package manager, the ecosystem has moved beyond compile-and-print debugging as the default developer experience.

Timeline

• 2014: The go-delve/delve repository is created on GitHub.
• 2021: The installation docs document module-aware go install commands for released versions.
• 2025: Delve 1.25.x releases continue through GitHub releases.
• 2026: Delve 1.27.0 is published.

Related projects

• The Go toolchain is Delve's primary target and distribution path.
• DAP-compatible editors and IDEs use Delve as a Go debug backend.
• rr replay support connects Delve to record-and-replay debugging workflows.

Sources

• https://github.com/go-delve/delve
• https://github.com/go-delve/delve/tree/master/Documentation
• https://github.com/go-delve/delve/blob/master/Documentation/usage/dlv.md
• https://github.com/go-delve/delve/blob/master/Documentation/installation/README.md
• https://api.github.com/repos/go-delve/delve
• https://api.github.com/repos/go-delve/delve/releases