Install goawk with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• goawk

Project history

The repository was created in June 2018, and the author's November 2018 article described GoAWK as an AWK interpreter written in Go, explaining its lexer, parser, resolver, tree-walking interpreter, testing, and performance work. The README says it is feature-complete and tested against the one true AWK and GNU AWK test suites.

GoAWK moved beyond the original tree-walking interpreter in the v1.15 era, when it switched to a bytecode compiler and virtual machine for better performance. In May 2022, the author added native CSV and TSV support, including CSV input/output modes and named fields, while keeping the project POSIX-compatible.

The project continued to add package-nerd features that ordinary awk implementations rarely expose, including embeddable Go APIs, code coverage support in v1.21.0, and the experimental AWKGo compiler.

Adoption history

GoAWK is adopted as both a standalone awk-compatible command and an embeddable Go package. The README notes use in the Redpanda Connect stream processor and by the software team at the library of the University of Antwerp, the latter also sponsoring CSV work.

Distribution through Go modules, release binaries, Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and other package managers makes GoAWK a portable AWK option for users who want POSIX behavior, CSV-aware one-liners, or an AWK engine inside Go programs.

How it is used

As a CLI, GoAWK accepts ordinary awk programs and files, can be installed with go install, and supports CSV/TSV processing with -i and -o modes. As a library, Go programs can parse and execute AWK programs directly, reuse parsed programs, and configure interpreter behavior.

Why package nerds care

GoAWK matters because it connects two package cultures: the old Unix text-processing tradition of awk one-liners and the modern Go preference for single static binaries and embeddable packages. It is a practical example of reimplementing a standard Unix language with Go's parser, module, testing, and distribution ecosystem.

Its CSV support is especially notable because classic awk field splitting is convenient but not CSV-safe. GoAWK gives package users a drop-in-ish awk command that handles real CSV and TSV data while still aiming at POSIX AWK compatibility.

Timeline

• 2018: The GoAWK repository was created and v1.0.0 was tagged.
• 2018: The author published the original GoAWK design and performance article.
• 2022: GoAWK adopted a bytecode compiler and virtual machine around the v1.15 release.
• 2022: GoAWK added native CSV and TSV support.
• 2022: GoAWK v1.21.0 added code coverage support.
• 2025: GoAWK v1.31.0 was tagged with minor fixes and a minimum Go version update.

Related projects

• GoAWK is related to AWK, BWK awk, GNU Awk, POSIX awk, Redpanda Connect, the Go module ecosystem, and AWKGo, the experimental AWK-to-Go compiler included in the repository.

Sources

• https://benhoyt.com/writings/goawk-compiler-vm/
• https://benhoyt.com/writings/goawk-coverage/
• https://benhoyt.com/writings/goawk-csv/
• https://benhoyt.com/writings/goawk/
• https://github.com/benhoyt/goawk
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/benhoyt/goawk/master/README.md