Ignored Error Return (ARCH5152)

Key go.logging.ignored-error-return · Severity error · Category logging

In Go, an error is a returned value. Assigning an error return to the blank identifier (_) or never checking it lets failures pass silently - the language-native analogue of a swallowed catch.

Incorrect

func save(path string, data []byte) {
  f, _ := os.Create(path)
  f.Write(data)
  f.Close()
}

Correct

func save(path string, data []byte) error {
  f, err := os.Create(path)
  if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("create %s: %w", path, err)
  }
  defer f.Close()
  if _, err := f.Write(data); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("write %s: %w", path, err)
  }
  return nil
}

Fix

Check every error return and propagate it wrapped to the caller; never silence it with _.