How to set up live reloading Golang

Live Reloading

Live Reload reloads or refreshes the entire go app when a file changes. For example, if you were four links deep into your navigation and saved a change, live reloading would restart the app and load the app back to the initial route.

Benefits of Live Reload

1. Increased Development Speed - Reduces downtime caused by repeatedly stopping and starting the server.
2. Faster Debugging - Enables quick testing of changes and immediate feedback.

How to Enable Live Reload in Go

Air is a powerful live-reloading CLI utility for developing Go applications. It detects changes on Go files and automatically reloads the server, ensuring that your changes are reflected in real-time. This enhances the developer experience by allowing them to focus on coding rather than manually restarting the application.

Installation and Setup Guide for Air

1. Install via:

   Run the following command to install Air:

     go install github.com/air-verse/air@latest
   

2. Open Your Project Directory and Initialize .air.toml:

• Navigate to your project path:
  
  

     cd /path/to/your_project
     ```

  - **Initialize the Air configuration file**: <br><br>

   ```bash
     air init
     ```

> 🔗 After running the above, open the `.air.toml` file and adjust the settings as needed.


### Troubleshooting

1. [Air Not Rebuilding the Project After Moving Files](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78804418/go-air-isnt-building-my-project-after-i-moved-the-files-to-subdirectories)

   If you move the Go files to subdirectories, Air may stop detecting changes.

#### Fix 🛠️

Modify the `cmd` parameter in the `.air.toml` file to specify the correct location of `main.go`.<br><br>

cmd = “go build -o ./tmp/main ./cmd/web/.”

Update the `.include_dir` setting to ensure Air watches the correct directories:<br><br>

include_dir = [“cmd”, “internal”, “ui”]

> Note: Do not use a leading `./` in the directory names.

Example Project Structure:

cmd/ web/ internal/ ui/ html/ pages/ partials/ static/ css/ img/ js/ .air.toml .gitignore go.mod go.sum

`air.toml` file:

root = “.” testdata_dir = “testdata” tmp_dir = “tmp”

[build] args_bin = [] bin = “./tmp/main” cmd = “go build -o ./tmp/main ./cmd/web/.” delay = 1000 exclude_dir = [“assets”, “tmp”, “vendor”, “testdata”] exclude_file = [] exclude_regex = [“_test.go”] exclude_unchanged = false follow_symlink = false full_bin = “” include_dir = [“cmd”, “internal”, “ui”] include_ext = [“go”, “tpl”, “tmpl”, “html”] include_file = [] kill_delay = “0s” log = “build-errors.log” poll = false poll_interval = 0 post_cmd = [] pre_cmd = [] rerun = false rerun_delay = 500 send_interrupt = false stop_on_error = false

[color] app = “” build = “yellow” main = “magenta” runner = “green” watcher = “cyan”

[log] main_only = false silent = false time = false

[misc] clean_on_exit = false

[proxy] app_port = 0 enabled = false proxy_port = 0

[screen] clear_on_rebuild = false keep_scroll = true ```