Go Context Usage

Compatibility: context has been in the standard library since Go 1.7.

Resource Routing

• references/PATTERNS.md - Read when deriving contexts, checking cancellation, handling HTTP request contexts, or using typed context-value keys.

Context as First Parameter

Functions that use a Context should accept it as their first parameter:

func F(ctx context.Context, /* other arguments */) error
func ProcessRequest(ctx context.Context, req *Request) (*Response, error)

This is a strong convention in Go that makes context flow visible and consistent across codebases.

Don't Store Context in Structs

Do not add a Context member to a struct type. Instead, pass ctx as a parameter to each method that needs it:

// Bad: Context stored in struct
type Worker struct {
    ctx context.Context  // Don't do this
}

// Good: Context passed to methods
type Worker struct{ /* ... */ }

func (w *Worker) Process(ctx context.Context) error {
    // Context explicitly passed — lifetime clear
}

Exception: Methods whose signature must match an interface in the standard library or a third-party library may need to work around this.

Don't Create Custom Context Types

Do not create custom Context types or use interfaces other than context.Context in function signatures:

// Bad: Custom context type
type MyContext interface {
    context.Context
    GetUserID() string
}

// Good: Use standard context.Context with value extraction
func Process(ctx context.Context) error {
    userID := GetUserID(ctx)
}

Where to Put Application Data

Consider these options in order of preference:

1. Function parameters — most explicit and type-safe
2. Receiver — for data that belongs to the type
3. Globals — for truly global configuration (use sparingly)
4. Context value — only for request-scoped data

Context values are appropriate for:

• Request IDs and trace IDs
• Authentication/authorization info that flows with requests
• Deadlines and cancellation signals

Context values are not appropriate for:

• Optional function parameters
• Data that could be passed explicitly
• Configuration that doesn't vary per-request

Common Patterns

Deriving Contexts

Always defer cancel() immediately after creating a derived context:

ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
defer cancel()

Checking Cancellation

select {
case <-ctx.Done():
    return ctx.Err()
default:
    // Do work
}

Context Immutability

Contexts are immutable — it's safe to pass the same ctx to multiple concurrent calls that share the same deadline and cancellation signal.

Related Skills

• Goroutine coordination: See [go-concurrency](../go-concurrency/SKILL.md) when using context for goroutine cancellation, select-based timeouts, or errgroup
• Error handling: See [go-error-handling](../go-error-handling/SKILL.md) when deciding how to wrap or return ctx.Err() cancellation errors
• Interface design: See [go-interfaces](../go-interfaces/SKILL.md) when designing APIs that accept context alongside interfaces
• Request-scoped logging: See [go-logging](../go-logging/SKILL.md) when injecting loggers into context or adding request IDs to structured log output