---
title: "When is it OK to panic in Go? – Alex Edwards"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/when-is-it-ok-to-panic-in-go-alex-edwards-bzovonw4d
source_url: https://www.alexedwards.net/blog/when-is-it-ok-to-panic-in-go
type: article
source: "Alex Edwards"
published: 2025-03-31T23:21:08.098Z
updated: 2025-03-31T23:21:21.852Z
tags: ["golang"]
reading_time: 11
upvotes: 5
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# When is it OK to panic in Go? – Alex Edwards

**[Alex Edwards](https://daily.dev/sources/alexedwards)** · 11 min read · 5 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Panic in Go should be used sparingly and only in specific scenarios such as programmer errors that are unrecoverable or would add excessive complexity if handled by returning errors. Returning errors offers flexibility and is generally preferred, but panic can be justified for last-ditch guard clauses, unavoidable termination, and avoiding unnecessary error handling complexity.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.alexedwards.net/blog/when-is-it-ok-to-panic-in-go>

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Tags: [#golang](https://daily.dev/tags/golang)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/when-is-it-ok-to-panic-in-go-alex-edwards-bzovonw4d)