Why I Rewrote My Side Project in Go

After months of maintaining a Node.js CLI tool, I decided to rewrite it in Go. Here's why that decision made sense and what I learned along the way.

The Problem with Node.js for CLI Tools

Don't get me wrong — Node.js is fantastic for many things. But for CLI tools that need to be distributed as standalone binaries, it presents some challenges:

• Distribution complexity: Users need Node.js installed, or you need to bundle the entire runtime
• Startup time: Cold starts can be slow, especially with many dependencies
• Binary size: Bundled executables can be massive

Why Go?

Go addresses these issues elegantly:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, CLI!")
}

This compiles to a single, static binary that runs anywhere. No runtime required.

Key Benefits

1. Fast compilation — The Go compiler is incredibly quick
2. Cross-compilation — Build for any platform from any platform
3. Excellent standard library — Most things you need are built-in
4. Concurrency primitives — Goroutines make parallel operations simple

The Migration Process

I approached the rewrite incrementally:

1. Started with the core data structures
2. Ported the command-line argument parsing (using Cobra)
3. Migrated file system operations
4. Added tests for each component

Results

After the rewrite:

• Binary size: 8MB (down from 45MB bundled)
• Startup time: ~10ms (down from ~500ms)
• No external dependencies for users

Conclusion

Go isn't the right choice for every project, but for CLI tools, it's hard to beat. The combination of easy distribution, excellent performance, and a great developer experience makes it my go-to for this type of work.