What causes "no releases found for go >= %v" in golang/go?

Check the module's go.mod — the go directive may specify a version that doesn't exist yet

no releases found for go >= %v

Error message

no releases found for go >= %v

What it means

NewerToolchain enumerates available Go releases from the module proxy and local cache, sorted newest-to-oldest, and picks the latest patch release of the family below the newest family that meets the version floor. If no release in the list is >= the required version, this error is returned. It is a specific root cause that surfaces wrapped by error 1121.

Source

Thrown at src/cmd/go/internal/toolchain/switch.go:231

	latest := ""
	for i := len(list) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
		v := list[i]
		if gover.Compare(v, need) < 0 {
			break
		}
		if gover.Lang(latest) == gover.Lang(v) {
			continue
		}
		newer := latest
		latest = v
		if newer != "" && !gover.IsPrerelease(newer) {
			// latest is the last patch release of Go 1.X, and we saw a non-prerelease of Go 1.(X+1),
			// so latest is the one we want.
			break
		}
	}
	if latest == "" {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("no releases found for go >= %v", need)
	}
	return "go" + latest, nil
}

// HasAuto reports whether the GOTOOLCHAIN setting allows "auto" upgrades.
func HasAuto() bool {
	env := cfg.Getenv("GOTOOLCHAIN")
	return env == "auto" || strings.HasSuffix(env, "+auto")
}

// HasPath reports whether the GOTOOLCHAIN setting allows "path" upgrades.
func HasPath() bool {
	env := cfg.Getenv("GOTOOLCHAIN")
	return env == "path" || strings.HasSuffix(env, "+path")
}

View on GitHub (pinned to b6b368adc5)

Solutions

Check the module's go.mod — the go directive may specify a version that doesn't exist yet
Ensure network access to GOPROXY so the release list can be fetched
Verify GOPROXY is not 'off': `go env GOPROXY`

Example fix

# before: go.mod requests a non-existent version
go 1.99

# after: use a real released version
go 1.23

# or override toolchain selection to local
export GOTOOLCHAIN=local

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

# Check if the go directive references a real Go version
GO_VER=$(grep '^go ' go.mod | awk '{print $2}')
echo "go.mod requires Go $GO_VER"
echo "Latest available: see https://go.dev/dl/"
# If GO_VER doesn't exist, the build will fail

Try / catch

# Fallback to local toolchain when no releases found
if ! go build ./... 2>&1 | grep -q 'no releases found'; then
  echo 'ok'
else
  GOTOOLCHAIN=local go build ./...
fi

Prevention

Verify the go directive in go.mod references a released Go version
Keep GOPROXY accessible or pre-cache toolchain modules
Set GOTOOLCHAIN=local when working offline

When it happens

Trigger: A module declares a go directive for a version that does not exist in any published release (future or typo); the proxy returned an empty list; GOPROXY=off with no cached toolchain modules; the version list was fetched but every entry was below the `need` threshold.

Common situations: go directive set to an unreleased version (e.g., `go 1.99`); typo in go directive; air-gapped environment with empty module cache; GOPROXY pointing to a mirror that hasn't synced the latest releases.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of golang/go@b6b368adc5 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f256379b77beb3d3. Report an issue: GitHub.