---
title: "Go, Backwards Compatibility, and GODEBUG"
layout: article
---

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This document is kept in the Go repo, not x/website,
because it documents the full list of known GODEBUG settings,
which are tied to a specific release.
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## Introduction {#intro}

Go's emphasis on backwards compatibility is one of its key strengths.
There are, however, times when we cannot maintain complete compatibility.

glob "*stdlib/*minor" are treated specially. They should be in subdirectories
corresponding to standard library package paths, and headings for those package
paths will be generated automatically.

Files in this repo's `api/next` directory must have corresponding files in
`doc/next/*stdlib/*minor`.
The files should be in the subdirectory for the package with the new
API, and should be named after the issue number of the API proposal.