---
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.

<!--{
	"Title": "The Go Programming Language Specification",
	"Subtitle": "Language version go1.22 (April 25, 2024)",
	"Path": "/ref/spec"
}-->

<h2 id="Introduction">Introduction</h2>

<p>
This is the reference manual for the Go programming language.
The pre-Go1.18 version, without generics, can be found
<a href="/doc/go1.17_spec.html">here</a>.
For more information and other documents, see <a href="/">go.dev</a>.
</p>

<p>