goqu | SQL builder and query library for golang

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goqu is an expressive SQL builder and executor

If you are upgrading from an older version please read the Migrating Between Versions docs.

Installation

If using go modules.

go get -u github.com/doug-martin/goqu/v9

If you are not using go modules…

NOTE You should still be able to use this package if you are using go version >v1.10 but, you will need to drop the version from the package. import "github.com/doug-martin/goqu/v9 -> import "github.com/doug-martin/goqu"

go get -u github.com/doug-martin/goqu

Supported Go versions

The go directive in the root go.mod (currently Go 1.26) is the minimum Go version for using goqu. CI tests against that version and the latest Go release.

Raising that minimum is treated as a notable change: it is made deliberately, not as a side effect of a dependency update, and is called out in the release notes.

Migrating Between Versions

Features

goqu comes with many features but here are a few of the more notable ones

Query Builder
Parameter interpolation (e.g SELECT * FROM "items" WHERE "id" = ? -> SELECT * FROM "items" WHERE "id" = 1)
Built from the ground up with multiple dialects in mind
Insert, Multi Insert, Update, and Delete support
Scanning of rows to struct[s] or primitive value[s]

While goqu may support the scanning of rows into structs it is not intended to be used as an ORM if you are looking for common ORM features like associations, or hooks I would recommend looking at some of the great ORM libraries such as:

gorm
hood

Why?

We tried a few other sql builders but each was a thin wrapper around sql fragments that we found error prone. goqu was built with the following goals in mind:

Make the generation of SQL easy and enjoyable
Create an expressive DSL that would find common errors with SQL at compile time.
Provide a DSL that accounts for the common SQL expressions, NOT every nuance for each database.
Provide developers the ability to:
- Use SQL when desired
- Easily scan results into primitive values and structs
- Use the native sql.Db methods when desired

Docs

Dialect - Introduction to different dialects (mysql, postgres, sqlite3, sqlserver etc)
Expressions - Introduction to goqu expressions and common examples.
Select Dataset - Docs and examples about creating and executing SELECT sql statements.
Insert Dataset - Docs and examples about creating and executing INSERT sql statements.
Update Dataset - Docs and examples about creating and executing UPDATE sql statements.
Delete Dataset - Docs and examples about creating and executing DELETE sql statements.
Struct Tags - Reference for the db and goqu struct tags (skipinsert, skipupdate, omitnil, omitempty, defaultifempty).
Prepared Statements - Docs about interpolation and prepared statements in goqu.
Database - Docs and examples of using a Database to execute queries in goqu
Working with time.Time - Docs on how to use alternate time locations.

Quick Examples

Select

See the select dataset docs for more in depth examples

sql, _, _ := goqu.From("test").ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql)

Output:

SELECT * FROM "test"

sql, _, _ := goqu.From("test").Where(goqu.Ex{
	"d": []string{"a", "b", "c"},
}).ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql)

Output:

SELECT * FROM "test" WHERE ("d" IN ('a', 'b', 'c'))

Insert

See the insert dataset docs for more in depth examples

ds := goqu.Insert("user").
	Cols("first_name", "last_name").
	Vals(
		goqu.Vals{"Greg", "Farley"},
		goqu.Vals{"Jimmy", "Stewart"},
		goqu.Vals{"Jeff", "Jeffers"},
	)
insertSQL, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(insertSQL, args)

Output:

INSERT INTO "user" ("first_name", "last_name") VALUES ('Greg', 'Farley'), ('Jimmy', 'Stewart'), ('Jeff', 'Jeffers') []

ds := goqu.Insert("user").Rows(
	goqu.Record{"first_name": "Greg", "last_name": "Farley"},
	goqu.Record{"first_name": "Jimmy", "last_name": "Stewart"},
	goqu.Record{"first_name": "Jeff", "last_name": "Jeffers"},
)
insertSQL, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(insertSQL, args)

Output:

INSERT INTO "user" ("first_name", "last_name") VALUES ('Greg', 'Farley'), ('Jimmy', 'Stewart'), ('Jeff', 'Jeffers') []

type User struct {
	FirstName string `db:"first_name"`
	LastName  string `db:"last_name"`
}
ds := goqu.Insert("user").Rows(
	User{FirstName: "Greg", LastName: "Farley"},
	User{FirstName: "Jimmy", LastName: "Stewart"},
	User{FirstName: "Jeff", LastName: "Jeffers"},
)
insertSQL, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(insertSQL, args)

Output:

INSERT INTO "user" ("first_name", "last_name") VALUES ('Greg', 'Farley'), ('Jimmy', 'Stewart'), ('Jeff', 'Jeffers') []

ds := goqu.Insert("user").Prepared(true).
	FromQuery(goqu.From("other_table"))
insertSQL, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(insertSQL, args)

Output:

INSERT INTO "user" SELECT * FROM "other_table" []

ds := goqu.Insert("user").Prepared(true).
	Cols("first_name", "last_name").
	FromQuery(goqu.From("other_table").Select("fn", "ln"))
insertSQL, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(insertSQL, args)

Output:

INSERT INTO "user" ("first_name", "last_name") SELECT "fn", "ln" FROM "other_table" []

Update

See the update dataset docs for more in depth examples

sql, args, _ := goqu.Update("items").Set(
	goqu.Record{"name": "Test", "address": "111 Test Addr"},
).ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql, args)

Output:

UPDATE "items" SET "address"='111 Test Addr',"name"='Test' []

type item struct {
	Address string `db:"address"`
	Name    string `db:"name" goqu:"skipupdate"`
}
sql, args, _ := goqu.Update("items").Set(
	item{Name: "Test", Address: "111 Test Addr"},
).ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql, args)

Output:

UPDATE "items" SET "address"='111 Test Addr' []

sql, _, _ := goqu.Update("test").
	Set(goqu.Record{"foo": "bar"}).
	Where(goqu.Ex{
		"a": goqu.Op{"gt": 10}
	}).ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql)

Output:

UPDATE "test" SET "foo"='bar' WHERE ("a" > 10)

Delete

See the delete dataset docs for more in depth examples

ds := goqu.Delete("items")

sql, args, _ := ds.ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql, args)

sql, _, _ := goqu.Delete("test").Where(goqu.Ex{
		"c": nil
	}).ToSQL()
fmt.Println(sql)

Output:

DELETE FROM "test" WHERE ("c" IS NULL)

Contributions

I am always welcoming contributions of any type. Please open an issue or create a PR if you find an issue with any of the following.

An issue with Documentation
You found the documentation lacking in some way

If you have an issue with the package please include the following

The dialect you are using
A description of the problem
A short example of how to reproduce (if applicable)

Without those basics it can be difficult to reproduce your issue locally. You may be asked for more information but that is a good starting point.

New Features

New features and/or enhancements are great and I encourage you to either submit a PR or create an issue. In both cases include the following as the need/requirement may not be readily apparent.

The use case
A short example

If you are issuing a PR also include the following

Tests - otherwise the PR will not be merged
Documentation - otherwise the PR will not be merged
Examples - [If applicable] see example_test.go for examples

If you find an issue you want to work on please comment on it letting other people know you are looking at it and I will assign the issue to you.

If want to work on an issue but dont know where to start just leave a comment and I’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Running tests

The test suite uses postgres, mysql and sqlserver databases. You can override the connection strings with the MYSQL_URI, PG_URI, SQLSERVER_URI environment variables*

go test -v -race ./...

When one of these variables is not set and no database answers at the default local address, that dialect’s database suite is skipped. When the variable is set, an unreachable database fails the tests. The postgres examples in the root package always need a postgres database.

You can also run the tests in a container using Docker Compose (v2, the docker compose command). This uses the newest versions CI tests; see .github/workflows/go.yml for the full matrix:

MYSQL_VERSION=9.7 POSTGRES_VERSION=18 SQLSERVER_VERSION=2025-latest GO_VERSION=latest docker compose run --rm goqu

When you are done, stop the databases with docker compose down.

NOTE The SQL Server image is only published for amd64. On Apple Silicon it runs under emulation, which can be slow to start or unstable; in that case run the SQL Server tests on an amd64 machine or let CI run them.

License

goqu is released under the MIT License.