Auto-Generate Go Struct Tags

Tired of manually typing json:"fieldName" tags for every field in your Go structs? Use gomodifytags with a Zed task to automatically generate struct tags for any struct you’re working on.

Prerequisites

Install gomodifytags:

go install github.com/fatih/gomodifytags@latest

Setup

Add this task to your tasks.json:

[
  {
    "label": "Go: Add Struct Tags",
    "command": "gomodifytags",
    "args": [
      "-file",
      "$ZED_FILE",
      "-struct",
      "$ZED_SYMBOL",
      "-add-tags",
      "json",
      "-transform",
      "camelcase",
      "-skip-unexported",
      "-quiet",
      "-w"
    ],
    "reveal": "never",
    "hide": "always",
    "shell": {
      "with_arguments": {
        "program": "sh",
        "args": ["--noediting", "--norc", "--noprofile"]
      }
    }
  }
]

How to Use

Place your cursor on a struct name
Open the command palette (Cmd-Shift-P / Ctrl-Shift-P)
Search for “Go: Add Struct Tags”
Run the task

The tool will automatically add JSON tags to all exported fields:

Before:

type User struct {
    ID        int
    FirstName string
    LastName  string
    Email     string
}

After:

type User struct {
    ID        int    `json:"id"`
    FirstName string `json:"firstName"`
    LastName  string `json:"lastName"`
    Email     string `json:"email"`
}

Customization

Add Different Tags

Change the -add-tags parameter to add other tag types:

"-add-tags", "json,yaml,db"

This generates:

`json:"firstName" yaml:"firstName" db:"first_name"`

Change Naming Convention

Modify the -transform parameter:

camelcase → firstName
snakecase → first_name
lispcase → first-name

Remove Tags

Create a separate task with -remove-tags instead of -add-tags:

{
  "label": "Go: Remove Struct Tags",
  "command": "gomodifytags",
  "args": [
    "-file", "$ZED_FILE",
    "-struct", "$ZED_SYMBOL",
    "-remove-tags", "json",
    "-quiet", "-w"
  ]
}

Benefits

Time saver: No more manual tag typing

Consistency: All tags follow the same naming convention

Error prevention: Avoids typos in field names

Flexible: Works with any struct, any tag type

Optional Keybinding

Add a keybinding for even faster access:

{
  "bindings": {
    "cmd-shift-t": ["task::Spawn", { "task_name": "Go: Add Struct Tags" }]
  }
}

Perfect for Go developers who work with JSON APIs, databases, or configuration files!

Community Tip: Shared by FollowTheProcess in Hidden Gems: Community Edition