Godog
Godog is the official Cucumber behavior-driven development framework for Go.
What Godog is
Godog is the official Cucumber behavior-driven development framework for Go. It turns Gherkin scenarios, written with Given, When, and Then steps, into tests, bringing specifications and test documentation together. Because Godog tests those specifications automatically, the documented behavior can stay current. Test suites run through Go’s standard `go test` command; the project marks its `godog` CLI as deprecated and recommends using `go test` instead. Configured concurrency runs scenarios at the same time, and supplied formatters support concurrent execution. Feature files can be bundled into a test binary using `go:embed` with a custom filesystem loader. The project points to cucumber-html-reporter for HTML reports and pkg.go.dev for API details. Godog runs locally and is free, with Godog and Gherkin licensed under MIT; the plan note says the API may change before 1.0.0. Users can get help in the Cucumber community Discord. The repository reports no published security advisories, and vulnerability reports should be sent privately to [email protected] rather than posted publicly.
Good
- Gherkin scenarios use Given, When, and Then
- Runs suites through standard `go test`
- Supports concurrent scenario execution
- Feature files can be embedded in test binaries
Watch out
- The `godog` CLI is deprecated
- API may change before 1.0.0
Who it suits
Godog suits Go developers who want to express expected behavior as Gherkin scenarios and run them as tests. It is also relevant to teams that want specifications and test documentation to stay aligned.
Verdict
Godog connects Gherkin behavior specifications with Go test suites and offers concurrency and embedding options. Use `go test` rather than the deprecated CLI, and account for the API-change note before 1.0.0.
Plans and prices
From Godog's own pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Godog open-source software | Free | MIT license · API may change before 1.0.0 |
The facts
Each one read from Godog's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API documentation
- General API details are available through the package documentation on pkg.go.dev.checked 1 Oct 2026
- CLI status
- The godog CLI is deprecated and the project recommends using go test instead.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Concurrency
- Configured concurrency executes scenarios concurrently, and supplied formatters support concurrency.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Documentation model
- Godog merges specification and test documentation into one cohesive whole.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Embeddable features
- Feature files can be compiled into a test binary with go:embed and a custom filesystem loader.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Go test integration
- Godog can run test suites through the standard go test command.checked 1 Oct 2026
- License
- Godog and Gherkin are licensed under the MIT License.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Living documentation
- Specifications are automatically tested by Godog so they remain up to date.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Godog is the official Cucumber behavior-driven development framework for Golang.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Reporting
- The project references cucumber-html-reporter for generating HTML reports from Cucumber output.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Security advisories
- The repository page states that there are no published security advisories.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Security reporting
- Security vulnerabilities should be reported privately to [email protected] rather than through public issues, discussions or pull requests.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Specification format
- It uses Gherkin-formatted scenarios with Given, When and Then steps.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- Users can get help through the Cucumber community Discord with users, developers and BDD practitioners.checked 1 Oct 2026
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