mdempsky/unconvert

Remove unnecessary type conversions from Go source

387

stars

79

commits

Go

primary language

Aug 16, 2026

updated

README

About

The unconvert program analyzes Go packages to identify unnecessary type conversions; i.e., expressions T(x) where x already has type T.

Install

go install github.com/mdempsky/unconvert@latest

Usage

$ unconvert -v bytes fmt
GOROOT/src/bytes/reader.go:117:14: unnecessary conversion
                abs = int64(r.i) + offset
                           ^
GOROOT/src/fmt/print.go:411:21: unnecessary conversion
        p.fmt.integer(int64(v), 16, unsigned, udigits)
                           ^

Flags

Using the -v flag, unconvert will also print the source line and a caret to indicate the unnecessary conversion's position therein.

Using the -apply flag, unconvert will rewrite the Go source files without the unnecessary type conversions.

Using the -all flag, unconvert will analyze the Go packages under all possible GOOS/GOARCH combinations, and only identify conversions that are unnecessary in all cases.

E.g., syscall.Timespec's Sec and Nsec fields are int64 under linux/amd64 but int32 under linux/386. An int64(ts.Sec) conversion that appears in a linux/amd64-only file will be identified as unnecessary, but it will be preserved if it occurs in a file that's compiled for both linux/amd64 and linux/386.

Contributors

mdempsky

54 commits

mvdan

7 commits

dmitshur

6 commits

tamird

5 commits

mdempsky/unconvert

Remove unnecessary type conversions from Go source

387

stars

79

commits

Go

primary language

Aug 16, 2026

updated

README

About

The unconvert program analyzes Go packages to identify unnecessary type conversions; i.e., expressions T(x) where x already has type T.

Install

go install github.com/mdempsky/unconvert@latest

Usage

$ unconvert -v bytes fmt
GOROOT/src/bytes/reader.go:117:14: unnecessary conversion
                abs = int64(r.i) + offset
                           ^
GOROOT/src/fmt/print.go:411:21: unnecessary conversion
        p.fmt.integer(int64(v), 16, unsigned, udigits)
                           ^

Flags

Using the -v flag, unconvert will also print the source line and a caret to indicate the unnecessary conversion's position therein.

Using the -apply flag, unconvert will rewrite the Go source files without the unnecessary type conversions.

Using the -all flag, unconvert will analyze the Go packages under all possible GOOS/GOARCH combinations, and only identify conversions that are unnecessary in all cases.

E.g., syscall.Timespec's Sec and Nsec fields are int64 under linux/amd64 but int32 under linux/386. An int64(ts.Sec) conversion that appears in a linux/amd64-only file will be identified as unnecessary, but it will be preserved if it occurs in a file that's compiled for both linux/amd64 and linux/386.

Contributors

mdempsky

54 commits

mvdan

7 commits

dmitshur

6 commits

tamird

5 commits

Languages

Go

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