---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/go-fuzzing.md
title: "Go native fuzzing in a nutshell"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text); prose restates cited source lines"
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: The Go Authors (go.dev), Tutorial: Getting started with fuzzing - The Go Programming Language, CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text); The Go Authors (go.dev), Go Fuzzing - The Go Programming Language, CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text)."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-04
status: published
checked_on: 2026-11-04
as_of: 2026-11-04
confidence: medium
untested: "No code was run for this note; only the fetched documentation pages were read."
category: coding-references
topic_area: "code-ai-eng: Go"
tags: go, golang, fuzzing, testing
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Tutorial: Getting started with fuzzing - The Go Programming Language"
    publisher: The Go Authors (go.dev)
    url: https://go.dev/doc/tutorial/fuzz
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text)"
  - id: S2
    title: "Go Fuzzing - The Go Programming Language"
    publisher: The Go Authors (go.dev)
    url: https://go.dev/doc/security/fuzz/
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text)"
---
# Go native fuzzing in a nutshell

## Short answer
Run `go test -fuzz=FuzzXxx`.

## Key points
- Fuzzing can find crashes and bugs such as SQL injection, buffer overflows and denial of service. [S1]
- Seed corpus entries must match the fuzz function's argument types. [S2]

## Claims
- id: C1
  claim: Fuzzing runs random data against your test to find crash-causing inputs.
  source: S1
  evidence: "is run against your test in an attempt to find vulnerabilities or crash-causing"
- id: C2
  claim: A fuzz test begins with FuzzXxx and takes *testing.F.
  source: S1
  evidence: "The function begins with FuzzXxx instead of TestXxx, and takes *testing.F"
- id: C3
  claim: Go supports fuzzing in its standard toolchain from Go 1.18.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Go supports fuzzing in its standard toolchain beginning in Go 1.18."
- id: C4
  claim: Go fuzzing uses coverage guidance.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Go fuzzing uses coverage guidance to intelligently walk"

## Sources
- [S1] Tutorial: Getting started with fuzzing - The Go Programming Language. The Go Authors (go.dev). https://go.dev/doc/tutorial/fuzz . License: CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text). Accessed 2026-11-04.
- [S2] Go Fuzzing - The Go Programming Language. The Go Authors (go.dev). https://go.dev/doc/security/fuzz/ . License: CC BY 4.0 (go.dev text). Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).