Compilation of Golang to WebAssembly (Wasm)

When compiling Go code to Wasm using the command GOOS=js GOARCH=wasm go build -o main.wasm, errors can arise during execution with Wasmtime or Wasm3.

Errors and Solutions

• Wasmtime error: unknown import: go::debug

This error indicates that the go::debug import is not defined. The main.wasm file produced by the Go compiler is intended for use with the wasm_exec.js shim. To fix this, use Node.js with the following command:

node wasm_exec.js main.wasm

• Wasmtime error: function lookup failed ('_start')

This error occurs when using Wasm3. Instead, try compiling with Tinygo, which supports WebAssembly System Interface (WASI), using the command:

tinygo build -target=wasi -o main.wasm main.go

• Bleeding-edge option

Go has bleeding-edge support for Wasm outside the browser. To utilize this, compile Go from source using the following steps:

1. Install the latest Go release from source using:

go install golang.org/dl/gotip@latest
gotip download

2. Build your Go code with:

GOOS=wasip1 GOARCH=wasm gotip build -o main.wasm

This approach will allow you to run your program with Wasmtime without any additional modifications.