GoLand debugger hangs: Delve session waits at 'API server listening' and does not start program

Problem

On Windows, a GoLand debug session shows API server listening at: 127.0.0.1:[port] and then nothing else. Breakpoints are not hit and the program prints nothing. After a click on Stop, the program output appears and the session ends with exit code 0. Run starts the same program without problems. The problem occurs in every project.

Cause [Optional]

The debug build targets 32-bit Windows (windows/386). Delve, the debugger that GoLand uses, supports only windows/amd64 and windows/arm64 programs on Windows. Delve cannot find main.main in the 32-bit program, so the program stays paused before it starts. A click on Stop resumes the program, which then prints its output and exits.

A 32-bit build comes from one of two settings. Either GOARCH=386 is set, as a Windows environment variable or with go env -w, or the Go SDK is the 32-bit (windows-386) distribution and GOARCH is not set. A 32-bit Go SDK builds 32-bit programs by default, and its go env GOHOSTARCH value is 386.

Resolution

1. Close GoLand.
2. Open Edit the system environment variables in Windows.
3. Click Environment Variables.
4. Delete the GOARCH variable from both User variables and System variables, if present.
5. Open a new terminal window.
6. Run go env GOARCH and make sure that the value is amd64.
7. Start GoLand and debug the program again.

If go env GOARCH still shows 386, run go env GOHOSTARCH. If that command shows amd64, the GOARCH value comes from go env -w. Run go env -u GOARCH to remove it. If the command shows 386, the Go SDK is the 32-bit distribution. Install the 64-bit (windows-amd64) Go SDK and select it in Settings | Go | GOROOT.

A 32-bit Go SDK can also debug when GOARCH=amd64 is set, because it then builds 64-bit programs. A 64-bit Go SDK removes the dependence on that setting.

For more information about Delve architecture support, see Support debugging 32bit applications. The missing error message for a 32-bit debug build is tracked in Debugger hangs after 'API server listening': no error for a windows/386 build.