There is a detailed explanation of how package names are used by the compiler here: https://golang.org/cmd/go/#hdr-Description_of_package_lists https://golang.o

There is a detailed explanation of how package names are used by the compiler here: https://golang.org/cmd/go/#hdr-Description_of_package_lists https://golang.org/cmd/go/#hdr-Description_of_package_lists Specifically this bit is relevant here: > Every package in a program must have a unique import path. By convention, this is arranged by starting each path with a unique prefix that belongs to you. For example, paths used internally at Google all begin with 'google', and paths denoting remote repositories begin with the path to the code, such as 'github.com/user/repo'. Most (all?) Go tooling assumes this convention. Conceptually, I don't see it as that different from how other languages determine input paths, except in Go they are guaranteed to be unique which I consider a good thing. In Java for example you still have file namespaces they're just inside the project itself (looking at you `src/java/com/example/package`) or Python which looks for the root module name in `PYTHONPATH` and then recurses down for submodule names. Most if not all languages use file structures to namespace imports in one way or another, Go just applies it globally instead of at a project level. I agree it raises the barrier to entry for someone to just come in and run `go run` on a project but I find it works very well once you've got it setup. Convention over configuration is a big thing in Go tooling.