You don't actually import from live git paths. You import from your local filesystem ($GOPATH). The compiler doesn't care how code gets into $GOPATH. A single

You don't actually import from live git paths. You import from your local filesystem ($GOPATH). The compiler doesn't care how code gets into $GOPATH. A single tool, "go get", pulls code directly from 3rd parties and puts it in $GOPATH. If you're uncomfortable or frustrated using "go get" there are a number of 3rd party options.