title: What is the difference between go get command and go mod download command
body: <p>I'm trying to get a good understanding of Go modules and am a bit puzzled by the difference between the go get command and the go mod download command.</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>&quot;The go get command updates module dependencies in the go.mod file for the main module, then builds and installs packages listed on the command line.&quot; <a href="https://golang.org/ref/mod#go-get" rel="noreferrer">https://golang.org/ref/mod#go-get</a></p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>Whereas the Go mod download is described as :</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>&quot;The go mod download command downloads the named modules into the module cache. &quot; <a href="https://golang.org/ref/mod#go-mod-download" rel="noreferrer">https://golang.org/ref/mod#go-mod-download</a></p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>Clearly go get performs some dependency management which go mod download does not, but what is the difference between installing packages with go get and downloading modules to the module cache in go mod download.</p>