- Escape analysis in Go is a compiler optimization that determines whether a value should be allocated on the stack or the heap.
- Values escape to the heap when they are still needed after the function returns, such as when returning pointers, using closures or goroutines, passing values through interfaces, or storing in long-lived data structures.
- The Go compiler provides escape analysis insights via the 'go build -gcflags="-m"' command, but the output can be noisy and hard to interpret.
- GoLand's escape analysis tool integrates compiler output into the editor, making it easier to understand allocation decisions with gutter markers and organized logs.
- Escape analysis is most valuable for optimizing hot paths in performance-sensitive code, but not all heap allocations need optimization.
- Best practices include measuring performance first, focusing on hot paths, understanding escape reasons, and verifying changes with benchmarking.