Go: What is the difference between log.Fatal and log.Panic in Go?

log.Fatal — logs and exits. log.Panic — logs and panics.

log.Fatal:

• Logs message.
• Calls os.Exit(1).
• No deferred functions run.
• Program terminates.

1log.Fatal("Cannot start server: ", err)
2// Program exits immediately
3// Deferred functions NOT run

log.Panic:

• Logs message.
• Calls panic().
• Deferred functions run.
• Can be recovered.

1log.Panic("Something went wrong")
2// Deferred functions RUN
3// Can recover with defer/recover

Key differences:

• Fatal — exits, no recovery.
• Panic — can recover.
• Fatal — deferred don't run.
• Panic — deferred run.

Best practice:

• Use Fatal for startup errors.
• Use Panic for truly exceptional cases.
• Prefer returning errors.