Go "relative import paths are not supported in module mode" - Fix in CI

In module mode Go forbids relative import paths like ./utils or ../shared. Imports must use the full module-qualified path so Go can resolve them through the module graph, not the filesystem.

What this error means

A build fails with relative import paths are not supported in module mode or local import "./x" in non-local package. It typically appears when porting GOPATH-era code (which allowed relative imports) into a module.

go build output

./main.go:4:2: relative import paths are not supported in module mode
	imported as "./internal/store"; use "github.com/org/app/internal/store"

Common causes

Relative imports carried over from GOPATH code

Pre-module Go tolerated ./ and ../ imports. In module mode every import must be a full module-qualified path.

A script-style program importing a sibling directory

Importing ../shared to reach a neighboring directory is not how modules resolve packages - that target must be a package under a known module path.

How to fix it

Use full module-qualified import paths

Replace every relative import with the package’s canonical path under the module.

// instead of:  import "./internal/store"
import "github.com/org/app/internal/store"

Find and rewrite the relative imports

Terminal

grep -rn '"\.\./\|"\./' --include='*.go' .
goimports -w .
go build ./...

How to prevent it

Always import packages by their full module path.
Run go build ./... and goimports to catch stray relative imports.
Avoid copying GOPATH-era code without converting its imports.