github.com/schollz/croc
★
★
★
★
★
3
reviews
40
Security
13
Quality
35
Maintenance
32
Overall
v2.2.0+incompatible
Go
Go
Jun 27, 2018
34473
GitHub Stars
2.0/5
Avg Rating
Community Reviews
CAUTION
Powerful CLI tool, but not intended as a Go library dependency
Using croc as a Go package dependency is problematic because it's fundamentally designed as a standalone CLI application, not a reusable library. The package structure exposes internal implementation details without clear public APIs, making integration into other projects fragile. The version tag '+incompatible' signals Go module compatibility issues that create immediate friction during setup.
When attempting to import and use croc programmatically, you'll find minimal documentation about library usage—everything is geared toward the command-line interface. Error messages are cryptic when things go wrong because they assume CLI context. The codebase lacks examples for programmatic integration, and GitHub issues focus almost entirely on CLI usage rather than library support.
If you need file transfer functionality in your Go application, you're better off using the underlying protocols directly or finding a library explicitly designed for embedding. Croc excels as a user-facing tool you shell out to, but trying to use it as a library creates more problems than it solves. The maintainer's focus is clearly on CLI UX rather than library API stability.
When attempting to import and use croc programmatically, you'll find minimal documentation about library usage—everything is geared toward the command-line interface. Error messages are cryptic when things go wrong because they assume CLI context. The codebase lacks examples for programmatic integration, and GitHub issues focus almost entirely on CLI usage rather than library support.
If you need file transfer functionality in your Go application, you're better off using the underlying protocols directly or finding a library explicitly designed for embedding. Croc excels as a user-facing tool you shell out to, but trying to use it as a library creates more problems than it solves. The maintainer's focus is clearly on CLI UX rather than library API stability.
Works excellently when invoked as external CLI tool via exec.Command
Well-tested for its intended CLI use case
No public API documentation or examples for programmatic use
Module incompatibility flag indicates versioning and dependency issues
Internal package structure not designed for library consumption
Error messages assume CLI context and are unhelpful when embedding
Best for: Projects that need to shell out to croc as an external command-line tool for file transfers.
Avoid if: You need to programmatically integrate file transfer logic directly into your Go application as a library.
CAUTION
CLI tool masquerading as a library - lacks programmatic API ergonomics
Using croc as a Go package is frustrating because it's fundamentally designed as a CLI application, not a library. The package exports minimal public APIs, and what's available is poorly documented. There are no godoc examples, type definitions are scattered, and the main functionality is buried in internal implementation details tied to command-line flags.
The '+incompatible' versioning tag is a red flag - this package predates Go modules and hasn't been properly migrated. The last release in 2018 means you're dealing with outdated patterns and no modern Go idioms. When trying to embed file transfer capabilities programmatically, you'll find yourself fighting against the CLI-first architecture, parsing string outputs, and dealing with global state.
Error handling is particularly painful - errors bubble up as generic strings without structured types, making it impossible to handle specific failure cases programmatically. The lack of interfaces means testing code that uses croc requires actual network operations. If you need file transfer capabilities in your Go application, you're better off using a proper library or calling croc as an external command.
The '+incompatible' versioning tag is a red flag - this package predates Go modules and hasn't been properly migrated. The last release in 2018 means you're dealing with outdated patterns and no modern Go idioms. When trying to embed file transfer capabilities programmatically, you'll find yourself fighting against the CLI-first architecture, parsing string outputs, and dealing with global state.
Error handling is particularly painful - errors bubble up as generic strings without structured types, making it impossible to handle specific failure cases programmatically. The lack of interfaces means testing code that uses croc requires actual network operations. If you need file transfer capabilities in your Go application, you're better off using a proper library or calling croc as an external command.
Works well when invoked as a standalone CLI binary
Core transfer protocol is solid for command-line usage
Virtually no public API surface for programmatic use - designed exclusively as CLI tool
'+incompatible' versioning and 2018 release date indicate abandoned module migration
Zero godoc examples or library usage documentation
Unstructured error handling makes programmatic error recovery impossible
Best for: Projects that need to shell out to a CLI binary for file transfers, not library integration.
Avoid if: You need to programmatically integrate file transfer capabilities into your Go application with proper API control.
CAUTION
CLI tool masquerading as a Go library - minimal programmatic API
Croc is fundamentally a command-line tool for file transfers, not a Go library designed for programmatic use. The package structure reveals this immediately: the core functionality is tightly coupled to CLI arguments and lacks a clean public API surface. When you try to import it, you'll find most useful functions are unexported or buried in internal packages.
The documentation is sparse for library usage because it wasn't designed for it. There are no GoDoc examples showing how to integrate croc's functionality into your own applications. The version tag '+incompatible' signals Go module issues, and the 2018 release date combined with this tag suggests the package predates proper module support and hasn't been updated to follow modern Go conventions.
If you need to transfer files programmatically in Go, you'll spend more time reverse-engineering croc's internals than if you built your own solution or used a proper library. The CLI tool itself works fine for end users, but as a library dependency in a Go project, it creates more problems than it solves.
The documentation is sparse for library usage because it wasn't designed for it. There are no GoDoc examples showing how to integrate croc's functionality into your own applications. The version tag '+incompatible' signals Go module issues, and the 2018 release date combined with this tag suggests the package predates proper module support and hasn't been updated to follow modern Go conventions.
If you need to transfer files programmatically in Go, you'll spend more time reverse-engineering croc's internals than if you built your own solution or used a proper library. The CLI tool itself works fine for end users, but as a library dependency in a Go project, it creates more problems than it solves.
The underlying relay and encryption logic is solid if you can extract it
Well-tested code paths for the CLI use case
No public API designed for library consumption - almost everything is unexported or CLI-coupled
Version marked '+incompatible' indicating Go module support issues
Zero documentation or examples for programmatic usage
Last updated in 2018, predating modern Go development practices
Best for: Using the croc CLI tool directly via exec.Command() rather than as a library dependency.
Avoid if: You need a well-documented Go library with a clean API for building file transfer functionality into your application.
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