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Getting Started
Installation

Installation

Prerequisites

  • Go 1.21+ – Download from go.dev

Verify your Go installation:

go version
# go version go1.21.0 linux/amd64

CLI Installation

Install the gofhir-validator command-line tool:

go install github.com/gofhir/validator/cmd/gofhir-validator@latest

Verify the installation:

gofhir-validator -v

Library Installation

To use the validator as a Go library in your project:

go get github.com/gofhir/validator

This adds the validator module to your go.mod and makes the validator package available for import.

FHIR Package Cache Setup

The GoFHIR Validator uses the standard FHIR package cache located at ~/.fhir/packages/. This is the same cache used by other FHIR tools such as the HL7 Validator and SUSHI.

The GoFHIR Validator includes embedded FHIR R4, R4B, and R5 specifications, so external packages are optional for basic validation. You only need to install additional packages if you are validating against custom profiles or implementation guides.

Installing FHIR Core Packages

If you need the full package cache (for example, for offline terminology validation or custom profile resolution), install the core packages using the NPM FHIR package registry:

# Create the FHIR package cache directory
mkdir -p ~/.fhir/packages

# Install FHIR R4 core package
npm --registry https://packages.fhir.org install hl7.fhir.r4.core@4.0.1

# Install FHIR R4 expansions (terminology)
npm --registry https://packages.fhir.org install hl7.fhir.r4.expansions@4.0.1

Installing Implementation Guides

To validate against a specific implementation guide, install its package:

# Example: US Core
npm --registry https://packages.fhir.org install hl7.fhir.us.core@6.1.0

# Example: International Patient Summary
npm --registry https://packages.fhir.org install hl7.fhir.uv.ips@1.1.0

Next Steps

Once installed, head to the Quick Start guide to validate your first FHIR resource.

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Quick Start