How can I run my Go application with administrator privileges without manual UAC elevation?

Achieving Administrator Privileges for Windows Applications in Go

In this discussion, we delve into a common issue faced by developers who aim to grant their Windows applications the ability to run with administrator privileges without the user having to manually select "Run as administrator." We begin by understanding the underlying scenario.

Consider the following Go code, which attempts to write to a protected file in the Windows directory:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io/ioutil"
    "time"
)

func main() {
    err := ioutil.WriteFile("C:/Windows/test.txt", []byte("TESTING!"), 0644)
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Println(err.Error())
        time.Sleep(time.Second * 3)
    }
}

When executed, this code encounters an "Access is denied" error, indicating the application lacks the necessary privileges. While manually selecting "Run as administrator" would grant the required permissions, we seek an automated solution.

To address this need, we introduce an ingenious technique that leverages the Windows User Account Control (UAC) mechanism:

package main

import (
    // ... Same imports
)

func main() {
    // Check if running as administrator
    if !amAdmin() {
        // Relaunch application with elevated privileges using UAC prompt
        runMeElevated()
    }
    // ...
}

The key function, runMeElevated(), employs the Windows ShellExecute API to relaunch the application with the "Run as administrator" verb, effectively prompting the user for permission:

func runMeElevated() {
    // ... Same implementation
}

This technique allows the application to run as a standard user for most tasks and only elevate its privileges when necessary, providing a seamless experience for users. For more detailed implementation and implementation insights, refer to the following resource:

[UAC Prompt in Go using ShellExecute](https://gist.github.com/jerblack/d0eb182cc5a1c1d92d92a4c4fcc416c6)

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