diff --git a/src/forge/go.rs b/src/forge/go.rs
index f40519612a..719b2ad94c 100644
--- a/src/forge/go.rs
+++ b/src/forge/go.rs
@@ -32,7 +32,13 @@ impl Forge for GoForge {
                     let res = cmd!("go", "list", "-m", "-versions", "-json", cur_mod_path).read();
                     if let Ok(raw) = res {
                         let res = serde_json::from_str::<GoModInfo>(&raw);
-                        if let Ok(mod_info) = res {
+                        if let Ok(mut mod_info) = res {
+                            // remove the leading v from the versions
+                            mod_info.versions = mod_info
+                                .versions
+                                .into_iter()
+                                .map(|v| v.trim_start_matches('v').to_string())
+                                .collect();
                             return Ok(mod_info.versions);
                         }
                     };
@@ -50,9 +56,16 @@ impl Forge for GoForge {
         let settings = Settings::get();
         settings.ensure_experimental("go backend")?;
 
+        // if the version has no v prefix, add it
+        let version = if ctx.tv.version.starts_with('v') {
+            ctx.tv.version.clone()
+        } else {
+            format!("v{}", ctx.tv.version)
+        };
+
         CmdLineRunner::new("go")
             .arg("install")
-            .arg(&format!("{}@{}", self.name(), ctx.tv.version))
+            .arg(&format!("{}@{}", self.name(), version))
             .with_pr(ctx.pr.as_ref())
             .envs(config.env()?)
             .env("GOBIN", ctx.tv.install_path().join("bin"))
diff --git a/src/toolset/tool_version.rs b/src/toolset/tool_version.rs
index b2c63ddca9..f38c990b37 100644
--- a/src/toolset/tool_version.rs
+++ b/src/toolset/tool_version.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 use console::style;
 use eyre::Result;
+use regex::Captures;
 use versions::{Chunk, Version};
 
 use crate::cli::args::ForgeArg;
@@ -31,9 +32,12 @@ impl ToolVersion {
         opts: ToolVersionOptions,
         version: String,
     ) -> Self {
+        let v_prefix = regex!(r"^v(\d+(\.\d+)*)$");
         ToolVersion {
             forge: tool.fa().clone(),
-            version,
+            version: v_prefix
+                .replace(&version, |caps: &Captures| format!("{}", &caps[1]))
+                .to_string(),
             request,
             opts,
         }