In the previous article we explored how the Go runtime bootstraps itself — how a Go binary goes from the operating system handing it control to your func main() running. During that bootstrap, one of the first things the runtime sets up is the memory allocator. And that’s what we’re going to explore today. Think of the memory allocator as a warehouse manager. Your program constantly needs boxes of different sizes — sometimes tiny, sometimes huge — and it needs them fast. The allocator’s job is to hand out those boxes as quickly as possible, keep the warehouse organized so nothing goes to waste, and work with the garbage collector to reclaim boxes that nobody is using anymore.