Example of using https://godoc.org/golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer

main.go

package main

import "fmt"

//go:generate stringer -type=MessageStatus
type MessageStatus int

const (
	Sent MessageStatus = iota
	Received
	Rejected
)

func main() {
	status := Sent
	fmt.Printf("Message is %s", status)
}

messagestatus_string.go

// generated by stringer -type=MessageStatus; DO NOT EDIT

package main

import "fmt"

const _MessageStatus_name = "SentReceivedRejected"

var _MessageStatus_index = [...]uint8{0, 4, 12, 20}

func (i MessageStatus) String() string {
	if i < 0 || i >= MessageStatus(len(_MessageStatus_index)-1) {
		return fmt.Sprintf("MessageStatus(%d)", i)
	}
	return _MessageStatus_name[_MessageStatus_index[i]:_MessageStatus_index[i+1]]
}