diff --git a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
index 4314d771fba605..8bcbd3f7647eec 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
@@ -567,6 +567,11 @@
 //		generator, containing the Go toolchain and standard library.
 //	$DOLLAR
 //		A dollar sign.
+//	$PATH
+//		The $PATH of the parent process, with $GOROOT/bin
+//		placed at the beginning. This causes generators
+//		that execute 'go' commands to use the same 'go'
+//		as the parent 'go generate' command.
 //
 // Other than variable substitution and quoted-string evaluation, no
 // special processing such as "globbing" is performed on the command
@@ -1703,6 +1708,10 @@
 // error. (The go command's standard error is reserved for printing
 // errors building the tests.)
 //
+// The go command places $GOROOT/bin at the beginning of $PATH
+// in the test's environment, so that tests that execute
+// 'go' commands use the same 'go' as the parent 'go test' command.
+//
 // Go test runs in two different modes:
 //
 // The first, called local directory mode, occurs when go test is
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/generate/generate.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/generate/generate.go
index 160a8723a055f1..50c68924797502 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/generate/generate.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/generate/generate.go
@@ -90,6 +90,11 @@ Go generate sets several variables when it runs the generator:
 		generator, containing the Go toolchain and standard library.
 	$DOLLAR
 		A dollar sign.
+	$PATH
+		The $PATH of the parent process, with $GOROOT/bin
+		placed at the beginning. This causes generators
+		that execute 'go' commands to use the same 'go'
+		as the parent 'go generate' command.
 
 Other than variable substitution and quoted-string evaluation, no
 special processing such as "globbing" is performed on the command
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/test/test.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/test/test.go
index e82ea720949777..97f2dbdbe6cd32 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/test/test.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/test/test.go
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ standard output, even if the test printed them to its own standard
 error. (The go command's standard error is reserved for printing
 errors building the tests.)
 
+The go command places $GOROOT/bin at the beginning of $PATH
+in the test's environment, so that tests that execute
+'go' commands use the same 'go' as the parent 'go test' command.
+
 Go test runs in two different modes:
 
 The first, called local directory mode, occurs when go test is