diff --git a/.golangci.yml b/.golangci.yml
index 674605826..f7e1beab8 100644
--- a/.golangci.yml
+++ b/.golangci.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ linters:
     - copyloopvar
     - usestdlibvars
     - misspell
+    - modernize
     - nlreturn
     - perfsprint
     - staticcheck
diff --git a/catalog/rest/load_table_bench_test.go b/catalog/rest/load_table_bench_test.go
index 36658e996..c24fc39ad 100644
--- a/catalog/rest/load_table_bench_test.go
+++ b/catalog/rest/load_table_bench_test.go
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ func makeTableResponseWithSnapshots(snapshotCount int64) []byte {
 		panic(fmt.Errorf("failed to generate load table response: %w", err))
 	}
 
-	return []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`{
+	return fmt.Appendf(nil, `{
 			"metadata-location": "s3://warehouse/database/table/metadata/00001-5f2f8166-244c-4eae-ac36-384ecdec81fc.gz.metadata.json",
 			"metadata": {
 				"format-version": 1,
@@ -190,5 +190,5 @@ func makeTableResponseWithSnapshots(snapshotCount int64) []byte {
 					}
 				]
 			}
-		}`, snapshotTimestamp, snapshotID, snapshotID, snapshotsJson, snapshotsLogEntriesJson))
+		}`, snapshotTimestamp, snapshotID, snapshotID, snapshotsJson, snapshotsLogEntriesJson)
 }
diff --git a/catalog/sql/sql_test.go b/catalog/sql/sql_test.go
index c27d95df2..58cb293db 100644
--- a/catalog/sql/sql_test.go
+++ b/catalog/sql/sql_test.go
@@ -1953,12 +1953,10 @@ func (s *SqliteCatalogTestSuite) TestCreateNamespaceConcurrent() {
 
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for range writers {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer wg.Done()
+		wg.Go(func() {
 			<-start
 			errs <- cat.CreateNamespace(ctx, namespace, nil)
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 	close(start)
 	wg.Wait()
diff --git a/data_file_codec.go b/data_file_codec.go
index dcd01d952..1aeb0c83c 100644
--- a/data_file_codec.go
+++ b/data_file_codec.go
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ func newDecodeEntry(version int) (any, *dataFile) {
 	return &manifestEntry{Data: df}, df
 }
 
-var dataFileAvroFieldIndexes = avroFieldIndexes(reflect.TypeOf(dataFile{}))
+var dataFileAvroFieldIndexes = avroFieldIndexes(reflect.TypeFor[dataFile]())
 
 func avroFieldIndexes(t reflect.Type) []int {
 	indexes := make([]int, 0, t.NumField())
diff --git a/data_file_codec_test.go b/data_file_codec_test.go
index 7ca765849..6ac4d16c5 100644
--- a/data_file_codec_test.go
+++ b/data_file_codec_test.go
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func TestMarshalAvroEntryDoesNotMutateAnyAvroField(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDataFileAvroFieldIndexesCoverEveryAvroField(t *testing.T) {
-	typ := reflect.TypeOf(dataFile{})
+	typ := reflect.TypeFor[dataFile]()
 	want := make([]int, 0, typ.NumField())
 	for i := range typ.NumField() {
 		if _, ok := typ.Field(i).Tag.Lookup("avro"); ok {
diff --git a/io/gocloud/blobfs/blob.go b/io/gocloud/blobfs/blob.go
index 260c02912..0bdad018b 100644
--- a/io/gocloud/blobfs/blob.go
+++ b/io/gocloud/blobfs/blob.go
@@ -486,10 +486,7 @@ func (bfs *FileIO) DeleteFiles(ctx context.Context, paths []string) ([]string, e
 	}
 
 	results := make([]result, len(paths))
-	workers := len(paths)
-	if workers > deleteFilesMaxConcurrency {
-		workers = deleteFilesMaxConcurrency
-	}
+	workers := min(len(paths), deleteFilesMaxConcurrency)
 
 	jobs := make(chan int)
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
diff --git a/manifest_projection_test.go b/manifest_projection_test.go
index d7cd76c89..fdfe138af 100644
--- a/manifest_projection_test.go
+++ b/manifest_projection_test.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ func TestManifestEntryProjectionWhitelistCoversDataFileSchema(t *testing.T) {
 	schema := NewSchema(1, NestedField{
 		ID: 1, Name: "id", Type: PrimitiveTypes.Int64, Required: true,
 	})
-	dataFileType := reflect.TypeOf(dataFile{})
+	dataFileType := reflect.TypeFor[dataFile]()
 	dataFileFields := make(map[string]struct{}, len(dataFileAvroFieldIndexes))
 	for _, index := range dataFileAvroFieldIndexes {
 		name := dataFileType.Field(index).Tag.Get("avro")
diff --git a/table/deferred_snapshots_test.go b/table/deferred_snapshots_test.go
index 67fb72472..87dda88d1 100644
--- a/table/deferred_snapshots_test.go
+++ b/table/deferred_snapshots_test.go
@@ -355,13 +355,11 @@ func TestDeferredSnapshotsConcurrentMaterialization(t *testing.T) {
 
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for range 32 {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer wg.Done()
+		wg.Go(func() {
 			require.NotNil(t, meta.CurrentSnapshot())
 			require.NotNil(t, meta.SnapshotByID(historicalID))
 			require.Len(t, meta.Snapshots(), 2)
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 	wg.Wait()
 }
@@ -410,11 +408,9 @@ func TestDeferredSnapshotsConcurrentSingleLookupDoesNotMaterializeHistory(t *tes
 
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for range 32 {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer wg.Done()
+		wg.Go(func() {
 			require.Equal(t, historicalID, meta.SnapshotByID(historicalID).SnapshotID)
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 	wg.Wait()
 
diff --git a/table/dv/roaring_bitmap.go b/table/dv/roaring_bitmap.go
index 7f99fbe4b..0a72d4085 100644
--- a/table/dv/roaring_bitmap.go
+++ b/table/dv/roaring_bitmap.go
@@ -299,10 +299,7 @@ func (b *RoaringPositionBitmap) KeepMaskBytes(length int64) []byte {
 		if bucketBitBase >= uint64(length) {
 			continue
 		}
-		bucketBits := uint64(length) - bucketBitBase
-		if bucketBits > 1<<32 {
-			bucketBits = 1 << 32
-		}
+		bucketBits := min(uint64(length)-bucketBitBase, 1<<32)
 		if bm.CardinalityInRange(0, bucketBits) < bm.DenseSize() {
 			it := bm.Iterator()
 			for it.HasNext() {
@@ -322,10 +319,7 @@ func (b *RoaringPositionBitmap) KeepMaskBytes(length int64) []byte {
 			continue
 		}
 		// Cap the bucket's bit range to what fits in `length`.
-		bucketBits = uint64(len(dense)) * 64
-		if bucketBits > uint64(length)-bucketBitBase {
-			bucketBits = uint64(length) - bucketBitBase
-		}
+		bucketBits = min(uint64(len(dense))*64, uint64(length)-bucketBitBase)
 		// bucketBitBase = key << 32 is always 8-byte-aligned, so the
 		// BitmapWordWriter runs with offset=0 internally. The trailing-byte
 		// loop below relies on that alignment — PutNextTrailingByte's
diff --git a/table/dv_scan_planning_test.go b/table/dv_scan_planning_test.go
index 02f95b198..86a4cea49 100644
--- a/table/dv_scan_planning_test.go
+++ b/table/dv_scan_planning_test.go
@@ -230,11 +230,9 @@ func TestManifestEntries_ConcurrentMerge(t *testing.T) {
 	entries := newManifestEntries()
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for range manifestCount {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer wg.Done()
+		wg.Go(func() {
 			assert.NoError(t, entries.merge(batch))
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 	wg.Wait()
 
diff --git a/table/equality_delete_reader.go b/table/equality_delete_reader.go
index be778b029..17993313b 100644
--- a/table/equality_delete_reader.go
+++ b/table/equality_delete_reader.go
@@ -319,9 +319,9 @@ func schemaForEqualityFields(current *iceberg.Schema, schemas []*iceberg.Schema,
 	}
 	// Scan tasks do not retain the equality delete's sequence number, so use
 	// the newest schema that can resolve the file's complete equality key.
-	for i := len(schemas) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
-		if hasAllFields(schemas[i]) {
-			return schemas[i]
+	for _, v := range slices.Backward(schemas) {
+		if hasAllFields(v) {
+			return v
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/table/inspect_internal_test.go b/table/inspect_internal_test.go
index 24ad364e4..57c992cd6 100644
--- a/table/inspect_internal_test.go
+++ b/table/inspect_internal_test.go
@@ -2224,8 +2224,7 @@ func TestInspectFilesKeepCallerContextForManifestListRead(t *testing.T) {
 		}, nil
 	}
 
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
-	defer cancel()
+	ctx := t.Context()
 	manifests, err := tbl.Inspect().Manifests(ctx)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	manifests.Release()
diff --git a/table/inspect_partitions_bench_test.go b/table/inspect_partitions_bench_test.go
index 38ac92999..cee48c384 100644
--- a/table/inspect_partitions_bench_test.go
+++ b/table/inspect_partitions_bench_test.go
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func benchmarkInspectPartitionFiles(
 		partition := make(map[int]any, benchmark.fieldCount)
 		for field, partitionField := range partitionFields {
 			if benchmark.binary {
-				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = []byte(fmt.Sprintf("partition-%d-field-%d", partitionID, field))
+				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = fmt.Appendf(nil, "partition-%d-field-%d", partitionID, field)
 			} else {
 				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = int32(partitionID + field)
 			}
diff --git a/table/internal/utils.go b/table/internal/utils.go
index 743985db8..92e4850ce 100644
--- a/table/internal/utils.go
+++ b/table/internal/utils.go
@@ -636,8 +636,8 @@ func TruncateUpperBoundBinary(val []byte, trunc int) []byte {
 
 	result := slices.Clone(val[:trunc])
 
-	for i := len(result) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
-		if result[i] < 255 {
+	for i, v := range slices.Backward(result) {
+		if v < 255 {
 			result[i]++
 
 			return result[:i+1]
diff --git a/table/internal/variant_shredding.go b/table/internal/variant_shredding.go
index c7c8670fb..ce9ae9dad 100644
--- a/table/internal/variant_shredding.go
+++ b/table/internal/variant_shredding.go
@@ -388,10 +388,7 @@ func decimalArrowType(info *fieldInfo) arrow.DataType {
 	// Always Decimal128: arrow-go's pqarrow maps it to INT32/INT64/FLBA by
 	// precision and cannot serialize Decimal32/Decimal64.
 	intDigits := max(info.maxDecimalIntDigits, 0)
-	prec := min(intDigits+info.maxDecimalScale, 38)
-	if prec < 1 {
-		prec = 1
-	}
+	prec := max(min(intDigits+info.maxDecimalScale, 38), 1)
 	scale := info.maxDecimalScale
 	if maxScale := 38 - intDigits; scale > maxScale {
 		if maxScale < 0 {
diff --git a/table/orphan_cleanup.go b/table/orphan_cleanup.go
index dde04b57d..22d6a6019 100644
--- a/table/orphan_cleanup.go
+++ b/table/orphan_cleanup.go
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ func flattenURIEquivalences(equivalences map[string]string) map[string]string {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		for _, value := range strings.Split(group, ",") {
+		for value := range strings.SplitSeq(group, ",") {
 			flattened[strings.TrimSpace(value)] = equivalences[group]
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/table/positional_delete_index_bench_test.go b/table/positional_delete_index_bench_test.go
index 3ababeeb9..dd5ed66c2 100644
--- a/table/positional_delete_index_bench_test.go
+++ b/table/positional_delete_index_bench_test.go
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ func positionalDeletePartitionKeyBenchmarkFiles(
 		partition := make(map[int]any, fieldCount)
 		for field, partitionField := range partitionFields {
 			if binaryValue {
-				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = []byte(fmt.Sprintf(
-					"partition-%02d-%02d", i%100, field))
+				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = fmt.Appendf(nil,
+					"partition-%02d-%02d", i%100, field)
 			} else {
 				partition[partitionField.FieldID] = int32(i % 100)
 			}
diff --git a/table/rolling_data_writer_test.go b/table/rolling_data_writer_test.go
index b3426d463..717f6e5a2 100644
--- a/table/rolling_data_writer_test.go
+++ b/table/rolling_data_writer_test.go
@@ -315,16 +315,14 @@ func (s *RollingDataWriterTestSuite) TestConcurrentGetOrCreateCreatesOneWriter()
 
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for range goroutineCount {
-		wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer wg.Done()
+		wg.Go(func() {
 			<-start
 			writer, err := factory.getOrCreateRollingDataWriter(s.ctx, "partition", nil, outputCh)
 			results <- struct {
 				writer *RollingDataWriter
 				err    error
 			}{writer, err}
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 
 	close(start)
@@ -1129,16 +1127,14 @@ func (s *RollingDataWriterTestSuite) TestConcurrentAddDuringStreamErrorLeaksNoth
 	var atRetain, done sync.WaitGroup
 	atRetain.Add(senders)
 	for range senders {
-		done.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer done.Done()
+		done.Go(func() {
 			record := s.buildRecord(arrSchema, 3)
 			// Add retains (via gatedRetainRecord.Retain, which parks the sender
 			// between the closed check and the enqueue) then enqueues or aborts;
 			// the caller always drops its own reference afterward.
 			_ = writer.Add(gatedRetainRecord{RecordBatch: record, retainGate: retainGate, atRetain: &atRetain})
 			record.Release()
-		}()
+		})
 	}
 
 	atRetain.Wait() // every sender is past its closed check, parked in Retain
diff --git a/table/updates_test.go b/table/updates_test.go
index de500074c..60e48c72c 100644
--- a/table/updates_test.go
+++ b/table/updates_test.go
@@ -730,7 +730,7 @@ func TestUnmarshalUpdatesRejectsMissingRequiredFields(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.action, func(t *testing.T) {
 			var updates Updates
-			data := []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`[{"action":%q}]`, tt.action))
+			data := fmt.Appendf(nil, `[{"action":%q}]`, tt.action)
 			if tt.action == UpdateSetSnapshotRef {
 				data = snapshotRefPayload(tt.field, false)
 			}
@@ -797,7 +797,7 @@ func TestUnmarshalUpdatesRejectsNullRequiredPayload(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.action+"/"+tt.field, func(t *testing.T) {
 			var updates Updates
-			data := []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`[{"action":%q,%q:null}]`, tt.action, tt.field))
+			data := fmt.Appendf(nil, `[{"action":%q,%q:null}]`, tt.action, tt.field)
 			if tt.action == UpdateSetSnapshotRef {
 				data = snapshotRefPayload(tt.field, true)
 			}