Label	Element	Value
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 29, 2022
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;font-weight:bold;">Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund—Summary</span>
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Investment Objective</span>
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund (the "Fund") seeks long-term growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Fees and Expenses of the Fund</span>
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Institutional Shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Fund Operating Expenses</span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:7pt;font-weight:bold;">(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span>
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:7.5pt;font-style:italic;">April </span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:7.5pt;font-style:italic;"> 29, 2023</span>
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Portfolio Turnover</span>
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. These costs are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund’s performance. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 was 172% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	172.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Expense Example</span>
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Institutional Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Institutional Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates any applicable fee waiver and/or expense limitation arrangements for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Principal Strategy</span>
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity investments in small-cap U.S. issuers, including foreign issuers that are traded in the United States. These issuers will have public stock market capitalizations similar to that of the range of the market capitalizations of companies constituting the Russell 2000® Index at the time of investment, which as of March 1, 2022 was between approximately $18.74 million and $12.10 billion. However, the Fund may invest in securities outside the Russell 2000® Index capitalization range.The Fund uses a quantitative style of management, in combination with a qualitative overlay, that emphasizes fundamentally-based stock selection, careful portfolio construction and efficient implementation. The Fund’s investments are selected using fundamental research and a variety of quantitative techniques based on certain investment themes, including, among others, Fundamental Mispricings, High Quality Business Models, Sentiment Analysis and Market Themes & Trends. Fundamental Mispricings seeks to identify high-quality businesses trading at a fair price, which the Investment Adviser believes leads to strong performance over the long-run. High Quality Business Models seeks to identify companies that are generating high-quality revenues with sustainable business models and aligned management incentives. Sentiment Analysis seeks to identify stocks experiencing improvements in their overall market sentiment. Market Themes and Trends seeks to identify companies positively positioned to benefit from themes and trends in the market and macroeconomic environment. As a part of the Investment Adviser’s investment selection process, the Investment Adviser utilizes proprietary models that assess a wide range of indicators, which may include certain environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) indicators. No one indicator, risk or consideration is determinative in the investment selection process. The Fund may make investment decisions that deviate from those generated by the Investment Adviser’s proprietary models, at the discretion of the Investment Adviser. In addition, the Investment Adviser may, in its discretion, make changes to its quantitative techniques, or use other quantitative techniques that are based on the Investment Adviser’s proprietary research.The Fund maintains risk, style, and capitalization characteristics similar to the Russell 2000® Index, which is an index designed to represent an investable universe of small-cap companies. The Fund seeks to maximize expected return while maintaining these and other characteristics similar to the benchmark.The Fund may also invest in fixed income securities that are considered to be cash equivalents.The Fund’s benchmark index is the Russell 2000® Index.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Principal Risks of the Fund</span>
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund's principal risks are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.Investment Style Risk.  Different investment styles (e.g., “growth”, “value” or “quantitative”) tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles.Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio.Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results. The Investment Adviser attempts to execute a complex strategy for the Fund using proprietary quantitative models. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than expected as a result of the factors used in the models, the weight placed on each factor, changes from the factors’ historical trends, and technical issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, for example, data problems and/or software issues). There is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser’s use of these quantitative models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. Additionally, commonality of holdings across quantitative money managers may amplify losses.Market Risk. The value of the securities in which the Fund  invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Risk.  Investments in mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies. These securities may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity, and these issuers often face greater business risks.Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk.  A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.Stock Risk.  Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S.and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future.Tax Diversification Risk. The Fund intends to meet the diversification requirements that are applicable to insurance company separate accounts under Subchapter L of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) (the “Diversification Requirements”). In order for the Fund to qualify for “look through” treatment under the Diversification Requirements, Fund shares must be sold only to persons permitted to hold shares, directly or indirectly (each, a “Permitted Investor”), under Section 817 of the Code and Treasury Regulation 1.817-5(f), as supplemented by published rulings and procedures issued thereunder by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). To the extent an investor in Fund shares no longer qualifies as a Permitted Investor, and such investor fails to restore its status as a Permitted Investor or obtain a waiver or closing agreement with respect to such failure from the IRS, the Fund may no longer qualify for “look through” treatment. Therefore, in testing compliance with the Diversification Requirements, an investor in the Fund, such as, for example, an insurance company separate account, no longer would be able to look through the Fund to its underlying investments. Instead, the Fund would be considered a single investment for purposes of the Diversification Requirements.A failure to satisfy the Diversification Requirements (whether resulting from investors in Fund shares or otherwise) could have significant adverse tax consequences for variable annuity contract owners whose contract values are determined by investment in the Fund. See “Taxation” in the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for more information.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;">Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund.</span>
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;"> An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency.</span>
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;text-transform:uppercase;">Performance</span>
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Institutional Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Performance reflects applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the periods shown. In addition, performance reflects Fund level expenses but does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option for any contract or policy. Had performance reflected all of those fees and expenses, performance would have been reduced. Updated performance information is available at no cost at www.gsamfunds.com/vit or by calling the phone number on the back cover of the Prospectus.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:9pt;">The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Institutional Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index.</span>
Performance Availability Website Address [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:9pt;text-decoration:underline;">www.gsamfunds.com/vit</span>
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:9pt;"> The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.</span>
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:24%;">CALENDAR YEAR</span>
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	During the periods shown in the chart above:ReturnsQuarter endedBest Quarter Return25.60%December 31, 2020Worst Quarter Return-32.81%March 31, 2020
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	<span style="color:#FFFFFF;font-family:Arial;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:6pt;text-transform:uppercase;">AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN</span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0.0pt;">For the period ended December 31, 2021</span>
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund | Institutional Shares
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.23%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.93%
Expense Limitation	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.12%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Limitation	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.81%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 83
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	284
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	503
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	$ 1,132
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	12.79%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	35.62%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	6.93%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(2.13%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	23.13%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	11.57%
2018	rr_AnnualReturn2018	(8.62%)
2019	rr_AnnualReturn2019	24.84%
2020	rr_AnnualReturn2020	8.56%
2021	rr_AnnualReturn2021	23.79%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Best Quarter Return</span>
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2020
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	25.60%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:7.5pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Worst Quarter Return</span>
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2020
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(32.81%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	23.79%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	11.33%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	12.92%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Feb. 13, 1998
Institutional | Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund | Russell 2000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses)
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	14.82%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.01%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	13.22%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

[1] The Investment Adviser has agreed to reduce or limit “Other Expenses” (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, transfer agency fees and expenses, taxes, interest, brokerage fees, expenses of shareholder meetings, litigation and indemnification, and extraordinary expenses) to 0.094% of the Fund’s average daily net assets through at least April 29, 2023, and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees.