Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the result of impaired systemic control of glucose homeostasis, in part through the dysregulation of the hormone glucagon. Glucagon acts on the liver to increase glucose production through alterations in hepatic metabolism, and reducing the elevated glucagon signalling in diabetic patients is an attractive strategy for the treatment of hyperglycaemia. Here we review the actions of the hormone in the liver, focusing on the acute alterations of metabolic pathways. This review summarises a presentation given at the ‘Novel data on glucagon’ symposium at the 2015 annual meeting of the EASD. It is accompanied by two other reviews on topics from this symposium (by Mona Abraham and Tony Lam, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3950-3 , and by Young Lee and colleagues, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3965-9 ) and an overview by the Session Chair, Isabel Valverde (DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3946-z ).