Setup

Get Rust installed, create a project, and configure your editor in under 10 minutes.

Install Rustup

Rustup manages Rust versions, toolchains, and components.

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

On Windows, download and run rustup-init.exe instead.

After installation, restart your shell or run:

source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

Verify it works:

rustc --version   # e.g. rustc 1.87.0
cargo --version   # e.g. cargo 1.87.0
rustup --version  # e.g. rustup 1.28.0

Update Rust

rustup update          # update to latest stable
rustup update nightly  # install/update nightly (optional)

Create a Project

cargo new my-project        # binary project (default)
cargo new my-lib --lib      # library project
cd my-project

Project Structure

my-project/
  Cargo.toml     # manifest: dependencies, metadata, build config
  src/
    main.rs      # entry point (binary) or lib.rs (library)

Cargo.toml

[package]
name = "my-project"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"       # Rust edition (language version)

[dependencies]
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }

src/main.rs

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}

Build and Run

cargo run                # compile and run (debug mode)
cargo run --release      # compile with optimizations and run
cargo build              # compile only
cargo build --release    # optimized build (output in target/release/)
cargo check              # type-check without building (fastest feedback)

Tip: Use cargo check during development for the fastest feedback loop. It skips code generation, so it’s much faster than cargo build.

Add Dependencies

cargo add serde --features derive    # add with features
cargo add tokio -F full              # -F is shorthand for --features
cargo add clap -F derive
cargo remove serde                   # remove a dependency

Or edit Cargo.toml directly:

[dependencies]
reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["json"] }

Then cargo build downloads and compiles everything automatically.

Gotcha: cargo add requires cargo-edit on older Rust versions, but it’s built into Cargo since Rust 1.62.

Testing

cargo test               # run all tests
cargo test test_name     # run tests matching a name
cargo test -- --nocapture  # show println! output

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;

    #[test]
    fn it_works() {
        assert_eq!(2 + 2, 4);
    }

    #[test]
    fn test_greeting() {
        let result = greet("Alice");
        assert!(result.contains("Alice"));
    }
}

IDE Setup with rust-analyzer

rust-analyzer provides autocomplete, inline type hints, go-to-definition, and error highlighting.

VS Code

Install the “rust-analyzer” extension (id: rust-lang.rust-analyzer). It replaces the old “Rust” extension.

Recommended VS Code settings:

{
    "rust-analyzer.check.command": "clippy",
    "rust-analyzer.inlayHints.chainingHints.enable": true,
    "rust-analyzer.inlayHints.typeHints.enable": true
}

Other Editors

Useful Cargo Commands

cargo fmt              # format code (install: rustup component add rustfmt)
cargo clippy           # lint for common mistakes (install: rustup component add clippy)
cargo doc --open       # generate and open documentation
cargo bench            # run benchmarks
cargo tree             # show dependency tree

Tip: Set up cargo clippy in your CI. It catches subtle bugs and suggests idiomatic improvements that the compiler doesn’t flag.

Cargo Watch (auto-rebuild)

cargo install cargo-watch
cargo watch -x check           # re-check on file save
cargo watch -x 'test -- --nocapture'  # re-test on file save

Next: CLI Tool | Ownership