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``

Setup

Install Rust, set up an editor, and run your first program. Step by step.

Step 1: Install rustup

rustup is the Rust installer and version manager. It installs the compiler (rustc), the build tool (cargo), and the standard library.

Open a terminal and run:

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

Follow the prompts. Choose the default option (press 1 or Enter).

After installation, restart your terminal. Verify:

rustc --version
cargo --version

You should see version numbers for both. If not, restart your terminal or run source $HOME/.cargo/env.

Step 2: Install an Editor

VS Code with the rust-analyzer extension is the recommended setup.

  1. Install VS Code
  2. Open VS Code
  3. Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X on Mac)
  4. Search for "rust-analyzer" and install it

rust-analyzer provides:

  • Autocompletion
  • Inline error messages
  • Go to definition
  • Rename refactoring

Alternative editors: JetBrains RustRover (dedicated Rust IDE), Neovim with rust-analyzer LSP, Helix (built-in LSP support).

Step 3: Create Your First Project

Cargo creates and builds Rust projects. Create a new project:

cargo new hello
cd hello

Cargo creates this structure:

hello/
  Cargo.toml      # Project metadata and dependencies
  src/
    main.rs       # Your code goes here

Open src/main.rs. Cargo generated a starter program:

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

Step by step:

  • fn main() — every Rust program starts here. main is the entry point.
  • println! — prints text to the terminal. The ! means it is a macro (not a function). You will learn the difference later.
  • "Hello, world!" — the string to print.

Step 4: Run It

cargo run

Output:

   Compiling hello v0.1.0 (/path/to/hello)
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s)
     Running `target/debug/hello`
Hello, world!

Step by step:

  1. cargo run compiles your code (if changed) and runs the binary
  2. First run compiles. Subsequent runs are faster if code has not changed.
  3. The output "Hello, world!" is from your println! call.

Step 5: Build a Release Binary

cargo build --release

This creates an optimized binary at target/release/hello. Release builds are slower to compile but significantly faster to run. Use cargo run during development and cargo build --release for production.

Common Cargo Commands

Command What it does
cargo new <name> Create a new project
cargo run Compile and run (dev mode)
cargo build Compile without running
cargo build --release Compile with optimizations
cargo check Check for errors without building (faster)
cargo test Run tests
cargo fmt Format your code
cargo clippy Run the linter

Use cargo check during development. It is faster than cargo build because it skips code generation.

Troubleshooting

  • "command not found: cargo" — restart your terminal or run source $HOME/.cargo/env
  • "linker 'cc' not found" — install a C compiler. On Linux: sudo apt install build-essential. On Mac: xcode-select --install.
  • Compilation errors — copy the error message. Rust errors are detailed and often tell you exactly what to fix.

Next

Now that your environment works, the next file teaches variables and mutability — the first Rust concept that surprises people coming from other languages.