Our verdict: Rust gives you C++-level performance with a compiler that rules out whole classes of memory bugs, and rustup makes installing and updating it painless. Cargo handles builds, tests and dependencies from the start. The learning curve is steep, and on Windows you also need Microsoft's C++ build tools.
About Rust
Rust is an open-source systems programming language developed by the Rust Project and dual-licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0. Its ownership and borrowing rules let the compiler catch memory errors and data races at compile time without a garbage collector. It is used for command-line tools, web services, embedded code and parts of operating systems and browsers.
The official way to install Rust on Windows is rustup-init.exe. It installs rustup, which manages the rustc compiler, the Cargo build tool and package manager, standard library docs and extra components such as Clippy and rustfmt. A new stable Rust release ships every six weeks, and rustup update installs it. The default MSVC toolchain needs the Visual Studio C++ build tools.
What it does well
- Memory safety. The borrow checker prevents use-after-free and data races at compile time.
- Cargo. Builds, tests, documents and publishes code and fetches crates from crates.io.
- rustup. Installs and switches between stable, beta and nightly toolchains.
- Clippy and rustfmt. Official linter and formatter installed as components.
- Cross-compilation targets. Adds targets for other platforms, including WebAssembly.
Who it is for
Good fit
Developers who need fast, reliable native code: CLI tools, services, systems and WebAssembly.
Look elsewhere
Beginners looking for a gentle first language, and quick scripting tasks.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free and open source
- Memory safety without a garbage collector
- Cargo makes builds and dependencies easy
- rustup keeps toolchains up to date
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Long compile times on large projects
- Needs the Visual Studio C++ build tools on Windows
How to install Rust
Run rustup-init.exe and choose the default installation. If the Visual Studio C++ build tools are missing, rustup offers to install them; accept, as the MSVC toolchain needs Microsoft's linker. Restart the terminal and check with rustc --version and cargo --version. Update later with rustup update.
Questions about Rust
Is Rust free?
Yes. Rust is open source under the MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses and free for any use.
What does rustup-init.exe install?
It installs rustup, which then installs the Rust compiler, Cargo, the standard library and tools such as Clippy and rustfmt.
Why does Rust need Visual Studio on Windows?
The default MSVC toolchain uses Microsoft's linker and Windows libraries from the Visual Studio C++ build tools. Only the build tools are needed, not the full IDE.
