reference · rust fluency

cargo cheatsheet

daily commands

command	what it does
`cargo new name`	scaffold a new binary project
`cargo run`	compile and run (debug build)
`cargo check`	fast compile analysis, no binary. use while iterating
`cargo build`	compile to target/debug/
`cargo build --release`	optimized compile to target/release/
`cargo test`	run all tests
`cargo add dep_name`	add a dependency to Cargo.toml
`cargo fmt`	format code (rustfmt)
`cargo clippy`	linter. catches idiomatic mistakes
`cargo doc --open`	build and open docs for your crate and deps

project layout

myproject/
├── Cargo.toml        # manifest: metadata + dependencies
├── Cargo.lock        # pinned dep versions. commit it for binaries
└── src/
    ├── main.rs       # binary entry point (fn main)
    └── lib.rs        # library entry point, if the crate is a library

a crate can be a binary, a library, or both. one package may contain multiple crates.

Cargo.toml essentials

[package]
name = "myproject"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"

[dependencies]
serde = "1.0"          # semver-compatible: >=1.0.0, <2.0.0

edition is the language edition, not your version. 2021 and 2024 are the ones you will see in the wild.

mental model

cargo = pip + venv + setuptools + make, in one tool
crates.io = pypi/npm registry
cargo check for feedback, cargo build --release for shipping

source: the cargo book and the rust book ch 1.3.