Overview of developing on Windows with Rust

Rust is a systems programming language designed for performance, reliability, and memory safety — without a garbage collector. It is widely used for operating systems, command-line tools, web servers, and anywhere low-level control matters.

Rust has topped Stack Overflow's annual developer survey as the most-admired language for many years running, and Microsoft is a founding member of the Rust Foundation.

Key concepts

• Cargo — Rust's package manager and build tool. You will use it for almost everything: creating projects, adding dependencies, building, and testing.
• crate — the basic unit of compilation in Rust. A crate can be a binary (executable) or a library.
• rustup — the official installer and version manager for the Rust toolchain. It keeps your compiler and tools up to date.
• crates.io — the community package registry at crates.io.

Next steps

Note

Before you install the toolchain, review the Smart App Control compatibility note in Set up your Rust development environment on Windows. On a device where Smart App Control is running in enforcement mode, the unsigned Rust toolchain can be blocked from running.

• Set up your Rust development environment on Windows
• Rust for Windows, and the windows crate
• Rust in Visual Studio Code