Installing Rust

The recommended way to install Rust is through rustup, the official Rust toolchain manager.

Linux and macOS

Open a terminal and run:

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

Follow the on-screen instructions. The default installation is recommended for most users.

After installation, restart your terminal or run:

source $HOME/.cargo/env

Verify Installation

rustc --version
cargo --version

You should see output like:

rustc 1.75.0 (82e1608df 2023-12-21)
cargo 1.75.0 (1d8b05cdd 2023-11-20)

Windows

Option 1: Using rustup-init.exe (Recommended)

Download rustup-init.exe
Run the installer
Follow the on-screen instructions

You’ll need the Visual Studio C++ Build Tools. The installer will guide you through this.

Option 2: Visual Studio Build Tools

If you don’t have Visual Studio:

Download Visual Studio Build Tools
Install “Desktop development with C++”
Then run rustup-init.exe

Verify on Windows

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell:

rustc --version
cargo --version

Understanding the Toolchain

After installation, you have:

Tool	Purpose
`rustc`	The Rust compiler
`cargo`	Package manager and build tool
`rustup`	Toolchain manager
`rustfmt`	Code formatter
`clippy`	Linter (install separately)

Toolchain Channels

Rust has three release channels:

graph LR
    Nightly[Nightly] -->|6 weeks| Beta[Beta]
    Beta -->|6 weeks| Stable[Stable]

Stable: Recommended for most use cases (default)
Beta: Next stable release, for testing
Nightly: Latest features, may break

Switching Channels

# Install nightly
rustup install nightly

# Use nightly for current project
rustup override set nightly

# Use nightly globally
rustup default nightly

# Return to stable
rustup default stable

Adding Components

Install additional tools:

# Code formatter
rustup component add rustfmt

# Linter
rustup component add clippy

# Language server (for IDEs)
rustup component add rust-analyzer

Cross-Compilation Targets

Add compilation targets for other platforms:

# List available targets
rustup target list

# Add WebAssembly target
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

# Add ARM target
rustup target add aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu

Updating Rust

Keep your toolchain current:

rustup update

Uninstalling Rust

If you ever need to uninstall:

rustup self uninstall

Troubleshooting

PATH Issues

If rustc isn’t found after installation:

Linux/macOS:

export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc for permanent fix

Windows: Restart your terminal or computer.

Permission Denied (Linux/macOS)

Don’t use sudo with rustup. If you have permission issues:

# Fix ownership
sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.cargo ~/.rustup

Linker Errors (Linux)

Install build essentials:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install build-essential

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gcc

# Arch
sudo pacman -S base-devel

Next Steps

With Rust installed, let’s set up your IDE for the best development experience.