Alternative Editors

While VS Code is popular, many excellent editors support Rust development. Here’s how to set up alternatives.

IntelliJ IDEA / CLion

JetBrains IDEs offer excellent Rust support through the official Rust plugin.

IntelliJ IDEA (Community or Ultimate)

1. Install IntelliJ IDEA
2. Go to Settings → Plugins
3. Search “Rust” and install the official plugin
4. Restart the IDE

CLion

CLion has built-in Rust support:

1. Install CLion
2. The Rust plugin is included
3. Create a new Rust project or import existing

Features

• Full IDE experience
• Integrated debugger
• Refactoring tools
• Database tools (Ultimate/CLion)
• Built-in terminal

IntelliJ Community is free. CLion and IntelliJ Ultimate require a license but offer more features.

Neovim

Modern Vim with excellent LSP support for Rust.

Installation

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install neovim

# macOS
brew install neovim

# Arch
sudo pacman -S neovim

LSP Configuration with nvim-lspconfig

Add to your Neovim config (e.g., ~/.config/nvim/init.lua):

-- Install rust-analyzer
-- rustup component add rust-analyzer

-- Using lazy.nvim package manager
require("lazy").setup({
    "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
    "hrsh7th/nvim-cmp",
    "hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp",
    "simrat39/rust-tools.nvim",
})

-- Configure rust-analyzer
local rt = require("rust-tools")
rt.setup({
    server = {
        on_attach = function(_, bufnr)
            -- Keybindings
            vim.keymap.set("n", "K", rt.hover_actions.hover_actions, { buffer = bufnr })
            vim.keymap.set("n", "<Leader>a", rt.code_action_group.code_action_group, { buffer = bufnr })
        end,
    },
})

Alternative: coc.nvim

" Install coc.nvim, then:
:CocInstall coc-rust-analyzer

Key Plugins for Neovim + Rust

Plugin	Purpose
nvim-lspconfig	LSP client
rust-tools.nvim	Enhanced Rust support
nvim-cmp	Completion
nvim-dap	Debugging
trouble.nvim	Diagnostics list

Vim

Classic Vim can work with rust-analyzer through various plugins.

Using vim-lsp

Plug 'prabirshrestha/vim-lsp'
Plug 'mattn/vim-lsp-settings'

" After :PlugInstall, open a .rs file and run:
" :LspInstallServer rust-analyzer

Using ALE

Plug 'dense-analysis/ale'

let g:ale_linters = {'rust': ['analyzer']}
let g:ale_fixers = {'rust': ['rustfmt']}
let g:ale_fix_on_save = 1

Emacs

Emacs has strong Rust support through rustic-mode.

Using rustic-mode

;; Using use-package
(use-package rustic
  :ensure t
  :config
  (setq rustic-format-on-save t))

;; LSP mode for rust-analyzer
(use-package lsp-mode
  :ensure t
  :commands lsp
  :hook (rustic-mode . lsp))

Key Packages

Package	Purpose
rustic	Rust major mode
lsp-mode	LSP client
company	Completion
flycheck	On-the-fly checking
dap-mode	Debugging

Zed

A modern, high-performance editor with built-in Rust support.

Installation

Download from zed.dev

Features

• Written in Rust
• Native rust-analyzer integration
• No configuration needed
• Extremely fast
• Built-in collaboration

Rust support works out of the box—just open a .rs file.

Helix

A post-modern modal text editor with built-in LSP support.

Installation

# macOS
brew install helix

# Arch
sudo pacman -S helix

# From source
git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
cd helix
cargo install --path helix-term

Configuration

Helix works with rust-analyzer automatically. Add to ~/.config/helix/languages.toml:

[[language]]
name = "rust"
auto-format = true

[language-server.rust-analyzer.config]
check.command = "clippy"

Key Features

• Modal editing (Vim-like)
• Built-in LSP
• Tree-sitter for syntax
• Multiple selections
• No plugins needed for basic Rust

Sublime Text

Installation

1. Install Package Control
2. Install “LSP” package
3. Install “LSP-rust-analyzer” package
4. Install “Rust Enhanced” for syntax

Configuration

Preferences → Package Settings → LSP → Settings:

{
    "clients": {
        "rust-analyzer": {
            "enabled": true
        }
    }
}

Editor Comparison

Editor	Type	Cost	Setup	Features
VS Code	GUI	Free	Easy	★★★★★
IntelliJ	GUI	Free/Paid	Easy	★★★★★
CLion	GUI	Paid	Easy	★★★★★
Neovim	Terminal	Free	Medium	★★★★☆
Emacs	Both	Free	Hard	★★★★☆
Zed	GUI	Free	Easy	★★★★☆
Helix	Terminal	Free	Easy	★★★★☆
Sublime	GUI	Paid	Easy	★★★☆☆

Choosing an Editor

• New to programming: VS Code or Zed
• JetBrains user: IntelliJ/CLion
• Vim user: Neovim or Helix
• Emacs user: Emacs with rustic
• Want minimal setup: Zed or Helix
• Terminal-only: Helix or Neovim

Next Steps

Now that your editor is set up, continue to Docker Setup or skip to Hello World.