Installation

Rust Toolchain Overview

Before installing, it’s important to understand three key tools:

rustc

• The Rust compiler
• Converts Rust code into executable programs

cargo

• Rust’s package manager and build system
• Handles:
  • Creating projects
  • Managing dependencies
  • Building and running code
  • Testing

rustup

• The installer and version manager
• Installs and updates:
  • rustc
  • cargo
  • Standard libraries
• Allows switching between Rust versions

You only need to install rustup. It automatically installs rustc and cargo.

Installing Rust Using rustup

Windows

1. Go to: https://www.rust-lang.org
2. Click Install
3. Download and run rustup-init.exe
4. When prompted:

1) Proceed with installation (default)

Press Enter

Windows users may need Microsoft C++ Build Tools. rustup will tell you if they are missing.

Verify Installation

After installation, restart your terminal and check:

rustc --version
cargo --version
rustup --version

Example output:

rustc 1.75.0 (82e1608df 2024-01-02)
cargo 1.75.0 (1d8b05cdd 2024-01-01)
rustup 1.26.0

This confirms Rust is installed correctly.

How rustup Works (Important Concept)

Check installed toolchains

rustup toolchain list

Update Rust

rustup update

Set default toolchain

rustup default stable

Rust has:

• stable → recommended for beginners
• beta
• nightly