Rust Project Init

Rust Project Initializer

Set up a new Rust project with the right structure from the start. Avoids the "generate code, then fix 50 import errors" cycle.

When Invoked

The user wants to create a new Rust project, add a crate to a workspace, or set up a project structure.

Process

Step 1: Clarify Project Type

Ask if not obvious:

• Binary (src/main.rs) — an executable
• Library (src/lib.rs) — reusable code for other crates
• Both (src/main.rs + src/lib.rs) — binary that uses its own library
• Workspace — multiple crates in one repository

Step 2: Initialize

# Binary
cargo init my-project

# Library
cargo init --lib my-project

# Workspace: create Cargo.toml at root

Workspace Cargo.toml:

[workspace]
resolver = "2"
members = [
    "crates/*",
]

[workspace.dependencies]
# Shared dependency versions here
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
anyhow = "1"
thiserror = "2"

Step 3: Project Structure

my-project/
├── Cargo.toml
├── src/
│   ├── lib.rs          # Library root (pub mod declarations)
│   ├── main.rs          # Binary entry (if applicable)
│   ├── error.rs         # Error types
│   └── {module}/
│       ├── mod.rs       # Module root
│       └── ...
├── tests/               # Integration tests
│   └── integration.rs
├── benches/             # Benchmarks
├── examples/            # Example programs
└── .cargo/
    └── config.toml      # Cargo configuration

Step 4: Essential Cargo.toml Configuration

[package]
name = "my-project"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"          # Use latest stable edition
rust-version = "1.85"     # Minimum supported Rust version

[dependencies]
# Add based on project needs

[dev-dependencies]
# Testing dependencies

[lints.rust]
unsafe_code = "forbid"    # Unless unsafe is intentionally needed

[lints.clippy]
all = { level = "warn", priority = -1 }
pedantic = { level = "warn", priority = -1 }

Step 5: Common Dependency Sets

CLI application:

clap = { version = "4", features = ["derive"] }
anyhow = "1"
tracing = "0.1"
tracing-subscriber = "0.3"

Web API (Axum):

axum = "0.8"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1"
tower = "0.5"
tower-http = { version = "0.6", features = ["cors", "trace"] }
tracing = "0.1"
tracing-subscriber = "0.3"

Library crate:

thiserror = "2"
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"], optional = true }

[features]
default = []
serde = ["dep:serde"]

Step 6: CI / Tooling Setup

Recommend these in Cargo.toml or as config:

• cargo fmt — formatting (add rustfmt.toml if custom rules needed)
• cargo clippy — linting
• cargo test — testing
• cargo doc --no-deps — documentation

Minimal rustfmt.toml:

edition = "2024"

Minimal .cargo/config.toml:

[alias]
xtask = "run --package xtask --"

After Initialization

1. Run cargo check to verify everything compiles
2. Run cargo clippy to catch any issues
3. Verify module structure: every mod declaration has a matching file
4. Verify dependency versions are current (check crates.io)

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