Language and framework-specific guidelines
Rust

Rust

Last modified: 24 March 2025

Required plugin: Rust – purchase license on Marketplace

The Rust plugin equips CLion with full-fledged Rust support. This guide overviews the basic procedures to get you started. You can find more information about the supported features in RustRover documentation.

note
Rust plugin maintains feature parity with RustRover, the JetBrains standalone IDE for Rust development. Using the plugin with CLion results in a slightly different setup – refer to Rust plugin vs. RustRover for a detailed comparison.

tip
If you do not need CLion-specific features and prefer dedicated Rust support, try out RustRover! It is free for non-commercial use and included in All Products Pack and Student Pack. In case you have purchased the Rust plugin, you get a paid RustRover licence for free.

Install Rust plugin

Make sure you have purchased Rust plugin.
Launch CLion. On the Welcome screen, click Plugins.
If you already have a project opened, go to Settings (CtrlAlt0S) | Plugins.
Select the Marketplace tab and search for the Rust plugin.
Click Install and wait for the download to complete.
Restart the IDE if prompted.

The plugin will be activated automatically. To double-check it is active, navigate to Help | Register and select Rust in the left-hand pane.

Activating Rust plugin from the Licences dialog

note
If Rust plugin has not been activated, make sure you have purchased the licence in your JetBrains Account and activate manually.

Install Rust toolchain

To develop in Rust, you need several basic tools: a compiler, a package manager, a formatter, and so on. A set of these tools is referred to as a toolchain. You will also need the Rust Standard Library.

If you have already opened a project and the Rust toolchain is missing, you will see a notification banner right above the editor:

No Rust toolchain configured notification

Click Set up toolchain.
Alternatively, open IDE settings (CtrlAlt0S) and select Languages & Frameworks | Rust.
If the Rust toolchain is not detected, Toolchain version will display N/A. Click the Install Rustup button – CLion will attempt to install both the toolchain and the standard library using Rustup.
Once the installation is complete, CLion will automatically detect its location, populating the Toolchain version and Standard library paths.
Click OK to apply the settings.

Open or create a Rust project

You have three options to start working on a Rust project.

note
Before proceeding, make sure you have installed Rust plugin.

Create a new Cargo project

Launch CLion.
Do one of the following:
- Click New Project on the Welcome screen.
- Select File | New | Project from the main menu.
- Click the Project widget in the main window header and selectProject widget in the main window header and select New Project.
In the left-hand pane, make sure Rust is selected.
Specify the project location and name.
Specify the location of the Rust toolchain and standard library.
If the toolchain and standard library are installed, CLion will detect them automatically. Otherwise, you will be suggested to download Rustup.
Select the desired project template and click Create.

Open a local Cargo project

In the main menu, go to File | Open. In the file chooser, select the directory containing the root Cargo.toml file (or Cargo.toml itself) and click Open:
In the dialog that opens, select Open as project.
When opening the project for the first time, CLion will prompt you to confirm that you consider it safe.
Click Trust Project if you are certain the project poses no threats and you would like to enable all IDE features. If you have any doubts, select Preview in Safe Mode. For more information, refer to Project security.

Clone a repository from VCS

In the main menu, go to File | New | Project from Version Control or click Get from VCS on the Welcome screen.
Specify the repository URL and the destination directory. Click Clone:

Explore the workspace and features

The plugin's feature set is designed to simplify the Rust development process. Let's take a closer look at what it has to offer.

Syntax highlighting and code reference

To help you quickly read and understand Rust code, the plugin provides highlighting, Inlay Hints, macro expansion, quick access to documentation, and more.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2025.1/ri_inlay_hints.png

Here are some shortcuts you may find useful:

Action	Shortcut
Expand macro	`AltEnter`
Go to declaration	`CtrlClick`
Get type info	`CtrlShift0P`
Quick documentation	`Ctrl0Q`
Quick definition	`CtrlShift0I`

For more information, refer to RustRover documentation.

Code analysis and error reporting

To help you fight errors and inconsistencies in code, the plugin offers built-in inspections and integrates with external linters.

For a summary of all detected problems, use the Inspections widget in the upper-right corner of the editor. To see the details, click the widget and refer to the Problems tool window (or select View | Tool Windows | Problems):

Code analysis results: Problems tool window and Inspections widget

For more information, refer to Code inspections and External linters in RustRover documentation.

Formatting

You can easily format your code using either the IDE's built-in formatter or Rustfmt (enabled by default).

Enable (or disable) Rustfmt instead of the built-in formatter

Open settings by pressing CtrlAlt0S and navigate to Languages & Frameworks | Rust | Rustfmt.
To enable Rustfmt, set the Use Rustfmt instead of built-in formatter checkbox. To disable Rustfmt, clear the checkbox.
note
Note that, when Rustfmt is enabled, CLion will only use it for formatting whole files and Cargo projects. For code fragments, groups of files, and directories, CLion will automatically switch to the built-in formatter.
Click OK to apply the changes.

Reformat a file

Open the file you want to reformat in the editor.
Press CtrlAltShift0L or select Code | Reformat File.
In the Reformat File dialog, select additional options if necessary and click Run.

For more information, refer to Code formatting and Rustfmt.

The Cargo tool window

The Cargo tool window is designed to help you with Cargo tasks. By default, it is pinned to the tool windows bar. You can show or hide it by clicking the window indicator on the sidebar (alternatively, select View | Tool Windows | Cargo from the main menu).

For more information, refer to RustRover documentation.

Sharing code in Playground

You can share your code in Rust Playground without leaving the editor.

Share in Playground

Select the code fragment you'd like to share (otherwise, the IDE will copy the whole file).
Right-click and choose Rust | Share in Playground.

CLion will create a GitHub Gist and display a notification popup with a link to the playground.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2025.1/ri_sharing_in_playground.png

For more features, refer to RustRover documentation.

Build and run

Use the Build action to compile your code and Run to execute it. There are several ways to perform these actions:

Build/run Rust code

To build or run a particular target, open the Cargo tool window (View | Tool Windows | Cargo) and double-click the target.
To run from a particular entry point, locate it in the editor, click in the gutter, and select Run:
To run a particular file or module, open the Project view, right-click the necessary file or module, and select Run:
If you want to build or run code using a predefined configuration (with custom parameters and settings), select it in the switcher on the main toolbar and:
- click to build (CtrlF9)
- click to run (ShiftF10)
You can always build/run using a Cargo command.

For more information, refer to RustRover documentation.

Debug

Rust plugin provides a full-fledged debugger – with breakpoints, variable monitoring, stepping, memory and disassembly views, and other handy features.

note
If you are using Windows or Linux, both LLDB and GDB debuggers are available. For macOS, only LLDB is available.

tip
For a brief overview of Rust debugging in CLion, refer to our dedicated blog post.

Start a debug session

To start debugging from a particular entry point, locate it in the editor, click in the gutter, and select Debug:
To debug code using a predefined configuration (with custom parameters and settings), select it in the configuration switcher on the main toolbar and click :
You can always start a debug session by running a Cargo command.

For more information, refer to Start/pause/stop debug session.

Learn how to perform basic debugging actions from these guides:

Setting breakpoints
Using watches
Stepping through
Viewing memory and disassembly code representation

For more information, refer to RustRover documentation.

Test

You will likely support your code with tests, doctests, and/or benchmarks. Here are a few quick ways to run them:

Run test(s), doctest(s), or benchmark(s)

To run a single test or doctest, open it in the editor, click in the gutter, and select Run:
To run a test/benchmark target, open the Cargo tool window (View | Tool Windows | Cargo) and double-click the target:
Gif
You can always run tests using a Cargo command.

The Run tool window will open, automatically displaying the results:

For more information, refer to RustRover documentation.

Dynamic analysis

The plugin provides code coverage analysis for Rust code.

Run with Code Coverage

To get code coverage statistics, do one of the following:

Locate the desired entry point, click in the gutter, and select Run with Coverage:
Locate the necessary file in Project view, right-click, and select Run with Coverage:
If you want to run a predefined configuration (with custom parameters and settings), select it in the switcher on the main toolbar, then press and select Run with Coverage:

The Coverage tool window (View | Tool Windows | Coverage) will open, automatically displaying the results:

For more information, refer to Code coverage.

tip
CLion also allows you to profile your code and run it with Valgrind.

To learn more about Rust support, refer to RustRover documentation or contact our support team.

Rust plugin vs. RustRover

Differences in the feature set

	RustRover	CLion+Rust plugin	IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate+Rust plugin
Debugger	For Linux, both LLDB and GDB are available. For macOS, only LLDB is available. For Windows, LLDB is supported for MSVC, GDB is supported for GNU. Learn more	For Windows and Linux, both LLDB and GDB are available. For macOS, only LLDB is available. Allows to debug on-chip	For Windows and Linux, both LLDB and GDB are available (Native Debugging Support free plugin required). For macOS, only LLDB is available.
Profiler	Available on macOS, Linux, and WSL	Available on macOS, Linux, and WSL
Valgrind Memcheck		Available on Linux, WSL, and macOS (10.12 or later)
Database support

Language support

	RustRover	CLion+Rust plugin	IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate+Rust plugin
Rust
Java, Groovy, Kotlin
C/C++, Objective С/С++
Python	Via free plugin
JavaScript, TypeScript
HTML, CSS
Sass, SCSS, Less
XML, JSON, YAML, XSLT, XPath
Markdown

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Rust﻿

note

tip

Install Rust plugin﻿

note

Install Rust toolchain﻿

Open or create a Rust project﻿

note

Create a new Cargo project﻿

Open a local Cargo project﻿

Clone a repository from VCS﻿

Explore the workspace and features﻿

Syntax highlighting and code reference﻿

Code analysis and error reporting﻿

Formatting﻿

The Cargo tool window﻿

Sharing code in Playground﻿

Build and run﻿

Build/run Rust code﻿

Debug﻿

note

tip

Start a debug session﻿

Test﻿

Run test(s), doctest(s), or benchmark(s)﻿

Dynamic analysis﻿

Run with Code Coverage﻿

tip

Rust plugin vs. RustRover﻿

Differences in the feature set﻿

Language support﻿

Rust

Install Rust plugin

Install Rust toolchain

Open or create a Rust project

Create a new Cargo project

Open a local Cargo project

Clone a repository from VCS

Explore the workspace and features

Syntax highlighting and code reference

Code analysis and error reporting

Formatting

The Cargo tool window

Sharing code in Playground

Build and run

Build/run Rust code

Debug

Start a debug session

Test

Run test(s), doctest(s), or benchmark(s)

Dynamic analysis

Run with Code Coverage

Rust plugin vs. RustRover

Differences in the feature set

Language support