xmake-rust

Building Rust with Xmake

Xmake builds Rust projects via rustc (and optionally cargo for dependency resolution). It gives you the same declarative target() / add_files() model you use for C/C++, plus special support for Cargo package integration and C↔Rust FFI.

1. Minimal project

xmake create -l rust -t console hello
cd hello
xmake run

Generated xmake.lua:

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")

target("hello")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/main.rs")

That's it — same shape as C++, just .rs files.

2. Target kinds

target("app")       set_kind("binary")      -- executable
target("mylib")     set_kind("static")      -- .rlib / .a
target("mydyn")     set_kind("shared")      -- cdylib

3. Editions / flags

target("app")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/main.rs")
    set_values("rust.edition", "2021")       -- or "2018", "2015", "2024"
    add_rcflags("-C", "opt-level=3", {force = true})

add_rcflags is the Rust equivalent of add_cxflags. {force = true} bypasses the flag auto-filter.

4. Cargo dependencies — the quick way

For a handful of crates, use cargo::name version in add_requires:

add_requires("cargo::base64 0.13.0")
add_requires("cargo::serde 1.0", {configs = {features = {"derive"}}})

target("app")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/main.rs")
    add_packages("cargo::base64", "cargo::serde")

Downside: if two of your direct deps share a transitive dep at different versions, you hit "multiple versions of crate" errors. For non-trivial dep trees, use the full-Cargo.toml path below.

5. Cargo dependencies — the full Cargo.toml way

Write a normal Cargo.toml next to your xmake.lua, then let xmake read it:

add_requires("cargo::deps", {configs = {cargo_toml = path.join(os.projectdir(), "Cargo.toml")}})

target("app")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/main.rs")
    add_packages("cargo::deps")

Cargo resolves the full graph (including transitives) once, xmake consumes the result. Use this for any project with more than a couple of crates.