Originally published on php2rust.dev — part of the PHP to Rust course. View this lesson on the original site.
Cargo provides built-in commands for common development tasks:
1. Creating a new project
cargo new my_project
This creates a project folder with Cargo.toml (dependencies and metadata) and a src directory for your code.
2. Building and running
cargo build # Compiles the project (debug mode)
cargo run # Compiles and runs the project
For faster, optimized builds (e.g. for production):
cargo build --release
3. Managing dependencies
cargo add serde
This updates Cargo.toml and downloads the crate. External libraries in Rust are called crates.
4. Running tests
cargo test
Runs all test functions in the project.
5. Checking code
cargo check
Faster than cargo build, validates code without producing an executable. Useful for quick feedback while coding.
What's next
Next: Stable versus Nightly Rust.
From PHP to Rust — Getting Started with Rust