Rust hands-on tutorial: from zero to your first runnable project
Step-by-step walkthrough of Rust with copy-paste commands, directory layout, and a first runnable artifact.
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Quick answer
Which target do I compile Rust WASM for?
wasm32-unknown-unknown is required — forgetting rustup target add fails immediately. wasm-bindgen version must match the Worker runtime.
Machine-readable page data: /data/rust-tutorial.json
In-depth analysis
Rust's ownership model eliminates data races and null-pointer bugs at compile time, making it the benchmark for system-level performance and memory safety. Compiled to WASM it runs near-native compute on Cloudflare Workers. Going from zero to a first runnable project is about locking in the smallest end-to-end loop before you scale.
// wrangler.toml — Cloudflare Workers running Rust-compiled WASM
name = "edge-rust"
main = "target/worker/worker.js"
compatibility_date = "2025-01-01"
# Build: wasm-pack build --target webRust Hands-on Tutorial · Key takeaways
- Project initialized with the official scaffold
- Dependencies pinned to a single pnpm lockfile
- Local dev server starts and first paint is reachable
- First runnable commit pushed
FAQ & pitfalls
How do I debug a blank screen from Rust WASM in a Worker?
Most cases trace to a wasm-bindgen version mismatch with the runtime. Pin wasm-pack and the bindings version and run a smoke test before each build.
Explore the hub
See all 5 guides in Rust & WASMSame category as this article, sorted across the codebase.
Rust architecture: layered patterns for high-concurrency edge apps
The edge-delivery view of Rust's layering and data flow.
Rust best practices: engineering conventions for production
Field-tested Rust practices from production, avoiding the common anti-patterns.
Rust deployment guide: zero-ops edge publishing with Cloudflare Pages
Git-driven Rust deployment in practice: commit to build, atomic publish to every edge node.
Rust performance tuning: push first paint and edge response to the limit
Around Rust's real bottlenecks, an actionable LCP / INP / CLS checklist.
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What readers are asking
Questions that keep coming back in reader feedback, already answered.
- 01
A Rust-compiled WASM build is a blank screen in a Worker — what do I check first?
It is usually a wasm-bindgen version mismatch with the runtime. Pin the wasm-pack and bindings versions, and run a smoke test before building.
See the full guide → - 02
Why is my Astro component's interactivity not working?
Components ship as zero-JS HTML by default, so an interactive one needs a client:* directive (client:load, client:visible, …). Without it the script is never bundled into the page.
See the full guide → - 03
Why is my custom Tailwind v4 brand colour not applied?
Colours must be declared in @theme (for example --color-brand). A missing @tailwindcss/vite plugin, or a leftover v3 config, makes bg-brand silently render nothing.
See the full guide →