Rust Buddy
Rust productivity toolkit for VS Code — manage crates, scaffold files and modules, and more.
Rust Buddy cuts down on the manual boilerplate of managing a Rust project inside VS Code: creating crates, setting up workspaces, adding crates to an existing workspace, and scaffolding module files — all without leaving the editor or hand-writing Cargo.toml entries yourself.
What it does
- Scaffolds new Rust projects and workspaces directly from VS Code, using
cargo new under the hood
- Adds new crates to an existing Cargo workspace and registers them in the root
Cargo.toml
- Creates Rust module files and folders in file-style, modern directory-style, or
mod.rs-style layouts
- Adds the corresponding
mod declaration when a matching parent Rust source file is available
- Surfaces actions in the Explorer context menu according to detected Cargo workspace and crate locations
- Detects workspace and crate locations automatically; no manual configuration needed
Features
Project & workspace creation
- Create Project — scaffolds a new standalone Rust crate (binary or library) via
cargo new
- Create Workspace — sets up a new Cargo workspace root (
[workspace] in Cargo.toml, ready for members)
- Add Crate to Workspace — creates a new crate inside an existing workspace and registers it as a member
These actions are available from the Command Palette. Explorer context-menu actions target the folder you clicked. The Command Palette also lets you choose a workspace when adding a crate.
Module scaffolding
- New file module — creates a
name.rs file and adds mod name; to the right parent file
- New directory module — creates a
name/ folder with the modern (no mod.rs) layout
- New directory module with mod.rs — creates a
name/mod.rs-style module (legacy layout)
When Rust Buddy finds the parent Rust source file, it inserts the mod declaration alongside existing module declarations. If no matching parent source file is available, it creates the module file or folder without adding a declaration.
Right-click options adapt to the folder’s detected Cargo location:
- A folder not detected as a crate or workspace root → offers Create Project / Create Workspace (the folder does not have to be empty)
- A Cargo workspace root → offers Add Crate to Workspace
- A folder inside a detected Rust crate → offers the module-creation commands
The extension scans Cargo manifests in the opened workspace and uses them to detect crate and workspace locations. Module-creation actions are available from the Explorer context menu.
Requirements
- Rust and Cargo installed and available on your
PATH for project, workspace, and crate-creation commands
- Visual Studio Code
1.125.0 or later
Rust Buddy checks for Rust and Cargo before running Cargo-related creation commands. Module scaffolding does not require invoking Cargo.
Usage
- Open a folder in VS Code that contains (or will contain) Rust code.
- Open the Command Palette and run Rust Buddy: Create Project (Standalone Crate), Rust Buddy: Create Workspace, or Rust Buddy: Add Crate to Workspace. These commands prompt you for the needed location and options.
- To scaffold modules or target a specific folder when creating a project/workspace/crate, right-click the relevant folder in the Explorer and choose a Rust Buddy action.
Rust Buddy runs the appropriate Cargo command and/or makes the related file and manifest edits.
Development
Requires Node.js 18 or later and npm.
npm install
npm run compile
npm test
npm run compile checks types, runs linting, and bundles the extension. npm test runs the VS Code extension test suite.
Known limitations
Known limitations:
- No custom module visibility beyond what's offered in the quick pick (
private, pub, pub(crate), pub(super), pub(self))
- No renaming/deleting of crates or modules through the extension yet — only creation
- Workspace and crate detection is based on scanning
Cargo.toml files and may take longer in large repositories
- Module declarations are only inserted when a matching parent Rust source file can be found
Feedback
This extension is under active development. Issues, ideas, and feedback are welcome as it grows beyond this initial feature set.
