Rust 01. Install Rust and Run Hello World

Summary

When you first start with Rust, the least confusing path is usually to install everything through the official tool, rustup, instead of trying to think in terms of the compiler alone. This post walks through the shortest beginner path on Windows with VS Code: install Rust, verify the toolchain, run Hello, world! with rustc, and then run the same idea through cargo.

The practical takeaway is simple: use rustup to install Rust, rustc for a quick single-file check, and cargo for real project work.

Document Information

• Written on: 2026-04-07
• Verification date: 2026-04-15
• Document type: tutorial
• Test environment: Windows PowerShell, VS Code, rustup, rustc, cargo
• Test version: rustc 1.94.0, cargo 1.94.0
• Source quality: only official documentation is used.
• Note: installer screens and installer UI can change over time. This post only covers the simplest local Windows path.

Problem Definition

At the beginning, Rust installation usually feels ambiguous in three places.

• It is not obvious whether “install Rust” means installing rustc directly or installing rustup.
• It is easy to confuse the roles of rustc and cargo.
• After installation, many beginners are not sure what they should run to confirm that the setup actually worked.

This post only covers the minimum path needed to reduce that confusion: install, verify, and run Hello, world!. It does not cover advanced installer flags, WSL, macOS/Linux, or toolchain override topics.

Verified Facts

• The official Rust install page and the rustup site guide users through the rustup installation path. Evidence: Install Rust, rustup.rs
• The Rust Book installation chapter describes verifying the installation with rustc --version. Evidence: Installation
• The Rust Book separates the single-file rustc flow from the project-oriented cargo new, cargo build, and cargo run flow. Evidence: Hello, World!, Hello, Cargo!
• The official VS Code Rust guide recommends rust-analyzer as the editor extension. Evidence: Rust in Visual Studio Code

Directly Confirmed Results

1. Installation path and version check

• Direct result: after running the Windows rustup-init.exe installer with the standard option, the installation could be verified in a new PowerShell window with the commands below.

rustc --version
cargo --version

• Observed result:

rustc 1.94.0 (4a4ef493e 2026-03-02)
cargo 1.94.0 (85eff7c80 2026-01-15)

• The reproducible path is:

1. Open Rust install page or rustup.rs.
2. Download and run rustup-init.exe for Windows.
3. Choose 1) Proceed with standard installation.
4. Open a new PowerShell window and run the version-check commands above.

2. Smallest Hello World setup in VS Code

• Direct result: opening a folder in VS Code and saving the code below as hello.rs was enough to start a single-file Rust check.

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}

• Direct result: if you plan to keep using VS Code, installing rust-analyzer makes the editing experience noticeably better.

3. Building a single file with rustc

• Direct result: running the commands below in the folder containing hello.rs created hello.exe in the same directory.

rustc hello.rs
.\hello.exe

• Observed result:

Hello, world!

• This path is useful for a quick one-file syntax check, but it does not give you a project structure or dependency management.

4. Creating and running a project with cargo

• Direct result: the project-oriented flow was much easier to continue with. The commands below created and ran a new Rust project.

cargo new hello-rust
cd hello-rust
cargo run

• The generated src/main.rs starts like this.

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}

• Observed result:

Hello, world!

• Direct result: when using cargo build, the executable was created under target\debug\hello-rust.exe.

Interpretation / Opinion

• Opinion: for beginners, the cleanest mental model is “Rust installation means installing the toolchain through rustup.”
• Opinion: rustc is useful for a very quick single-file check, but if you expect the code to grow, it is better to get used to cargo as early as possible.
• Interpretation: the most natural beginner sequence is “verify installation -> run one rustc example -> move into a cargo new project.”

Limits and Exceptions

• This post is written for Windows PowerShell and VS Code. It does not cover macOS, Linux, WSL, or remote-container setups.
• The exact rustup-init.exe screens and defaults can change over time.
• The scope is limited to installation and the first successful run. Toolchain overrides, nightly, cross-compilation, and C++ toolchain edge cases are intentionally left out.
• VS Code is optional. Rust installation and rustc/cargo usage do not require a specific editor.

References

• Install Rust
• rustup.rs
• The rustup book
• Installation
• Hello, World!
• Hello, Cargo!
• Rust in Visual Studio Code