Lesson 7 — rustup and VS Code setup

Question

Minimum environment to run the Rust stack — rustup (toolchain manager) + VS Code + rust-analyzer extension. The three things "you literally can't write Rust without".

Principle (minimum model)

• rustup. Rust's toolchain manager. curl --proto "=https" --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh is the one-liner. Puts cargo / rustc / rustup on $PATH.
• Stable channel. Default. Reth tracks MSRV (Minimum Supported Rust Version); rustup update keeps you current.
• VS Code + rust-analyzer extension. rust-analyzer = the official language server. Errors + completion + types + jump-to-definition. Without it, you can't practically write Rust.
• Useful additions. Even Better TOML (for Cargo.toml), CodeLLDB (debugger), Error Lens (inline error display).
• Verify it works. cargo new hello && cd hello && cargo run → prints Hello, world!.

Worked example + steps

rustup and VS Code setup

Surprisingly, the Rust dev environment is just rustup + a VS Code extension.

1. Install Rust via rustup

# macOS / Linux
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Verify
rustc --version
cargo --version

cargo is Rust's package manager and build tool. Despite the name suggesting "package manager," you'll actually use it for building, testing, and running too — every day.

2. Add rust-analyzer to VS Code

Search the extensions marketplace for rust-analyzer and install it. Without this, Rust development is essentially impossible:

• Real-time type errors
• Autocomplete and "go to definition"
• Inline type hints over variables

Tip: rust-analyzer only activates when the open folder contains a Cargo.toml. We'll create one in the next step.

3. Your first project

cargo new hello_reth
cd hello_reth
cargo run

If you see "Hello, world!", you're ready.

4. Need to test something quickly?

Use Rust Playground. It runs real Rust in the browser — no install needed.

Next, a fast tour of the Rust syntax you'll see throughout the course — then your first challenge.

Summary (3 lines)

• Three essentials: rustup + VS Code + rust-analyzer extension. curl one-liner installs rustup; cargo new hello verifies.
• Useful additions: Even Better TOML + CodeLLDB + Error Lens. rustup update keeps stable current.
• Environment ready. Next lesson: Rust quick reference — the syntax you'll see in the Reth / Revm / Alloy source.