Difference between rustc and cargo build commands

`rustc` command	`cargo build` command
It is used to compile a single Rust source file or crate	It is used to compile the entire Rust project and its dependencies
Example: `rustc <source-file>` or `rustc <crate>`	Example: `cargo build`
It does not handle dependency management	It handles dependency management through Cargo and the `Cargo.toml` file
You need to manage dependencies and configuration manually.	Configuration is manged using the `Cargo.toml` file
It requires explicit compilation of dependencies	It is automatically managed and compiles dependencies
It produces an executable or library file directly	I produces build artifacts in the `target` directory
It does not perform incremental builds by default	It performs incremental builds by default
rustc can manually specify optimization flags	cargo build applies optimization based on the build profile in `Cargo.toml`
rustc does not execute build scripts	cargo build executes build scripts specified in `Cargo.toml`
It relies on system Rust installation and environment	It uses the project-specific Rust toolchain managed by Cargo

Documentations:

Facing issues? Have Questions? Post them here! I am happy to answer!

Author Info:

Rakesh (He/Him) has over 14+ years of experience in Web and Application development. He is the author of insightful How-To articles for Code2care.

Follow him on: X

You can also reach out to him via e-mail: rakesh@code2care.org

More Posts related to Rust,

More Posts: