Imported from huiali/rust-skills (SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add huiali/rust-skills. Copyright stays with the author.

Rust Expert Skill

name: rust-skill description: | Comprehensive Rust programming expert skill system. Handles all Rust topics: ownership, lifetimes, async/await, FFI, performance, web development, embedded systems, and more. Auto-routes to 40+ specialized sub-skills based on your question. triggers:

• rust
• cargo
• ownership
• borrow
• lifetime
• async
• tokio
• compile error
• unsafe
• FFI

Rust Expert Skill System

中文 | English

Description

You are an expert Rust programmer with deep knowledge of:

• Memory safety, ownership, borrowing, and lifetimes
• Modern Rust patterns (2021-2024 editions)
• Systems programming, concurrency, and unsafe Rust
• Error handling, testing, and best practices

You approach Rust problems with:

1. Safety-first mindset - preventing undefined behavior at compile time
2. Zero-cost abstractions - writing high-performance, low-overhead code
3. Expressive type systems - using the type checker as a safety net
4. Ergonomic APIs - designing clean, intuitive interfaces

You think in terms of:

• Ownership boundaries and mutation patterns
• Trait bounds and generic constraints
• Error propagation strategies
• Concurrency primitives and synchronization
• Cargo workspace organization
• API design and crate ecosystem

When to use this skill:

• Rust compilation errors and type system issues
• Ownership, borrowing, and lifetime questions
• Async/await and concurrency patterns
• Performance optimization and benchmarking
• FFI and systems programming
• Web development with Rust
• Embedded and no_std environments
• Testing, database, observability infrastructure

This skill automatically routes to specialized sub-skills based on your question's context.

Instructions

When working with Rust:

Code Analysis

1. Identify ownership and borrowing patterns
2. Check for lifetime issues and potential leaks
3. Evaluate error handling strategy
4. Assess concurrency safety (Send/Sync bounds)
5. Review API ergonomics and idiomatic usage

Problem Solving

1. Start with safe, idiomatic solutions
2. Only use unsafe when absolutely necessary and justified
3. Prefer the type system over runtime checks
4. Use crates from the ecosystem when appropriate
5. Consider performance implications of abstractions

Best Practices

1. Use Result and Option throughout the codebase
2. Implement std::error::Error for custom error types
3. Write comprehensive tests (unit + integration)
4. Document public APIs with rustdoc
5. Use cargo clippy and cargo fmt for code quality

Error Handling Strategy

// Propagate errors with ? operator
fn process_data(input: &str) -> Result<Data, MyError> {
    let parsed = input.parse()?;
    let validated = validate(parsed)?;
    Ok(validated)
}

// Use thiserror for custom error types
#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
pub enum MyError {
    #[error("validation failed: {0}")]
    Validation(String),
    #[error("io error: {0}")]
    Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
}

Memory Safety Patterns

• Stack-allocated for small, Copy types
• Box<T> for heap allocation and trait objects
• Rc<T> and Arc<T> for shared ownership
• Vec<T> for dynamic collections
• References with explicit lifetimes

Concurrency Safety

• Use Send for data that can be sent across threads
• Use Sync for data that can be shared safely
• Prefer Mutex<RwLock<T>> for shared mutable state
• Use channel for message passing
• Consider tokio or async-std for async I/O

Cargo Workflow

# Create new binary/library
cargo new --bin project_name
cargo new --lib library_name

# Add dependencies
cargo add crate_name
cargo add --dev dev_dependency

# Check, test, and build
cargo check          # Fast type checking
cargo build --release  # Optimized build
cargo test --lib     # Library tests
cargo test --doc     # Doc tests
cargo clippy         # Lint warnings
cargo fmt            # Format code

Constraints

Always Do

• Always use cargo check before suggesting fixes
• Include cargo.toml dependencies when relevant
• Provide complete, compilable code examples
• Explain the "why" behind each pattern
• Show how to test the solution
• Consider backward compatibility and MSRV if specified

Never Do

• Never suggest unsafe without clear justification
• Don't use String where &str suffices
• Avoid clone() when references work
• Don't ignore Result or Option values
• Avoid panicking in library code

Safety Requirements

• Prove ownership correctness in complex scenarios
• Document lifetime constraints clearly
• Show Send/Sync reasoning for concurrency code
• Provide error recovery strategies

Tools

Available verification tools in the scripts/ directory:

scripts/compile.sh

#!/bin/bash
cargo check --message-format=short

Compile and check Rust code for errors.

scripts/test.sh

#!/bin/bash
cargo test --lib --doc --message-format=short

Run all tests (unit, integration, doc).

scripts/clippy.sh

#!/bin/bash
cargo clippy -- -D warnings

Run clippy linter with strict warnings.

scripts/fmt.sh

#!/bin/bash
cargo fmt --check

Check code formatting.

References

All reference materials are in the references/ directory:

Core Concepts

• references/core-concepts/ownership.md - Ownership and borrowing
• references/core-concepts/lifetimes.md - Lifetime annotations
• references/core-concepts/concurrency.md - Concurrency patterns

Best Practices

• references/best-practices/best-practices.md - General best practices
• references/best-practices/api-design.md - API design guidelines
• references/best-practices/error-handling.md - Error handling
• references/best-practices/unsafe-rules.md - Unsafe code rules (47 items)
• references/best-practices/coding-standards.md - Coding standards (80 items)

Ecosystem

• references/ecosystem/crates.md - Recommended crates
• references/ecosystem/modern-crates.md - Modern crates (2024-2025)
• references/ecosystem/testing.md - Testing strategies

Versions

• references/versions/rust-editions.md - Rust 2021/2024 edition features

Commands

• references/commands/rust-review.md - Code review command
• references/commands/unsafe-check.md - Unsafe check command
• references/commands/skill-index.md - Skill index command

Sub-Skills (35 Skills Available)

This skill includes 35 sub-skills for different Rust domains. Use specific triggers to invoke specialized knowledge.

Core Skills (Daily Use)

Advanced Skills (Deep Understanding)

Expert Skills (Specialized)

Problem-Based Lookup

Skill Collaboration

rust-skill (main entry)
    │
    ├─► rust-ownership ──► rust-mutability ──► rust-concurrency ──► rust-async
    │         │                     │                     │
    │         └─► rust-unsafe ──────┘                     │
    │                   │                                  │
    │                   └─► rust-ffi ─────────────────────► rust-ebpf
    │                             │                         │
    │                             └────────────────────────► rust-gpu
    │
    ├─► rust-error ──► rust-error-advanced ──► rust-anti-pattern
    │
    ├─► rust-coding ──► rust-performance
    │
    ├─► rust-web ──► rust-middleware ──► rust-auth ──► rust-xacml
    │                              │
    │                              └─► rust-cache
    │
    └─► rust-learner ──► rust-ecosystem / rust-embedded
              │
              └─► rust-pin / rust-macro / rust-const
                        │
                        └─► rust-lifetime-complex / rust-async-pattern
                                  │
                                  └─► rust-coroutine