JetBrains Releases Rust IDE RustRover

JetBrains, the company behind IntelliJ IDEA and PyCharm, has officially released RustRover, the first integrated development environment (IDE) fully tailored for the Rust programming language. This new tool aims to empower Rust developers with JetBrains' signature deep code intelligence, seamless project management, and advanced debugging features.

Why Rust Deserves a Dedicated IDE

Rust has been growing rapidly in popularity due to its memory safety, performance, and strong community. Yet, Rust developers have long relied on general-purpose editors like VS Code, enhanced by plugins, for their workflows. While functional, these setups often lack deep language understanding and smooth debugging experiences. RustRover fills that gap by delivering an all-in-one IDE experience optimized from the ground up for Rust development.

Key Features of RustRover

Smart Code Assistance

• Syntax highlighting, autocompletion, and refactorings powered by JetBrains’ code analysis engine.
• Inline type hints and code navigation tailored to Rust’s ownership model.

Advanced Debugging Tools

• Integrated debugger with support for LLDB.
• Breakpoints, variable watches, stack frames, and memory views.

Cargo and Crates.io Integration

• Built-in support for Cargo commands (build, test, run).
• Easy management of dependencies via Crates.io browser.

Testing Made Simple

• Inline test execution with status indicators.
• Test coverage and visual diff support.

Seamless Git Integration

• Version control tools and GitHub workflows embedded in the IDE.

Designed for Productivity

RustRover leverages the familiar IntelliJ platform, making it intuitive for developers already using JetBrains tools. It also includes code inspections and intentions specific to Rust, making common tasks like converting between types or restructuring functions smoother and safer. Developers can also configure external toolchains, formatters like rustfmt, and linters such as clippy directly inside the IDE.

Community Feedback

During the preview period, Rust developers praised RustRover for:

• Smoother navigation of large Rust codebases.
• Better type awareness compared to plugins.
• Integration with common dev tools like Docker and Makefiles.

However, some users expressed interest in lighter versions of the IDE to compete with VS Code’s lightweight feel.

Platform and Licensing

RustRover is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is part of JetBrains’ All Products Pack. A free community preview is available, with commercial licensing required for long-term use.

The Future of Rust Tooling

JetBrains has hinted at upcoming features including:

• Integration with Rust Analyzer.
• Support for embedded development with microcontroller toolchains.
• Cloud-based development environments.