Introducing RustRover – A Standalone Rust IDE by JetBrains
“When will there be a Rust IDE?”
Update: RustRover is now generally available, with free non-commercial use and commercial licensing options. Learn more about the RustRover release.
We get this question from our users quite frequently, and today we’re happy to announce that the day has arrived. Please welcome RustRover, our standalone IDE for Rust.
As many of you are aware, we’ve worked for years to bring support for Rust functionality as a plugin that works in both IntelliJ IDEA and CLion. However, time and time again, we’ve received requests from the community for an IDE specifically dedicated to Rust and its ecosystem that also has features on par with existing JetBrains IDEs.
Today we’re opening the RustRover Early Access Program (EAP) and we’d love for you to try it, give us feedback, and help us shape the product. We’ll listen to your feedback and update frequently to ensure that the product is meeting our users’ needs. RustRover will be free during Public Preview, and the license model will be finalized closer to the date of the commercial release.
A Commercial IDE
As the number of users of the Rust plugin have grown, so have the demands for new functionality. Within RustRover we aim to take JetBrains’s Rust support to the next level – stay tuned for future updates. Consequently the investment required by us to provide such functionality is also increasing. In line with our other IDEs, and to ensure our continued sustainability as a team and as a company, RustRover will be offered under a commercial plan. After the EAP period, during which the product is free to use, we will be offering RustRover as a standalone commercial IDE or as part of the All Products Pack. We aim to release RustRover before September 2024.
Existing Open-Source Plugin
The existing open-source plugin, which we’ve been working on for a number of years, has served as the building block for RustRover. This plugin will remain open source and freely available on GitHub and the JetBrains Marketplace. However, moving forward, we will be investing our efforts into RustRover, which is closed source. For the existing open-source plugin, we’ll do our best to maintain compatibility with newer versions of our IDEs, but we won’t be fixing bugs or adding new features. The existing issues that are open on GitHub, where applicable to RustRover, have already been imported into our issue tracker.
Support for IntelliJ IDEA and CLion
Like many of our IDEs, the functionality of RustRover can be installed as a plugin in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.
During the preview period, it will also be possible to install the Rust plugin in CLion. However, we have yet to determine whether this will be the case once we’ve released RustRover. This is because we’re still not certain whether users will need the plugin or whether a dedicated Rust IDE will be sufficient.
Update: Rust support remains available through the Rust plugin in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate and CLion alongside the dedicated RustRover IDE.
Joining the Rust Foundation
We are confident that the Rust ecosystem and community will continue to grow. Otherwise we wouldn’t be betting on an IDE. On that note, we are happy to announce that JetBrains has joined the Rust Foundation. Along with the many existing members, we’ll help support the efforts of the Rust community and work to drive its future development.
FAQ
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What is RustRover?
RustRover is JetBrains’ standalone IDE for Rust development. It was created to provide a dedicated environment for Rust and its ecosystem, with deeper language support and functionality comparable to other JetBrains IDEs.
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Why did JetBrains create a standalone Rust IDE?
JetBrains created RustRover after years of developing Rust support as a plugin for IntelliJ IDEA and CLion. Growing demand from users showed a need for a dedicated IDE focused specifically on Rust development and its ecosystem.
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Is RustRover free?
Yes. RustRover was free during its Early Access Program. After the preview period, it became a commercial product, with free non-commercial use and paid licensing for commercial development. It is also available as part of the JetBrains All Products Pack.
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Can RustRover be used as a plugin in other JetBrains IDEs?
Yes. Rust support based on RustRover functionality is available in other compatible JetBrains IDEs through the Rust plugin. This allows developers to work with Rust alongside other languages and technologies without switching to a separate IDE.
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Has JetBrains joined the Rust Foundation?
Yes. JetBrains joined the Rust Foundation to support the Rust ecosystem and contribute to its long-term development. The membership also reflects JetBrains’ broader commitment to Rust tooling and the developer community.
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How can users provide feedback on RustRover?
Users can submit feedback, feature requests, and bug reports through the JetBrains YouTrack issue tracker. Issues from the original open-source Rust plugin were also migrated there, creating a central place for RustRover feedback and development discussions.
