Setting Up Your Workshop

Before a builder can build, they need a workshop full of tools. To write Rust, we set up our own coding workshop on a computer. Let’s get it ready! 🛠️

The Big Idea To use Rust, you first install it on a computer. Installing just means putting the tools onto the computer so they're ready to use — like unpacking a new toolbox.

Ferris says: If you're new to installing software, it can help to do this with someone more experienced nearby. Either way, take it one step at a time. 🦀

Meet rustup, the friendly installer

There’s a special helper called rustup that sets up Rust for you. You get it from a website called rustup.rs. Open that website in a browser and follow the clear steps it shows you.

Think of it like this… rustup is like a delivery truck that brings your whole toolbox to the door and unpacks it neatly. You don't have to find each tool one by one!

Talking to the computer in the Terminal

To use our new tools, we type little messages in a window called the Terminal. The Terminal is a plain text window where you talk to the computer by typing commands and pressing Enter.

New word A command is a short instruction you type into the Terminal. The computer reads it and does what you asked.

Did it work? Let’s check!

After rustup finishes, type this command into the Terminal to see which version of Rust you have:

rustc --version

If everything worked, the computer will print something like this back to you:

rustc 1.79.0 (your numbers may be different)

If you see a version number, hooray — your workshop is open for business! 🎉 If you see an error instead, don’t worry. Close the Terminal, open a fresh one, and try the command again.

Try this! Open the Terminal and type rustc --version, then press Enter. Take a look at the version number that comes back!

Watch out! Commands like to be typed exactly right — same spelling, same spaces. The two little dashes in --version are important!

Quick quiz

What does the command rustc --version show you?

Yes! It checks Rust and prints the version number — proof that your workshop is ready.

You learned… You install Rust using the friendly rustup tool from rustup.rs, you talk to the computer by typing commands in the Terminal, and rustc --version checks that it worked. Next up: writing your very first program! 👋