cargo-temp

Create temporary Rust projects with specified dependencies

cargo-temp is a Cargo subcommand for quick experimentation, whether you're trying out a crate, testing an idea or exploring APIs and language features. It creates a temporary project, adds any dependencies you specify, and drops you into a shell so you can prototype using your usual tools.

When you're done, simply exit the shell. The project is deleted automatically, unless you choose to preserve it.

Why use cargo-temp?

• No more abandoned scratch projects, temporary by default
• Support your editor, local toolchain and configuration.
• Add crates (including Git sources) on creation, with versions, features, branch, etc.
• Run experiments from a Git worktree or a temporary repository clone
• Setup Criterion-based benchmarks with a single flag.

Think cargo new, but temporary, dependency-aware, Git-friendly and benchmark ready. A middle ground between the Rust playground and a full repository.

Install

Install cargo-temp using Cargo:

cargo install --locked cargo-temp

Usage

Create a new temporary Rust project:

cargo temp

A shell opens in the project directory, so you can immediately start editing, building and running code right away. You can also configure cargo-temp to open the project directly in your preferred editor instead of a shell.

When you exit the shell (or editor), the project and all its files are automatically deleted. To preserve it, simply delete the TO_DELETE file before exiting. The project directory will remain intact or you can also configure a default destination for the preserved projects.

Dependencies

Specify one or more dependencies directly:

cargo temp rand log

By default, the latest version (*) is used. To specify a version, use =:

cargo temp anyhow=0.4

For more control, use Cargo's comparison requirements:

cargo temp log==0.4.28

cargo temp log>=0.4.28

cargo temp log<=0.4.28

cargo temp log~0.4.28

dependencies from Git

Add dependencies directly from a Git repository using HTTP or SSH URLs:

cargo temp https://github.com/rust-random/rand

cargo temp ssh://git@github.com/rust-random/rand.git

The name of the package is inferred from the URL and the .git extension is optional.

[!NOTE] For SSH issues, please refer to this guide. For private repositories, ensure you have the necessary SSH keys or credentials. If it doesn't help, please file an issue.

You can also specify a branch or a revision:

cargo temp https://github.com/rust-random/rand.git#master

cargo temp https://github.com/rust-random/rand.git#7e0f77a38

Path dependencies

Add dependencies from local filesystem paths:

cargo temp ./custom-core

cargo temp ../utils

cargo temp /home/user/projects/shared-lib

cargo temp C:\Users\user\projects\core-utils

Path dependencies work with both relative and absolute paths, using forward slashes (/) on Unix or backslashes (\) on Windows.

The crate name is automatically inferred from the last component of the path.

Features

Add features to a dependency using +:

cargo temp tokio+io_std

cargo temp tokio=1.0+io_std

cargo temp https://github.com/tokio-rs/tokio#compat+io_std

For multiple features, chain them:

cargo temp tokio==1.0+io_std+io_utils

To disable default features, prefix the chain of features by a +:

cargo temp tokio+

cargo temp tokio++io_std

Git

Clone a Git Repository

Create a temporary project from a Git repository using the --git option:

cargo temp --git <url>

By default, the Git history is truncated to the last commit. To retain more commits, adjust the git_repo_depth setting in your configuration file.

Git Working Tree

Create a temporary git worktree from the current repository:

cargo temp --worktree

To create a worktree for a specific branch:

cargo temp --worktree <branch>

If no branch is specified, the current HEAD is used.

When exiting the shell or editor, the working tree will be cleaned up, equivalent to git worktree prune.

Benchmarking

Create a temporary project with benchmarking support using criterion-rs:

cargo temp --bench <name>

This adds criterion as a dev-dependency and generates a benchmark file named <name>.rs (default: benchmark.rs).

[!NOTE]

For a full list of options, run cargo temp --help.

Configuration

cargo-temp uses a configuration file located at:

• Linux/OSX: ~/.config/cargo-temp/config.toml
• Windows: %APPDATA%\cargo-temp\config.toml

The file is created automatically when you run cargo-temp for the first time. For a detailed example, see the configuration template.