# Ruts: Rust Tower Session for HTTP Applications
[](https://docs.rs/ruts)
[](https://crates.io/crates/ruts)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
[](
https://github.com/jimmielovell/ruts)
## Installation
Add the following to your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
ruts = "0.6.0"
```
## Quick Start
Here's a basic example with [Axum](https://docs.rs/axum/latest/axum/):
```rust
use axum::{Router, routing::get};
use ruts::{Session, SessionLayer, CookieOptions};
use ruts::store::redis::RedisStore;
use fred::clients::Client;
use std::sync::Arc;
use fred::interfaces::ClientLike;
use tower_cookies::CookieManagerLayer;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
// Set up Redis client
let client = Client::default();
client.connect();
client.wait_for_connect().await.unwrap();
// Create session store
let store = RedisStore::new(Arc::new(client));
// Configure session-cookie options
let cookie_options = CookieOptions::build()
.name("session")
.http_only(true)
.same_site(cookie::SameSite::Lax)
.secure(true)
.max_age(3600) // 1 hour
.path("/");
// Create session layer
let session_layer = SessionLayer::new(Arc::new(store))
.with_cookie_options(cookie_options);
// Set up router with session management
let app = Router::new()
.route("/", get(handler))
.layer(session_layer)
.layer(CookieManagerLayer::new()); // CookieManagerLayer must be after
// Run the server
let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("0.0.0.0:3000").await.unwrap();
axum::serve(listener, app).await.unwrap();
}
async fn handler(session: Session<RedisStore<Client>>) -> String {
let count: Option<i32> = session.get("count").await.unwrap();
let new_count = count.unwrap_or(0) + 1;
session.insert("count", &new_count).await.unwrap();
format!("You've visited this page {} times", new_count)
}
```
## Session Management
### Basic Operations
```rust
// Get session data
let value: Option<T> = session.get("key").await?;
// Get all session data
let value: Option<SessionMap> = session.get_all().await?;
// Insert new data
session.insert("key", &value, optional_field_expiration).await?;
// Prepare a new session ID for the next insert
let new_id = session.prepare_regenerate();
session.insert("key", &value, optional_field_expiration).await?;
// Update existing data
session.update("key", &new_value, optional_field_expiration).await?;
// Prepare a new session ID for the next update
let new_id = session.prepare_regenerate();
session.update("key", &value, optional_field_expiration).await?;
// Remove data
session.remove("key").await?;
// Delete entire session
session.delete().await?;
// Regenerate session ID (for security)
session.regenerate().await?;
// Update session expiry
session.expire(seconds)
// Get session ID
session.id()
```
## Stores
### Redis
A Redis-backed session store.
#### Requirements
- The `redis-store` feature.
- Redis 7.4 or later (required for field-level expiration using [HEXPIRE](https://redis.io/docs/latest/commands/hexpire/))
- For Redis < 7.4, field-level expiration will not be available
```rust
use ruts::store::redis::RedisStore;
let store = RedisStore::new(Arc::new(fred_client_or_pool));
```
### Postgres
A Postgres-backed session store implementation.
#### Requirements
- The `postgres-store` feature.
```rust
use ruts::store::postgres::PostgresStoreBuilder;
// 1. Set up your database connection pool.
let database_url = std::env::var("DATABASE_URL")
.expect("DATABASE_URL must be set");
let pool = PgPool::connect(&database_url).await.unwrap();
// 2. Create the session store using the builder.
// This will also run a migration to create the `sessions` table.
let store = PostgresStoreBuilder::new(pool)
// Optionally, you can customize the schema and table name
// .schema_name("my_app")
// .table_name("user_sessions")
.build()
.await
.unwrap();
```
### LayeredStore
A composite store that layers a fast, ephemeral "hot" cache (like Redis) on top of a slower, persistent "cold" store (like Postgres). It is designed for scenarios where sessions can have long lifespans but should only occupy expensive cache memory when actively being used thus balancing performance and durability.
#### Core Strategies
- **Cache-Aside Reads**: On a read operation (`get`, `get_all`), the store
first checks the hot cache. If the data is present (a cache hit), it is
returned immediately. If not (a cache miss), the store queries the cold
store, and if the data is found, it "warms" the hot cache by populating it
with the data before returning it. This ensures subsequent reads are fast.
- **Write-Through (Default)**: By default, write operations (`insert`, `update`)
are written to both the hot and cold stores simultaneously. This guarantees
data consistency.
#### Fine-Grained Write Control
The default write-through behavior can be overridden on a per-call basis
using the `LayeredWriteStrategy`. This gives you precise control over
where your session data is stored, This allows you to:
- Write to the hot cache only.
- Write to the cold store only.
- Write through to both, but with a specific, shorter TTL for the hot cache.
```rust
use ruts::store::layered::LayeredWriteStrategy;
use ruts::Session;
use ruts::store::redis::RedisStore;
use ruts::store::postgres::PostgresStore;
use ruts::store::layered::LayeredStore;
type MySession = Session<LayeredStore<RedisStore, PostgresStore>>;
#[derive(serde::Serialize)]
struct User { id: i32 }
async fn handler(session: MySession) {
let user = User { id: 1 };
// This session field is valid for 1 month in the persistent store.
let long_term_expiry = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
// However, we only want it to live in the hot cache (Redis) for 1 hour.
let short_term_hot_cache_expiry = 60 * 60;
// The value is wrapped in the strategy enum to control write behavior.
let strategy = LayeredWriteStrategy::WriteThrough(
user,
Some(short_term_hot_cache_expiry),
);
// The cold store (Postgres) will get the long-term expiry,
// but the hot store (Redis) will be capped at the shorter TTL.
session.update("user", &strategy, Some(long_term_expiry)).await.unwrap();
}
```
### Serialization
Ruts supports two serialization backends for session data storage:
[`bincode`](https://crates.io/crates/bincode) (default) - Fast, compact binary serialization.
[`messagepack`](https://crates.io/crates/rmp-serde) - Cross-language compatible serialization
To use [`MessagePack`](https://crates.io/crates/rmp-serde) instead of the default [`bincode`](https://crates.io/crates/bincode), add this to your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
ruts = { version = "0.6.0", default-features = false, features = ["axum", "redis-store", "messagepack"] }
```
### Cookie Configuration
```rust
let cookie_options = CookieOptions::build()
.name("cookie_name")
.http_only(true)
.same_site(cookie::SameSite::Strict)
.secure(true)
.max_age(7200) // 2 hours
.path("/")
.domain("example.com");
```
## Important Notes
### Middleware Ordering
The `SessionLayer` must be applied **before** the `CookieManagerLayer`:
```rust
app.layer(session_layer) // First: SessionLayer
.layer(CookieManagerLayer::new()); // Then CookieManagerLayer
```
### Security Best Practices
- Enable HTTPS in production (set `secure: true` in cookie options)
- Use appropriate `SameSite` cookie settings
- Add session expiration
- Regularly regenerate session IDs
- Enable HTTP Only mode in production (set `http_only: true`)
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.