rust-lang / rust

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Rust

Architecture: compiler

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main

rust

compiler

rustc_parse

rustc_middle

rustc_codegen_llvm

library

core

alloc

std

src

bootstrap

tools

doc

tests

codegen

Cargo.toml

Structural Architecture

The Rust repository separates the compiler from the standard library at the top level, which mirrors how the project is actually built: the compiler is bootstrapped in stages, and each stage compiles the library. Tests are split by kind rather than by module, because the compiler needs test suites that assert on its own diagnostics.

Compiler and standard library kept as separate top-level trees.
Tests grouped by kind rather than by the module under test.
A bootstrap directory dedicated to the multi-stage build process.

Notable Directories

/compiler

The rustc compiler, split into crates by phase such as parsing, type checking, and code generation.

/library

The standard library: core, alloc, and std, layered by what each can depend on.

/tests

Suites organised by kind, including UI tests that assert on exact compiler output.

/src/bootstrap

The staged build system that compiles the compiler with itself.

Build Your Own Ecosystem

Learn from rust's structure and craft your own software scaffolding.