Build production-quality command-line tools in Rust for data engineering. You move from a first hello-world CLI through real argument parsing with `clap`, ergonomic error handling with `anyhow`, and structured logging with `env_logger`. From there you learn subcommand design patterns suited to data pipelines (`ingest`, `transform`, `filter`, `export`), input validation that fails fast with a helpful message, and the data-specific flags (`--format`, `--output`, `--delimiter`, `--column`, `--limit`) every CSV and JSON tool needs. The course closes with packaging: Cargo metadata, publishing to crates.io, and a multi-stage Docker container. Along the way you learn the Rust toolchain — rustup, cargo, rust-analyzer — modules and the crates.io ecosystem, the difference between `Result` and `panic!`, and the discipline of `stderr` versus `stdout`. The capstone is `datactl`, a Rust CLI you build from scratch that reads, summarizes, filters, and exports CSV and JSON files. By the end you will have shipped a small, fast, statically-linked binary you can run anywhere.

Rust CLI From Zero

Rust CLI From Zero


Instructors: Noah Gift
Access provided by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level
Recommended experience
6 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Build a production Rust CLI with clap, including subcommands designed for data pipelines, input validation
Handle errors with `anyhow` and `Result`/`?
Package and ship a Rust CLI by writing crates.io-ready `Cargo.toml`
Skills you'll gain
Details to know

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Assessments
3 assignments
Taught in English
Recently updated!
May 2026
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