Free curriculum

Learn Rust, lesson by lesson

Build a reliable mental model of Rust, starting with expressions and control flow before ownership, borrowing, lifetimes, traits, concurrency, and production tooling.

The sequence deliberately introduces ownership before borrowing and lifetimes, then uses those foundations in async, I/O, and the final CLI project.

26 lessonsAbout 645 minutesThe runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.

Complete curriculum

Work in order, or open any lesson as a public reading reference. Interactive practice remains optional.

Lesson 1 · basics · foundations
What Is Rust? Beginner Guide
What is Rust? Discover its speed and memory safety, then write and run your first Rust program in the browser. A free beginner lesson with no install.
Read lesson →
Position
core · 15 min
Prerequisites
None
Outcomes
Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 2 · basics · foundations
Variables and Data Types
Master Rust variables, mutability, and data types including integers, floats, booleans, characters, and type annotations
Read lesson →
Position
core · 20 min
Prerequisites
None
Outcomes
Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 3 · basics · foundations
Control Flow
Master Rust control flow with if expressions, loops, and the match statement for conditional logic and pattern matching
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
None
Outcomes
Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 4 · basics · foundations
Functions in Rust
Learn how to define Rust functions with parameters, return types, and expressions — the building blocks of every Rust program
Read lesson →
Position
core · 15 min
Prerequisites
None
Outcomes
Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 5 · intermediate · ownership
Ownership & Borrowing
Rust ownership explained — understand move semantics, borrowing rules, and how Rust guarantees memory safety without a garbage collector
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Variables and Data Types, Functions in Rust
Outcomes
Performance & Runtime, Security & Robustness
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 6 · intermediate · modeling
Structs & Enums
Learn how to define Rust structs and enums to create custom data types, implement methods, and model your domain effectively
Read lesson →
Position
core · 20 min
Prerequisites
Variables and Data Types, Functions in Rust, Ownership & Borrowing
Outcomes
Data Modeling, Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 7 · intermediate · modeling
Pattern Matching
Master Rust's powerful pattern matching with match expressions, if let, and destructuring
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Structs & Enums, Control Flow
Outcomes
Syntax Fluency, Data Modeling
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 8 · intermediate · ownership
Borrowing in Depth
Deep dive into Rust borrowing and references — learn shared and mutable references, the borrow checker, and safe data access
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Ownership & Borrowing
Outcomes
Architecture & Maintainability, Performance & Runtime
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 9 · intermediate · ownership
Closures
Rust closures tutorial — learn how closures capture variables, understand Fn, FnMut, and FnOnce traits, and use closures with iterators
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Functions in Rust, Ownership & Borrowing
Outcomes
Abstraction & Design, Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 10 · intermediate · reliability
Option and Result
Master Rust Option and Result types for handling absence and errors with combinators, the ? operator, and error propagation
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Structs & Enums, Pattern Matching
Outcomes
Security & Robustness, Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 11 · intermediate · reliability
Error Handling
Learn Rust error handling with the Result type, panic!, recoverable vs unrecoverable errors, and the ? operator for propagation
Read lesson →
Position
core · 20 min
Prerequisites
Functions in Rust, Structs & Enums, Option and Result
Outcomes
Security & Robustness, Architecture & Maintainability
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 12 · intermediate · modeling
Collections
Learn to use Rust's standard collections including Vec, HashMap, and HashSet with iterators
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Variables and Data Types, Ownership & Borrowing, Closures
Outcomes
Data Structures & Algorithms, Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 13 · intermediate · ownership
Lifetimes
Rust lifetimes explained — learn lifetime annotations, elision rules, and how the borrow checker validates reference validity
Read lesson →
Position
core · 30 min
Prerequisites
Ownership & Borrowing, Borrowing in Depth
Outcomes
Architecture & Maintainability, Performance & Runtime
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 14 · intermediate · abstraction
Traits & Generics
Learn to write flexible, reusable code with Rust's trait system and generic programming
Read lesson →
Position
core · 30 min
Prerequisites
Structs & Enums, Functions in Rust
Outcomes
Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 15 · intermediate · abstraction
Iterators
Master Rust's powerful iterator system to write expressive, efficient, and functional-style code
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Collections, Ownership & Borrowing, Traits & Generics, Closures
Outcomes
Abstraction & Design, Data Structures & Algorithms
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 16 · intermediate · modeling
Strings and Text
Understand Rust's two string types, text manipulation, UTF-8 encoding, and common string operations
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Ownership & Borrowing, Borrowing in Depth, Iterators
Outcomes
Data Modeling, Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 17 · intermediate · composition
Modules and Crates
Learn how to organize Rust code with modules and manage dependencies using crates and Cargo
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Functions in Rust, Structs & Enums, Iterators
Outcomes
Architecture & Maintainability, Production Delivery
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 18 · intermediate · abstraction
Concurrency
Learn safe concurrent programming in Rust with threads, message passing, and shared state
Read lesson →
Position
core · 30 min
Prerequisites
Ownership & Borrowing, Borrowing in Depth, Error Handling, Closures
Outcomes
Performance & Runtime, Security & Robustness
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 19 · intermediate · ownership
Smart Pointers
Understand Box, Rc, RefCell, and interior mutability patterns in Rust
Read lesson →
Position
core · 30 min
Prerequisites
Ownership & Borrowing, Borrowing in Depth, Traits & Generics
Outcomes
Performance & Runtime, Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 20 · intermediate · reliability
Testing in Rust
Learn how to write unit tests, integration tests, and use Rust's built-in testing framework to ensure your code is correct
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Functions in Rust, Error Handling, Modules and Crates
Outcomes
Testing & Debugging
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 21 · intermediate · composition
File I/O
Learn how to read from and write to files in Rust using std::fs and std::io traits
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Error Handling, Strings and Text, Modules and Crates, Testing in Rust
Outcomes
Production Delivery, Security & Robustness
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 22 · advanced · abstraction
Macros
Learn how to use and create Rust macros for metaprogramming and code generation at compile time
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Functions in Rust, Pattern Matching, Modules and Crates
Outcomes
Abstraction & Design, Syntax Fluency
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 23 · advanced · abstraction
Async/Await
Master asynchronous programming in Rust with async/await syntax, Futures, and the Tokio runtime
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Iterators, Traits & Generics, Error Handling, File I/O
Outcomes
Performance & Runtime, Abstraction & Design
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 24 · advanced · composition
Serde and JSON
Learn how to serialize and deserialize data structures to and from JSON using the serde and serde_json crates
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Structs & Enums, Pattern Matching, Error Handling, Modules and Crates
Outcomes
Production Delivery, Data Modeling
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 25 · advanced · delivery
CLI and Args
Build command-line tools in Rust by parsing arguments, handling flags, and structuring real-world CLI applications
Read lesson →
Position
core · 25 min
Prerequisites
Option and Result, Strings and Text, Error Handling, Iterators, Lifetimes
Outcomes
Production Delivery, Security & Robustness
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.
Lesson 26 · advanced · capstone
Capstone Project: CLI Todo App
Build a complete command-line todo application combining structs, enums, error handling, traits, and collections
Read lesson →
Position
capstone · 35 min
Prerequisites
Error Handling, Collections, Traits & Generics, Closures
Outcomes
Architecture & Maintainability, Production Delivery, Data Modeling
Runtime / version
The runner compiles with rustc using Rust 2021 edition; lessons call out narrower version requirements.