Rust slow to compile? Here's how to speed it up

"Developers choose Rust because they can use it to write software that is memory-safe, correct, and-above all- fast. But the Rust compiler isn't always the fastest car in the garage. The larger a Rust program is, and the more dependencies it has, the longer its compile time will be. A development process that once was a sprint slows to a creep."

"The single most effective thing you can do without changing anything about your existing work habits is to keep your Rust toolchain updated. You may already be doing this, but it's worth a reminder. Running rustup update periodically ensures you're using the latest version of the compiler. This matters because Rust's compiler team is constantly updating and optimizing the compilation process. Those optimizations aren't just rolled into rustc itself, but also into LLVM, the framework rustc builds on top of."

Keep the Rust toolchain updated with rustup update to benefit from ongoing compiler and LLVM optimizations. Pin the project toolchain to a specific version when aggressive updates might break requirements. Avoid unnecessary full compilations by using cargo check to perform most checks without producing compiled artifacts. Reduce work done during development by minimizing dependencies and the size of compilations. Apply organized strategies and toolchain-aware practices to make slow parts of the Rust toolchain much faster and restore an efficient, sprint-like development feedback loop. Larger programs and additional dependencies increase compile time and lengthen developer feedback cycles. Targeted techniques such as incremental compilation, dependency pruning, and selective profiling further reduce build latency.

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