The Rust ecosystem has matured significantly by 2025. We aren’t just fighting the Borrow Checker anymore; we are building massive distributed systems, high-performance web servers, and embedded firmware. As the complexity of our projects grows, so does the demand on our development environment.
Choosing the right Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or editor is arguably the second most important decision a Rustacean makes—right after choosing async-std vs. tokio.
In this guide, we will dissect the three titans of Rust development: Visual Studio Code, JetBrains RustRover (formerly IntelliJ Rust), and Neovim. We will provide optimized configurations for each and help you decide which tool fits your specific engineering needs.
Prerequisites #
Before we dive into the configurations, ensure your host environment is ready. Regardless of your editor choice, you need the underlying toolchain.
- Rust Toolchain: Ensure you are on the latest stable version.
rustup update stable - Rust Source: Useful for IDE code navigation into the standard library.
rustup component add rust-src - Rust Analyzer: While VS Code and Neovim download this differently, having the binary available is good practice.
rustup component add rust-analyzer - Nerd Fonts: For icons in Neovim and VS Code terminals. Download a patched font like JetBrains Mono Nerd Font.
The Decision Matrix #
Before we look at the code, let’s look at the workflow. How do you choose?
1. Visual Studio Code: The Standard #
VS Code remains the most popular choice for Rust developers due to its official support for rust-analyzer. It strikes a balance between performance and features.
The Setup #
Do not install the legacy “Rust” extension. You only need rust-analyzer.
Optimized settings.json
#
The default settings are decent, but for a Senior Dev experience, you need to tune the inlay hints and check-on-save behavior.
Create or edit your .vscode/settings.json (either global or workspace specific):
{
"[rust]": {
"editor.defaultFormatter": "rust-lang.rust-analyzer",
"editor.formatOnSave": true
},
// Use Clippy instead of just 'check' for better linting
"rust-analyzer.check.command": "clippy",
// Performance: Don't verify all features if your workspace is massive
"rust-analyzer.cargo.features": "all",
// Inlay Hints: The secret sauce for reading Rust code
"rust-analyzer.inlayHints.typeHints.enable": true,
"rust-analyzer.inlayHints.chainingHints.enable": true,
"rust-analyzer.inlayHints.parameterHints.enable": true,
"rust-analyzer.inlayHints.maxLength": 25,
// Debugger linkage (requires CodeLLDB extension)
"rust-analyzer.debug.engine": "vadimcn.vscode-lldb"
}Pro Tip: Proc Macro Expansion #
If your IDE feels sluggish and you are using heavy frameworks like sqlx or actix, rust-analyzer might be choking on procedural macro expansion.
You can disable specific macro expansions if necessary, though in 2025, rust-analyzer handles this much better than in previous years.
2. JetBrains RustRover (IntelliJ) #
JetBrains split their Rust plugin into a standalone IDE called RustRover. It uses a proprietary analysis engine (not rust-analyzer), which often provides deeper insight into macro expansions and refactoring capabilities that open-source tools sometimes miss.
The Setup #
RustRover works out of the box, but it is a memory hog.
VM Options Tuning #
To prevent the IDE from freezing during indexing of large crates (like aws-sdk-rust), you must upgrade the JVM heap size.
- Go to Help -> Edit Custom VM Options.
- Add the following lines:
-Xms1024m
-Xmx4096m
-XX:ReservedCodeCacheSize=512m
-XX:+UseG1GCBest Practice: Experimental Features #
RustRover often hides new cargo integration features behind flags.
Press Shift + Shift, type Experimental Features, and ensure org.rust.cargo.evaluate.build.scripts is enabled. This allows the IDE to properly understand code generated by build.rs.
3. Neovim: The Speed Demon #
For those who live in the terminal, Neovim (0.10+) with Lua configuration is unbeatable in terms of latency and raw typing speed.
The Setup #
We will assume you are using a plugin manager like lazy.nvim. We need mason.nvim to manage the binaries and nvim-lspconfig to hook into the LSP.
init.lua Configuration
#
Here is a concise, modern snippet to get full Rust IDE features in Neovim, including “Format on Save”.
-- Assumes lazy.nvim is installed
require("lazy").setup({
"williamboman/mason.nvim",
"williamboman/mason-lspconfig.nvim",
"neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
"hrsh7th/nvim-cmp", -- Autocompletion
"hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp",
})
require("mason").setup()
require("mason-lspconfig").setup({
ensure_installed = { "rust_analyzer" },
})
-- LSP Configuration
local lspconfig = require('lspconfig')
local capabilities = require('cmp_nvim_lsp').default_capabilities()
lspconfig.rust_analyzer.setup {
capabilities = capabilities,
settings = {
['rust-analyzer'] = {
checkOnSave = {
command = "clippy"
},
cargo = {
allFeatures = true,
},
procMacro = {
enable = true
},
}
}
}
-- Global Format on Save
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufWritePre", {
pattern = "*.rs",
callback = function()
vim.lsp.buf.format({ async = false })
end,
})Note: For a fully integrated experience including debugging, look into rustaceanvim, a plugin that wraps rust-analyzer and codelldb specifically for Neovim.
Comparison: The Numbers #
Which one eats your RAM? Which one refactors best?
| Feature | VS Code | RustRover (IntelliJ) | Neovim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup Time | Fast (~2s) | Slow (~10s) | Instant (<200ms) |
| Memory Usage (Hello World) | ~400MB | ~1.2GB | ~50MB |
| Memory Usage (Large Repo) | ~2GB | ~4GB+ | ~300MB (LSP dependent) |
| Refactoring | Good (Rename, Extract) | Excellent (Deep semantic awareness) | Basic (LSP standard) |
| Debugger | Good (CodeLLDB) | Excellent (Native integration) | Moderate (DAP setup required) |
| Cost | Free | Paid (Commercial) / Free (Non-comm) | Free |
Performance Traps & Solutions #
Regardless of your IDE, Rust development involves heavy compilation tasks. Here is how to keep your environment snappy.
1. The target Directory Conflict
#
If you run cargo check in your terminal while your IDE is running rust-analyzer, they might lock the same build artifacts.
Solution: rust-analyzer usually uses a separate target directory by default now, but ensure you aren’t manually overriding CARGO_TARGET_DIR globally unless you know what you are doing.
2. Using sccache
#
To speed up recompilation across different projects (and consequently help your IDE if it triggers builds), install sccache.
cargo install sccacheAdd this to your shell profile (.zshrc or .bashrc):
export RUSTC_WRAPPER=sccache3. Remote Development #
If you are working on a massive codebase (e.g., compiling the Linux kernel in Rust or a massive monolith), your laptop might throttle.
- VS Code: Use the “Remote - SSH” extension. It is flawless.
- RustRover: Supports Gateway, though it can be heavier on network bandwidth.
- Neovim: Simply SSH into the server and run
nvimthere. It is the best experience for remote dev, hands down.
Conclusion #
So, which one should you choose in 2025?
- Choose VS Code if: You want a setup that “just works,” is free, and you switch between languages (TS/JS/Rust) frequently. It is the safe, solid choice for 80% of developers.
- Choose RustRover if: You are working on a massive, complex legacy Rust codebase where advanced refactoring tools and deep code intelligence are worth the memory cost.
- Choose Neovim if: You value keyboard-driven workflows, low latency, and have the patience to maintain your own configuration. Once configured, nothing feels as fast.
Next Steps:
- If you picked VS Code, explore the CodeLLDB extension for debugging.
- If you picked Neovim, look up Telescope.nvim for fuzzy finding.
Happy coding, and may your borrow checker always be satisfied.