The answer to "how do I use Rust on iOS and Android?"
cargo-mobile takes care of generating Xcode and Android Studio project files, building and running on device, generating project boilerplate, and a few other things!
Check out the announcment post!
Everything here works and is already used internally! However, this hasn't seen a lot of external use yet, so there could still be some rough edges.
Building for iOS is broken on Rust 1.46.0, 1.47.0, and 1.48.0!
Sorry for the inconvenience! This is resolved in Rust 1.49.0, but that won't be out for a lil bit. For now, you can use the current beta:
rustup update beta
rustup default betaThe build will probably take a bit, so feel free to go get a snack or something.
cargo install --git https://github.com/BrainiumLLC/cargo-mobilecargo-mobile is currently only supported on macOS. Adding Linux support would likely only take a small PR, but Windows support is potentially a small nightmare. (Note that only macOS can support iOS development, so other platforms could only be used for Android development!)
You'll need to have Xcode and the Android SDK/NDK installed. Some of this will ideally be automated in the future, or at least we'll provide a helpful guide and diagnostics.
Whenever you want to update:
cargo mobile updateTo start a new project, all you need to do is make a directory with a cute name, cd into it, and then run this command:
cargo mobile initAfter some straightforward prompts, you'll be asked to select a template pack. Template packs are used to generate project boilerplate, i.e. using the bevy template pack gives you a minimal Bevy project that runs out-of-the-box on desktop and mobile.
| name | info |
|---|---|
| bevy | Minimal Bevy project derived from sprite example |
| bevy-demo | Bevy breakout demo |
| wgpu | Minimal wgpu project derived from hello-triangle example |
| winit | Minimal winit project derived from window exmaple |
Template pack contribution is encouraged; we'd love to have very nice template packs for Bevy, Amethyst, and whatever else people find helpful! We'll write up a guide for template pack creation soon, but in the mean time, the existing ones are a great reference point. Any template pack placed into ~./cargo-mobile/templates/apps/ will appear as an option in cargo mobile init.
Once you've generated your project, you can run cargo run as usual to run your app on desktop. However, now you can also do cargo apple run and cargo android run to run on connected iOS and Android devices respectively!
If you prefer to work in the usual IDEs, you can use cargo apple open and cargo android open to open your project in Xcode and Android Studio respectively.
For more commands, run cargo mobile, cargo apple, or cargo android to see help information.