The uutils project has released Rust Coreutils 0.0.30 as the newest version of this GNU Coreutils rewrite within the Rust programming language. Uutils developers will also be targeting more common Unix tools to port over to Rust too.
With Rust Coreutils 0.0.30 they have been working on compatibility against the recent GNU Coreutils 9.6 release. There is also one less GNU test case failure compared to the prior release.
All of the Rust Coreutils 0.0.30 changes are outlined via the project’s GitHub.
Last month at FOSDEM in Brussels the developers also announced their intention of Rust rewrite efforts for other common Unix tools.
Essential Debian/Ubuntu packages will be targetd for rewrite. Tools like procps, util-linux, hostname, login, wall, lscpu, dmesg, and others will be worked on for Rust porting.
In addition to the memory safety benefits of using Rust, the uutils developers feel there is an “appetite from the community” to see these Rust rewrites and would help “pave the way for the young generation. C developers are probably going to be less common.”
For more details see the slides and the FOSDEM 2025 presentation embedded below.
