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RealACJoshua
RealACJoshua

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"🦀 Ditching Visual Studio: How I Built Rust on Windows the Open-Source Way"

#rust #programming #devtool #discuss

This is a full walkthrough of setting up Rust on Windows using the GNU toolchain via MSYS2 — no Visual Studio, no link.exe, no tears."

I wanted Rust. I didn't want Visual Studio.

What followed was 3 hours of linker errors, missing DLLs, and yelling at my terminal — but I came out stronger. If you want to set up Rust on Windows without Visual Studio, here's exactly what worked for me.

🎯 What We’re Building

Rust + MSYS2 + GCC = ✅

No Visual Studio + No link.exe = 😌

We’ll set up a lightweight, open-source Rust environment on Windows using the x86_64-pc-windows-gnu toolchain and MSYS2.

I assume you have rust installed already if not 👉 Install Rust

🛠️ 1. Install MSYS2 (the Right Way)

  • Download from 👉 msys2.org
  • Open MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit Terminal (not the default one!)
  • Then run: 
pacman -Syu
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✅ If it asks you to restart the terminal, do that and run it again.

🔧 2. Install the Toolchain

In MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit Terminal:

pacman -S --needed base-devel mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain
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If you face mirror timeouts (especially common in Africa), update this file:

/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw64
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Replace with:

Server = https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/msys2/mingw/x86_64/
Server = https://mirror.msys2.org/mingw/x86_64/
Server = https://packages.msys2.org/mingw/x86_64/
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Then clean and update again:

pacman -Scc
pacman -Syyu
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🧠 3. Switch Rust to the GNU Toolchain if you were using another version 

rustup install stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
rustup default stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
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✍️ 4. Tell Cargo Where Your Compiler Is

Edit this file:

C:\Users\<your_username>\.cargo\config.toml
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Add:

[target.x86_64-pc-windows-gnu]
linker = "C:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin\\gcc.exe"
ar = "C:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin\\ar.exe"
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🧩 5. Fix That Dreaded dlltool Error

❌ Error calling dlltool 'dlltool.exe': program not found

Make sure you have it(dlltool):

where dlltool
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Expected:

C:\msys64\mingw64\bin\dlltool.exe
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If not, run:

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-binutils --overwrite '*'
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Then temporarily fix your PATH:

$env:PATH="C:\msys64\mingw64\bin;" + $env:PATH
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To make it permanent, add it via System Environment Variables.

🚀 6. Test It Out 

cargo new rust_test
cd rust_test
cargo build
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🎉 No Visual Studio. No link.exe. Just Rust + GCC goodness.

💡 Bonus Tips from My Pain

  • Never run pacman from PowerShell or CMD — MSYS2 only!
  • Update your mirrors early if you're outside the US/EU.
  • MSVC-based crates (like windows-sys) will complain — avoid them or find GNU alternatives.
  • Check your paths — MSYS (/usr/bin) and MinGW (/mingw64/bin) are not the same!

🏁 Final Thoughts

If you’re tired of bloated installs and want to keep things lean and open-source, this setup works beautifully. It took me trial, error, and a bit of cursing to get it right — but now it’s smooth sailing.

If this helped you, drop a ❤️ or share it. If you ran into a different issue, comment below — let’s help more Rustaceans build without the bloat.

🗣️ Your Turn:
Have your own story of escaping the grip of Visual Studio? Share it in the comments — let’s make the Windows + Rust experience better for all.

Check me out at theacj.com.ng

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