# cross-rs/cross

“Zero setup” cross compilation and “cross testing” of Rust crates

Repository: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cross
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: rust, cross-compilation, cross-testing, cargo, x86, arm, aarch64, mips, powerpc, sparc, s390x, linux, bsd, windows
Last push: 2026-08-19T12:01:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3538, "days_push": 14, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8305, forks 461 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:20.229680+00:00)

## What it is
cross is a zero-setup CLI tool for cross compiling and cross testing Rust crates, using Docker or Podman containers to provide complete cross toolchains. It mirrors Cargo's CLI, so commands like cross build and cross test work for targets like aarch64 or mips without touching the system toolchain.

## Use cases
- build a rust binary for aarch64 from an x86_64 machine
- run rust tests for mips or powerpc targets
- cross compile rust crates without installing toolchains manually
- produce portable rust binaries for arm and bsd targets
- test embedded rust code for non-x86 architectures

## When to choose
- you need to build or test Rust code for architectures other than your host
- you want zero-setup cross compilation via Docker or Podman
- you want a drop-in Cargo replacement for cross-compilation

## When to avoid
- you only build for your host platform
- you cannot run Docker or Podman containers
- you need cross compilation for non-Rust projects

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: build-tool, cli, testing, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform, embedded-systems
- platform: windows, cli, rust
- tags: cross-compilation, rust, cargo, docker, podman, binfmt, toolchain, arm, aarch64, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- cross-rs/cross (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.229680+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:28:04.366186+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.229680+00:00, sha 96361f52f6d7)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/cross (fetched 2026-08-29T08:27:41.062090+00:00, sha 05ec2062c154)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.