# servo/ipc-channel

A multiprocess drop-in replacement for Rust channels

Repository: https://github.com/servo/ipc-channel
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ipc-channel
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-04-30T15:28:50+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 80/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 80, release rhythm 69, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4089, "days_push": 125, "days_rel": 125, "gap_med": 70.5, "n_releases_24m": 7}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1124, forks 157 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:40.851976+00:00)

## What it is
ipc-channel is a Rust library providing an inter-process communication implementation of Rust channels, designed as a drop-in replacement for std::sync::mpsc channels across processes. Messages are serialized with serde and transported via OS IPC mechanisms like sockets, file descriptors, and shared memory.

## Use cases
- send messages between processes in rust
- replace mpsc channels with cross-process communication
- bootstrap ipc channels between parent and child processes
- serialize and transmit typed messages over ipc
- build multiprocess applications in rust

## When to choose
- you need rust channel-like APIs that work across process boundaries
- you want to send serde-serializable types between processes with minimal code changes
- you need to pass channels themselves over channels for dynamic connection setup

## When to avoid
- you only need thread-level communication within a single process
- you need bounded channels with backpressure, since ipc-channels are always unbounded
- you require strict type safety across processes, since serialized forms must match manually

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: serialization, concurrency, message-queue
- domain: developer-tools, microservices, operating-systems
- platform: rust, windows, cross-platform
- tags: ipc, channels, multiprocess, serde, rust-library, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- servo/ipc-channel (main) score 80

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:40.851976+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 2026-08-30T06:39:51.315892+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/servo/ipc-channel (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:40.851976+00:00, sha b34d510e81d6)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/ipc-channel (fetched 2026-08-29T12:44:01.564996+00:00, sha c726b801ee23)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.