# rust-lang/rustc-dev-guide

A guide to how rustc works and how to contribute to it.

Repository: https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc-dev-guide
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rustc-dev-guide
Homepage: https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org
Language: HTML
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: rust, rustc, compiler, contributing
Last push: 2026-08-24T15:36:44+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3151, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1897, forks 610 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:51.115837+00:00)

## What it is
The official Rust Compiler Development Guide, an mdBook-based documentation project explaining how rustc works internally. It helps new contributors get oriented to the compiler codebase and serves as a reference for experienced developers.

## Use cases
- learn how the rustc compiler works internally
- contribute to the Rust compiler
- understand rustc's bootstrapping and build process
- find where to start with beginner compiler issues
- understand rustc's compilation pipeline from source to binaries
- debug and profile the Rust compiler

## When to choose
- you want to contribute to rustc development
- you need to understand compiler internals like type checking, borrow checking, or MIR
- you are onboarding onto the Rust compiler codebase
- you want authoritative, community-maintained rustc documentation

## When to avoid
- you need documentation for the Rust language itself or the standard library
- you want a tutorial on programming in Rust
- you need stable, versioned API docs rather than a living guide

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: documentation, compiler, developer-tools
- domain: compilers, documentation, developer-tools, programming-languages
- platform: rust, cross-platform
- tags: rustc, mdbook, contributing-guide, compiler-internals, rust-lang, web-server

## Member repositories
- rust-lang/rustc-dev-guide (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:51.115837+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 2026-08-30T03:12:48.921016+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc-dev-guide (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:51.115837+00:00, sha 5115ef9689d0)
  - homepage: https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:51:38.275950+00:00, sha a9b2f4297989)
  - site_page: https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org/about-this-guide.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:51:38.285641+00:00, sha 78d3aad206af)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.