[Rd] Proposal: Integrating Rust Toolchain into Rtools for Rust-Based R Package Development

[Avraham Adler]

Hello, Wenjie. 

If you are specifically interested in Windows, Tomas Kalibera is the keeper of Rtools for Windows and it has its own list at R-sig-windows which may provide more focus. 

Thank you,

Avi

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 3, 2025, at 7:30 AM, Sun Wenjie <sunwjie using gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear R-devel community,
> 
> I'm exploring (experimentally) the integration of the Rust toolchain into
> Rtools, to enable smoother development and shipping of Rust-based R packages
> on Windows.
> 
> I've written a detailed blog post documenting the process, technical rationale
> and what’s next:
> https://medium.com/@sunwjie/integrating-the-rust-toolchain-into-rtools-e4c7df40cb82.
> 
> Currently, Rust is not included in Rtools, and setting it up alongside R on
> Windows can be confusing for some users, especially those unfamiliar with
> computers. However, both Rust (via the -gnu toolchain) and
> Rtools share the same MinGW-based toolchain, making integration technically
> feasible.
> 
> What I’ve done so far
> - Built a custom Rtools45 installer with Rust 1.85.0 integrated alongside GCC
>  and other tools.
> - Successfully tested Rust-based R packages like {string2path} using the custom
>  Rtools.
> 
> I'd love to contribute this work upstream and collaborate with Rtools
> maintainers to make Rust a supported part of the official Rtools release. Are
> there existing plans or blockers around this?
> 
> Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your thoughts!
> 
> Best regards,
> Wenjie
> 
> ——
> https://www.sun-wenjie.site
> 
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