Install cargo-edit with Homebrew, apk, Nix, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• cargo-add
• cargo-rm
• cargo-set-version
• cargo-upgrade

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in June 2015, early in Rust's post-1.0 package ecosystem, and the crate was published on crates.io in November 2015. Its README describes a tool that extends Cargo with commands for adding, removing, upgrading, and versioning dependencies by modifying Cargo.toml.

cargo-edit originally shipped commands including `cargo add`, `cargo rm`, `cargo upgrade`, and `cargo set-version`. The README now records an important handoff: `cargo add` became integrated into Cargo as of Rust 1.62, and `cargo rm` as of Rust 1.66, while cargo-edit continues to provide commands such as `cargo upgrade` and `cargo set-version`.

Adoption history

cargo-edit became a standard recommendation because Cargo itself long lacked ergonomic subcommands for editing dependency requirements in manifests. Its presence in Homebrew, Nix, Arch Linux, and Alpine packaging, plus millions of crates.io downloads, reflects broad adoption by Rust developers and CI images.

The upstreaming of `cargo add` and `cargo rm` into Cargo is the strongest adoption signal: workflows popularized by cargo-edit influenced the default Rust toolchain instead of remaining only third-party extensions.

How it is used

Historically, users installed cargo-edit to run commands such as `cargo add serde`, `cargo rm old-crate`, `cargo upgrade`, and `cargo set-version 1.0.0`. Modern users mostly rely on Cargo's built-in add/remove commands and keep cargo-edit for dependency requirement upgrades and manifest version changes.

`cargo upgrade` changes version requirements in Cargo.toml, while `cargo update` only updates versions selected in Cargo.lock. That distinction is central to why cargo-edit remains useful for package-maintenance work.

Why package nerds care

cargo-edit is package-nerd canon because it sits at the exact boundary between package-manager UX and manifest syntax. It made Rust dependency declarations feel more like `npm install` or `go get` workflows while still editing Cargo.toml explicitly.

Its history also shows how successful extension commands can become part of the base package manager once the workflow proves itself.

Timeline

• 2015: killercup/cargo-edit GitHub repository created.
• 2015: cargo-edit crate first published on crates.io.
• 2022: Cargo 1.62 integrated `cargo add`, according to the cargo-edit README.
• 2022: Cargo 1.66 integrated `cargo rm`, according to the cargo-edit README.
• 2026: crates.io metadata shows ongoing releases in the 0.13.x line.

Related projects

• Cargo is the package manager extended by cargo-edit and later absorbed some of its commands.
• cargo-upgrade and cargo-set-version are the remaining command families documented by the README.
• The README points to related Cargo extension commands including cargo-feature and cargo-override.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/killercup/cargo-edit
• https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/cargo-edit
• https://github.com/killercup/cargo-edit
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/killercup/cargo-edit/master/README.md
• input.source_facts.package-manager