Getting Started

This guide will help you get started with SnapCrab for faster Rust development workflows.

Installation

SnapCrab is currently in early development. To build from source:

git clone <repository-url>
cd snapcrab
cargo build --release

Usage

SnapCrab is designed to execute small Rust programs and unit tests without compilation overhead.

Standalone: a single source file

Interpret the main function of a Rust source file:

snapcrab run <file.rs>

Interpret a specific function by name (requires its fully qualified name):

snapcrab run --start-fn <function_name> <file.rs>

Cargo projects: the cargo-snap driver

For a real cargo project (with dependencies), use the cargo snap subcommand, which builds the crate and its dependencies with MIR encoded, then interprets:

# Interpret the crate's `main`.
cargo snap run

# Discover and interpret tests (test support is a work in progress).
cargo snap test --filter <substring>

Requirements

• A little-endian host machine (e.g., x86-64, AArch64). SnapCrab will not compile on big-endian hosts.
• The interpreted code must target the same machine as the host (same endianness and pointer width). Cross-interpretation is not supported.

Limitations

Current limitations in the early development phase:

• Limited subset of Rust syntax supported
• cargo snap run works; cargo snap test is still a work in progress
• Basic language constructs
• Little-endian host only; no cross-target interpretation

Future expansion will include external dependencies and broader Rust feature support.