rust-patterns

Overview of rust-patterns skill

What rust-patterns is for

The rust-patterns skill is a practical guide for writing idiomatic Rust with fewer ownership mistakes, cleaner error handling, and better structure for backend code. It is most useful when you want help turning a rough Rust idea into code that compiles cleanly, follows common conventions, and avoids unnecessary cloning, overexposed pub APIs, or brittle concurrency patterns.

Who should use it

Use the rust-patterns skill if you are building or reviewing Rust services, libraries, async workers, or CLI tools and want a stronger default than a generic prompt. It is especially relevant for Backend Development because it focuses on Result, ?, traits, module boundaries, Arc<Mutex<T>>, channels, and other patterns that show up in production Rust.

What it differentiates

Unlike a broad Rust overview, rust-patterns centers on decision-making: when to borrow, when to own, how to structure modules, and how to choose the right abstraction without overengineering. That makes it useful for both new code and refactors, especially when the main risk is not syntax but design drift.

How to Use rust-patterns skill

Install and activate rust-patterns

Install with:
npx skills add affaan-m/everything-claude-code --skill rust-patterns

Then invoke the rust-patterns skill in the context of the Rust task you actually need solved. The skill works best when the prompt includes the target file type, crate role, and constraint set rather than only saying “make this more idiomatic.”

Give the skill a concrete Rust task

Strong rust-patterns usage looks like this:

• “Refactor this handler to avoid cloning request bodies and preserve lifetimes.”
• “Design a library API with minimal pub surface and library-friendly errors.”
• “Replace ad hoc string matching with enums and exhaustive pattern matching.”
• “Review this async worker for safe shared state and cancellation handling.”

Add the backend context, inputs, and constraints that matter: whether this is a library or application, whether you can add dependencies like thiserror or anyhow, and whether the code must stay no_std, async, or allocation-light.

Read the right files first

Start with SKILL.md, then inspect the repository’s README.md, AGENTS.md, metadata.json, and any rules/, resources/, or references/ folders if they exist. For this repo, SKILL.md is the main source of guidance, so the fastest path is to read that file first and then adapt the patterns to your own crate layout and toolchain.

Use the skill as a prompt scaffold

A good rust-patterns guide prompt usually has four parts:

1. The goal: “refactor for idiomatic Rust”
2. The boundary: file names, crate type, or subsystem
3. The constraints: async, error type choice, no extra dependencies, performance limits
4. The desired output: code, review notes, or a step-by-step refactor plan

That structure helps the skill choose between ownership, error handling, traits, concurrency, and visibility patterns instead of giving generic Rust advice.

rust-patterns skill FAQ

Is rust-patterns only for Backend Development?

No. The rust-patterns skill is strongest for Backend Development, but it also helps with libraries, CLIs, and internal tooling where correctness and API shape matter. If your task is mostly frontend integration or non-Rust design work, it is probably not the best fit.

Do I need to be advanced to use it?

No. Beginners can use rust-patterns if they provide a small, specific task. In fact, it is often more helpful when you are unsure whether to borrow, clone, return Result, or wrap shared state. The main limitation is that vague prompts will still produce vague guidance.

How is it different from a normal Rust prompt?

A normal prompt may explain Rust syntax; the rust-patterns skill is more useful for making design choices. It emphasizes idioms like ownership-first APIs, exhaustive enums, and minimal public surfaces, which improves output quality when you want maintainable code rather than a one-off fix.

When should I not use it?

Skip rust-patterns if you need a language-agnostic architecture review, a pure bug hunt with no Rust design changes, or a task that must follow a framework-specific template more than general Rust conventions. It is also less useful if the codebase is intentionally experimental and you do not want idiomatic constraints.

How to Improve rust-patterns skill

Give stronger inputs than “make it idiomatic”

The best way to improve rust-patterns results is to include the actual pain point: borrow checker issues, error type choice, concurrency safety, module boundaries, or API ergonomics. For example, “remove unnecessary cloning from this parser while preserving lifetimes” gives the skill a concrete target, while “improve this Rust code” does not.

State the library-vs-app choice early

One of the biggest quality drivers in rust-patterns is whether the code is for a reusable library or an application. Say that up front, because it changes whether thiserror or anyhow is appropriate, how much pub surface to expose, and how strict the API should be.

Ask for review plus rewrite when needed

If you already have code, ask for both diagnosis and a rewrite. That helps the rust-patterns skill point out why a pattern is poor before it proposes a replacement. Good iteration often looks like: first pass for ownership and API shape, second pass for error handling, third pass for async/concurrency cleanup.

Watch for the common failure modes

The most common miss is over-cloning to satisfy the borrow checker instead of redesigning the data flow. Another is exposing too many types or functions publicly when a module-local boundary would be cleaner. If you see either pattern, feed the skill a narrower prompt and ask it to preserve performance, lifetimes, or encapsulation explicitly.