# Install cargo-dist with Homebrew, Nix, pacman, apt, winget
Tool for building final distributable artifacts and uploading them to an archive. Version 0.32.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-22. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#cargo-dist.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:cargo-dist
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install cargo-dist
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
### Linux
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#cargo-dist
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-dist/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman (92%):
```sh
sudo pacman -S cargo-dist
```
Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-dist from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
- Debian apt (92%):
```sh
sudo apt install dist
```
Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: dist from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
### Windows
- winget (92%):
```sh
winget install --id axodotdev.dist -e
```
Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: axodotdev.dist from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:cargo-dist
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.32.0
- **Source summary:** Tool for building final distributable artifacts and uploading them to an archive
- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-05-22T09:34:54Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- dist (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.32.0
## Project history and usage
cargo-dist, now branded in its README as `dist`, is a release and binary-distribution tool from Axo that generates shippable artifacts, installers, release manifests, and CI workflows for Rust and other projects. It occupies the packaging layer between `cargo build` and public distribution channels such as GitHub Releases and package managers.
### Project history
The cargo-dist crate appeared on crates.io in September 2022, and the GitHub repository was created in October 2022. Its early identity was tightly Rust-centered, but the official README now labels the project `dist (formerly known as cargo-dist)`, reflecting its wider release-engineering ambitions.
The README describes the project as a tool that plans, builds, hosts, publishes, and announces releases. A defining design choice is generated CI: `dist init` can generate release workflows that wait for version tags, build artifacts on multiple platforms, create or edit GitHub Releases, and attach generated release notes and artifacts.
The project also documents self-hosting: dist's own releases are produced through dist-generated release machinery, with cargo-release used for version and changelog mechanics.
### Adoption history
cargo-dist grew as Rust CLI authors wanted repeatable binary releases without maintaining bespoke GitHub Actions matrices and installer scripts. The supplied package-manager facts show packaging across Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu as `dist`, Nix, Arch Linux, and winget, indicating adoption beyond the Rust-only install path.
crates.io records more than one hundred thousand downloads, while the GitHub repository has thousands of stars. That combination of registry use, cross-platform package-manager presence, and generated CI support makes it one of the more visible Rust-origin release automation tools.
### How it is used
A typical user initializes configuration with `dist init`, commits the generated configuration and CI workflow, then publishes by pushing a version tag. dist plans the release, builds archives and installers, produces a machine-readable manifest, and can host artifacts on a GitHub Release.
Configuration can live in Cargo.toml, package.json, dist-workspace.toml, or dist.toml, which matches the project's move from a Cargo-only helper toward a general binary distribution tool.
### Why package nerds care
cargo-dist matters to package nerds because it treats release artifacts as first-class package metadata: archives, installers, checksums, changelogs, manifests, hosting locations, and package-manager publishing become a repeatable graph instead of ad hoc release notes.
It also captures a common Rust ecosystem pattern: a tool starts as a Cargo subcommand, then expands into broader developer tooling while keeping Cargo workspace integration as a core path.
### Timeline
- 2022: cargo-dist crate first published on crates.io.
- 2022: axodotdev/cargo-dist GitHub repository created.
- 2024: README documents generated CI workflows, installers, release manifests, package publishing, and self-hosted releases.
- 2026: crates.io metadata shows active updates and the 0.32.x release line.
### Related projects
- oranda is referenced by the README as a companion for generated project websites.
- cargo-release is documented in the repository's release workflow for version, changelog, and tag mechanics.
- GitHub Releases and GitHub Actions are central hosting and CI targets in the official documentation.
### Sources
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- input.source_facts.package-manager
## Security Notes
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
## Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
## Configuration files
- Unix: Cargo.toml, package.json, dist-workspace.toml, dist.toml
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Nix - cargo-dist: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-dist/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman - cargo-dist - 0.32.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-dist from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Shippable application packaging for Rust | https://github.com/axodotdev/cargo-dist
- Debian apt - dist - 1:3.5-236-1.1: installed executable or alias match | Debian stable package indexes: dist from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Tools for developing, maintaining and distributing software
- Ubuntu apt - dist - 1:3.5-236-1: installed executable or alias match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: dist from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Tools for developing, maintaining and distributing software
- winget - axodotdev.dist: installed executable or alias match | Windows Package Manager source index: axodotdev.dist from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cargo-dist.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/cargo-dist.yml)
## Sources
- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph