# Install cargo-generate with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts, Nix, pacman Use pre-existing git repositories as templates. Version 0.23.14 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-23. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#cargo-generate. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:cargo-generate ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install cargo-generate ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install cargo-generate ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/cargo-generate/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add cargo-generate ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cargo-generate from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#cargo-generate ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-generate/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S cargo-generate ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-generate from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:cargo-generate - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 0.23.14 - **Source summary:** Use pre-existing git repositories as templates - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-23T16:35:37Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - cargo-generate (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 0.23.14 ## Project history and usage cargo-generate is a Cargo subcommand for creating new Rust projects from existing git repositories used as templates. Its tagline, repeated in the README and guide, is `cargo, make me a project`. The tool filled a gap left by Cargo's built-in `cargo new`: it lets communities publish richer starter projects, prompts, placeholders, hooks, and favorites without adding template logic to Cargo itself. ### Project history The cargo-generate repository and first crates.io release appeared in May 2018. The official guide describes the core idea as leveraging a pre-existing git repository as a template to get a Rust project started quickly. The project grew into a small templating engine around Git repositories. The guide documents Shopify Liquid for templated content, Rhai for hook scripts, regex placeholders, and special handling for `.liquid` files. Its documentation also treats template discovery and reuse as first-class concepts: the README points users to the GitHub `cargo-generate` topic, while the guide supports favorite templates stored in `$CARGO_HOME/cargo-generate.toml` or `$CARGO_HOME/cargo-generate`. ### Adoption history cargo-generate became common in Rust sub-ecosystems where a useful starter project needs more than a bare crate. The official README uses rustwasm's wasm-pack-template as its example, reflecting early adoption by WebAssembly-oriented Rust workflows. By 2026 it had more than 2 million crates.io downloads and an active changelog, indicating sustained use as a project-scaffolding utility rather than a one-off template experiment. ### How it is used Typical usage is `cargo generate --git https://github.com/owner/template.git` or the shorthand `cargo generate owner/template`. The README also documents prefixes for GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and SourceHut template locations. Template authors can use Liquid files, Rhai hooks, and placeholders; users can define favorite templates in the cargo-generate config file and then invoke them by name. ### Why package nerds care cargo-generate is package-nerd significant because it made template repositories a distribution format in the Rust ecosystem. A Git repo could become a reusable package-like project skeleton without needing to be published as a crate. It also demonstrates the Cargo subcommand pattern at its most social: package managers do not just install programs, they standardize how communities bootstrap new projects. ### Timeline - 2018-05-29: GitHub repository created and initial 0.0.0 crate published to crates.io. - 2018: README and guide establish the git-template workflow, with rustwasm's wasm-pack-template as an early example. - 2020s: Guide documents Liquid templating, Rhai hooks, favorite templates, and multiple git host shorthands. - 2026: 0.23.x releases continue with fixes and maintenance; crate exceeds 2 million downloads. ### Related projects - rustwasm/wasm-pack-template is the official README's example template. - Shopify Liquid, Rhai, and regex are documented building blocks for template expansion. - cargo-binstall is mentioned by the README as an alternative installation path. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for cargo-generate. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## 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_HOME/cargo-generate.toml, $CARGO_HOME/cargo-generate ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - cargo-generate: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cargo-generate/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - cargo-generate - 0.23.12-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cargo-generate from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Use pre-existing git repositories as templates | https://github.com/cargo-generate/cargo-generate - pacman - cargo-generate - 0.23.14-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: cargo-generate from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Use pre-existing git repositories as templates | https://github.com/cargo-generate/cargo-generate - MacPorts - cargo-generate: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/cargo-generate/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cargo-generate.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/cargo-generate.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