Setup Rust & Haskell on macOS

If you’re diving into systems programming with Rust or exploring the world of functional programming with Haskell, the first step is getting your development environment properly configured. This guide walks you through the setup process for both languages on macOS, including installing toolchains, configuring shell settings, and compiling a simple “Hello, World!” program.

🦀 Setting Up Rust on macOS

Rust provides a dedicated installer called rustup, which manages the compiler (rustc), Cargo (Rust’s package manager), and different toolchains.

1. Install Rust with rustup

The recommended way is via the official script at rustup.rs:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Follow the prompts to install the stable Rust toolchain.

2. Update and Check Installation

After installation, update your toolchain and confirm:

rustup update
rustup show

You can also list installed Cargo binaries:

cargo install --list

3. Configure Your Shell

To ensure Rust tools are available in your terminal, add the following to your ~/.zshrc file:

. "$HOME/.cargo/env"

Reload your shell with source ~/.zshrc.

4. Compile and Run a Program

Create a file named hello-world.rs:

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, World!");
}

Compile and run it:

rustc hello-world.rs
./hello-world

You should see:

Hello, World!

λ Setting Up Haskell on macOS

For Haskell, the recommended toolchain manager is GHCup, which simplifies installation of GHC (the compiler), Cabal, Stack, and Haskell Language Server.

1. Install GHCup

Using Homebrew, install GHCup from haskell.org:

brew install ghcup

2. Install Tooling

Use GHCup to install and set the latest recommended versions:

ghcup install ghc --set
ghcup install cabal --set
ghcup install hls --set
ghcup install stack --set

Check installed components:

ghcup list -c installed

3. Configure Your Shell

Add GHCup’s binaries to your PATH in ~/.zshrc:

export PATH="$HOME/.ghcup/bin:$PATH"

Reload with source ~/.zshrc.

4. Compile and Run a Program

Create a file named hello-world.hs:

main = putStr "Hello, World!\n"

Compile and run:

ghc hello-world.hs
./hello-world

You should see the output:

Hello, World!

Conclusion

With both Rust and Haskell installed, you’re now ready to:

• Use Cargo for Rust project management and package handling.
• Use Cabal or Stack for Haskell project builds.
• Leverage powerful type systems and expressive languages for different programming paradigms.

Whether you’re exploring safe systems programming with Rust or functional purity with Haskell, your macOS machine is now set up for the journey.