bacon
A background code checker for Rust that runs alongside your editor and notifies you of warnings, errors, or test failures.
What is bacon?
Bacon is a background code checker for Rust that runs continuously alongside your editor. It automatically monitors your code for warnings, errors, or test failures and notifies you without requiring manual intervention, streamlining the development workflow.
Rust developers who want continuous, automated code checking without interrupting their workflow, especially those working in editors without built-in background checking.
Developers choose Bacon for its minimal interaction design, allowing them to focus on coding while it handles background checking, with support for multiple jobs (check, clippy, test) and custom configurations.
Overview
background code checker
Use Cases
Best For
- Continuous background checking of Rust projects during development
- Automatically running clippy or tests in the background
- Defining custom check jobs for specific project targets
- Focusing on failing tests without rerunning all tests
- Monitoring multiple project targets (examples, benches) simultaneously
- Streamlining Rust development workflow with minimal manual commands
Not Ideal For
- Editors with built-in LSP support like rust-analyzer providing real-time diagnostics
- CI/CD pipelines requiring headless, automated checking without user interaction
- Development teams preferring GUI-based tools or full IDE integrations over terminals
- Projects using non-Cargo build systems or multi-language codebases
Pros & Cons
Pros
Runs automatically in the background, notifying of warnings, errors, or test failures without manual commands, aligning with its philosophy of minimal interaction.
Allows quick switching between jobs like check, clippy, test, and doc with simple key presses, streamlining development workflows as shown in the README.
Supports defining project-specific jobs in a bacon.toml file, enabling tailored checking for different targets or configurations, with examples provided in the README.
Hit 'f' to restrict the job to only failing tests, aiding in focused debugging without rerunning all tests, a feature highlighted in the documentation.
Cons
Features like clipboard support and sound notifications are disabled by default and require recompilation with cargo install --features, adding setup complexity and inconvenience.
Lacks GUI or IDE integration, making it less accessible for developers who prefer visual tools or integrated development environments over command-line usage.
Tightly integrated with Cargo, so it may not work well with alternative Rust build systems or non-Rust projects, limiting its versatility.
Frequently Asked Questions
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