Rust Crash Course
Programming Basics for Web3 & Smart Contract Development. Learn Rust from scratch — built specifically for developers heading into blockchain and smart contract work.
About This Course
Rust is the language of choice for smart contract development on Stellar (Soroban), Solana, NEAR, and other high-performance blockchains. Before you write your first contract, you need to understand the language — and Rust has a steeper learning curve than most.
This crash course gets you past the hard parts fast. We cover ownership, the borrow checker, types, traits, and error handling with real code examples — not toy problems. The goal is for you to be comfortable writing Rust before you need to write production smart contracts.
All code is on GitHub and the full course is available as an embedded playlist on this page.
Prerequisites
- •Basic programming experience in any language
- •Familiarity with the command line
- •No prior Rust experience needed
Who This Course Is For
Aspiring smart contract developers
You want to write Soroban contracts, Solana programs, or NEAR contracts and need Rust fundamentals first.
Web2 developers making the jump
You know JavaScript, Python, or another language and want to add Rust to your toolkit for Web3 work.
Blockchain builders
You're already in the Web3 space but hitting a wall because you can't read or write Rust confidently.
What You'll Learn
Rust Syntax & Toolchain
Get comfortable with Cargo, the compiler, types, and basic Rust syntax from day one.
Ownership & Borrowing
Master Rust's most distinctive feature — the one that makes it safe for systems and smart contract work.
Structs, Enums & Pattern Matching
Model your data cleanly using Rust's powerful type system and pattern matching capabilities.
Traits & Generics
Write reusable, composable code using Rust's trait-based interface model and generic types.
Error Handling
Use Result and Option types correctly — the Rust way to write code that handles failure gracefully.
Web3-Relevant Crates & Ecosystem
Navigate crates.io and the Rust Web3 ecosystem so you know what to reach for when building on-chain.
Course Curriculum
Module 1Rust Fundamentals
- •Why Rust for Web3 and smart contract development?
- •The Rust toolchain: Rustup, Cargo, and the compiler
- •Basic types, variables, and expressions
- •Functions, control flow, and loops
- •Setting up your development environment
Module 2Ownership & Memory Safety
- •The ownership model explained — why it matters for smart contracts
- •Borrowing and references
- •The borrow checker in practice
- •Cloning vs. moving — when to use each
- •Lifetimes — a practical introduction
Module 3Data Structures & Traits
- •Structs and enums
- •Pattern matching with match
- •Implementing traits — Rust's interface model
- •Generics and how to think in type abstractions
- •Working with collections: Vec, HashMap, and more
Module 4Error Handling & Practical Rust
- •Result and Option types
- •Propagating errors with the ? operator
- •Writing unit tests in Rust
- •Cargo, crates.io, and the Web3 Rust ecosystem
- •Where to go next: Soroban, ink!, and other smart contract runtimes
Watch the Course
The full Rust Crash Course playlist is embedded below. Watch here or open on YouTube.
Rust Crash Course — Programming Basics: Web3 & Smart Contract Development
Resources & Links
Course Repository
Events & Registration
Start learning Rust today
Watch the playlist, follow along with the GitHub code, and register for the next live session.
Register on Luma