Apt Rust requirement raises questions

Summary

Welcome to LWN.net The following subscription-only content has been made available to you by an LWN subscriber. Thousands of subscribers depend on LWN for the best news from the Linux and free software communities. If you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing to LWN. Thank you for visiting LWN.net! By Joe BrockmeierNovember 24, 2025 It is rarely newsworthy when a project or package picks up a new dependency. However, changes in a core tool like Debian's Advanced Package Tool (APT) can have far-reaching effects. For example, Julian Andres Klode's declaration that APT would require Rust in May 2026 means that a few of Debian's unofficial ports must either acquire a working Rust toolchain or depend on an old version of APT. This has raised several questions within the project, particularly about the ability of a single maintainer to make changes that have widespread impact. On October 31, Klode sent an announcement to the debian-devel mailing list that he intended to introduce Rust dependencies and code into APT as soon as May 2026: This extends at first to the Rust compiler and standard library, and the Sequoia ecosystem. In particular, our code to parse .deb, .ar, .tar, and the HTTP signature verification code would strongly benefit from memory safe languages and a stronger approach to unit testing. If you maintain a port without a working Rust toolchain, please ensure it has one within the next 6 months, or sunset the port. Klode added this was necessary so that the project as a whole could move forward, rely on modern technologies, "and not be held back by trying to shoehorn modern software on retro computing devices". Some Debian developers have welcomed the news. Paul Tagliamonte acknowledged that it would impact unofficial Debian ports but called the push toward Rust "welcome news". However, John Paul Adrian Glaubitz complained that Klode's wording was unpleasant and that the approach was confrontational. In another message, he explained that he was no...