Understanding Rust releases
Rust’s toolchain consists primarily of the Rust compiler, rustc, along with tools for managing a Rust installation. Because Rust is under constant development, its toolchain is designed to be easy to update.
Software projects are often provided via multiple channels in order to separate the stable and beta versions of the code. Rust works the same way, offering three channels for toolchain updates:
- Stable: Major point releases, which emerge every six weeks or so.
- Beta: Candidates for the next major point release, which emerge more often.
- Nightly: The most immediate build, with access to cutting-edge features but no guarantees as to their stability.
