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Installation

This guide will walk you through setting up your development environment for Dioxus, including installing Rust, the Dioxus CLI tool, and platform-specific dependencies.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:
  • A code editor (VS Code, RustRover, or your preferred editor)
  • Terminal/command line access
  • Internet connection for downloading dependencies
The minimum supported Rust version for Dioxus is 1.85.0. The installation steps below will install the latest stable version.

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Step 1: Install Rust

Dioxus requires Rust to be installed on your system. If you don’t have Rust installed yet, follow these instructions:
Open your terminal and run:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
Follow the on-screen instructions. When prompted, choose option 1 for the default installation.After installation completes, configure your current shell:
source $HOME/.cargo/env
Verify the installation:
rustc --version
cargo --version
cargo-binstall allows you to install pre-compiled binaries of Rust tools, making the installation much faster than building from source. 
cargo install cargo-binstall
If you skip this step, you can still install the Dioxus CLI directly with cargo install dioxus-cli, but it will take longer to compile.

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Step 3: Install Dioxus CLI

The Dioxus CLI (dx) is the command-line tool for creating, developing, and building Dioxus applications. It provides hot-reload, bundling, and deployment features. 
cargo binstall dioxus-cli
Verify the installation: 
dx --version
You should see output like: 
dioxus-cli 0.7.0

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Step 4: Platform-Specific Setup

Depending on which platforms you want to target, you may need additional dependencies.

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Web Development

For web development, you need to add the WebAssembly target: 
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
No additional tools are required for web development - the Dioxus CLI includes everything you need!

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Desktop Development

Desktop apps use the system’s webview. Here’s what you need for each platform:
No additional dependencies required! macOS includes WebKit by default.
For building macOS app bundles (.app), the CLI uses built-in tools.

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Mobile Development

Mobile development requires platform-specific SDKs and tools.
1

Install Android Studio

Download and install Android Studio which includes the Android SDK.
2

Install NDK

Open Android Studio → Tools → SDK Manager → SDK Tools tabCheck and install:
  • Android SDK Platform-Tools
  • Android NDK
3

Add Rust targets

rustup target add aarch64-linux-android
rustup target add armv7-linux-androideabi
rustup target add i686-linux-android
rustup target add x86_64-linux-android
4

Set environment variables

Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):
export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
export NDK_HOME=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/<version>
Replace <version> with your installed NDK version.
While you can use any text editor with Dioxus, these extensions will improve your development experience:

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VS Code

Install these extensions:
  1. rust-analyzer - Rust language support with autocomplete, diagnostics, and more
  2. Dioxus - Syntax highlighting and autocompletion for RSX
You can install them from the VS Code marketplace or via command line: 
code --install-extension rust-lang.rust-analyzer
code --install-extension dioxuslabs.dioxus
The Dioxus extension provides RSX autocompletion, formatting, and component navigation!

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RustRover / IntelliJ IDEA

  1. Install the Rust plugin from JetBrains Marketplace
  2. Install the Dioxus plugin for RSX support

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Verification

Let’s verify your installation is complete by creating a test project:
1

Create a new project

dx new my-test-app
cd my-test-app
When prompted, select your preferred platform (web, desktop, or fullstack).
2

Run the development server

dx serve
This should compile your app and open it in your default browser (for web) or launch a window (for desktop).
3

Test hot-reload

Open src/main.rs in your editor and change some text in the rsx! macro. Save the file and watch your app update instantly!

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Troubleshooting

Make sure ~/.cargo/bin is in your PATH:
echo $PATH
If it’s not there, add this to your shell profile:
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
Then restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or ~/.zshrc).
If you see errors about missing libraries, ensure you’ve installed all the development dependencies listed in the Desktop Development → Linux section above.Common missing packages:
  • pkg-config
  • libssl-dev or openssl-devel
  • webkit2gtk libraries
The first time you build a Dioxus app, Rust needs to compile all dependencies. This can take several minutes.Subsequent builds will be much faster thanks to incremental compilation and caching.To speed up compilation:
  • Use cargo-binstall for pre-compiled CLI tools
  • Consider using sccache for distributed compilation caching
  • Use mold or lld as a faster linker
If your desktop app doesn’t launch on Windows:
  1. Ensure Windows is up to date
  2. Download and install WebView2 Runtime manually
  3. Restart your application

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Next Steps

Now that your environment is set up, you’re ready to build your first Dioxus app!

Quick Start Tutorial

Follow our step-by-step guide to build your first app

CLI Reference

Learn all the dx commands and options available

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Keeping Up to Date

To update Dioxus CLI to the latest version: 
cargo binstall dioxus-cli --force
To update Rust itself: 
rustup update
Join the Dioxus Discord to stay informed about new releases and get help from the community!

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