rust-protobuf

Rust

Rust implementation of Google protocol buffers

Last updated Jun 29, 2026

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Topics

#protobuf #rust #serialization

Language breakdown

Rust 99.4%

C++ 0.3%

Shell 0.3%

RenderScript 0.0%

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README

rust-protobuf

[![crates.io version][crates-io-shields]][crates-io] [![docs.rs][docs-rs-shields]][docs-rs] [![GitHub Workflow Status][actions-shields]][actions] [![License][license-shields]][license]

[crates-io]: https://crates.io/crates/protobuf [crates-io-shields]: https://img.shields.io/crates/v/protobuf.svg [docs-rs]: https://docs.rs/protobuf [docs-rs-shields]: https://img.shields.io/badge/docs.rs-rustdoc-green.svg [actions]: https://github.com/stepancheg/rust-protobuf/actions?query=workflow%3ACI [actions-shields]: https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/stepancheg/rust-protobuf/CI [license]: https://github.com/stepancheg/rust-protobuf/blob/master/LICENSE.txt [license-shields]: https://img.shields.io/crates/l/protobuf.svg

End of life

This implementation is approaching end of life. Official protobuf implementation (not based on this implementation) is on the way, that will be released as protobuf=4 soon. Follow progress in protobuf repository.

Original readme

Protobuf implementation in Rust.

Written in pure rust
Generates rust code
Has runtime library support for generated code

(Coded{Input|Output}Stream impl)

Supports both Protobuf versions 2 and 3
and more

Where is documentation

Documentation is hosted on docs.rs.

Versions and branches

Version 3

Version 3 is current stable version. Compared to version 2 it implements:

runtime reflection
JSON and text format parsing and printing
dynamic messages (messages which can be created from .proto file on the fly

without code generation)

Version 2

Version 2 is previous stable version. Only most critical bugfixes will be applied to 2.x version, otherwise it won't be maintained.

Help

The crate needs help:

a new maintainer, but also
testing
documentation
examples to be used as documentation
feedback on API design
feedback on implementation
pull requests

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a list of changes and compatility issues between versions.

Related projects

prost — another protobuf implementation in Rust, also has gRPC implementation
quick-protobuf — alternative protobuf implementation in Rust
grpc-rs — another gRPC implementation for Rust
grpc-rust — incomplete implementation of gRPC based on this library

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