/commands /cargo/cargo-add-dependency-features

cargo add serde --features derive: add a dependency with features

updated 2026-10-21

tool: Cargo
versions: Cargo 1.62+ (cargo add built in), cargo remove: Cargo 1.66+
os: any

cargo add serde --features derive adds serde to the [dependencies] table of Cargo.toml with the derive feature enabled, choosing the latest compatible version from crates.io. It is built into Cargo since 1.62 (before that it came from the cargo-edit plugin). Add @VERSION to pin a version, and --dev or --build for other dependency tables.

Add a crate with a feature

bash

cargo new -q --vcs none app && cd app
cargo add serde@1.0.219 --features derive 2>&1 | grep -vE 'Updating|Locking'
echo "--- Cargo.toml"
sed -n '/^\[dependencies\]/,$p' Cargo.toml

Output

      Adding serde v1.0.219 to dependencies
             Features:
             + derive
             + serde_derive
             + std
             - alloc
             - rc
             - unstable
--- Cargo.toml
[dependencies]
serde = { version = "1.0.219", features = ["derive"] }

cargo add prints the crate's features: + marks features that will be enabled (the ones you asked for, the defaults, and features they turn on), - marks available features that stay off. Without @1.0.219, Cargo writes the newest version, such as serde = { version = "1.0.N", ... }.

Options

Command	Result in Cargo.toml
cargo add tokio --features full	tokio = { version = "...", features = ["full"] }
cargo add serde -F derive,rc	Several features (-F is short for --features)
cargo add regex@1.10	regex = "1.10" (compatible updates allowed, like ^1.10)
cargo add rand --no-default-features -F std	default-features = false, features = ["std"]
cargo add --dev pretty_assertions	Added to [dev-dependencies]
cargo add --build cc	Added to [build-dependencies]
cargo add --path ../mylib	Local path dependency
cargo add --git https://github.com/OWNER/REPO NAME	Git dependency
cargo add -p server anyhow	Add to one package of a workspace

Remove a dependency

bash

cargo remove serde          # Cargo 1.66+
cargo remove --dev pretty_assertions

Sources

cheat sheets · cargoCargo cheat sheet: build, run, test and manage Rust cratesCargo cheat sheet: new packages, check, build and run in debug or release, test, fmt, clippy, add and update dependencies, workspaces and flags for CI.flags · cargocargo build --release: optimised builds and target/releasecargo build --release uses the release profile (opt-level 3, no overflow checks) and writes to target/release. Debug vs release, and how to tune the profile.errors · cargoerror: could not find `Cargo.toml` in `...` or any parent directorycargo reports could not find Cargo.toml when run outside a Rust package. cd into the project, pass --manifest-path, or create a package with cargo new.commands · cargocargo new: create a new Rust project (binary or library)cargo new hello creates a Rust binary package with Cargo.toml, src/main.rs and Git; --lib makes a library. Options, naming rules, cargo init and pitfalls.

Add a crate with a feature

Options

Remove a dependency

Sources

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