Using the Core Library (no_std)

Using no_std may be more familiar to embedded Rust developers. It doesn't use std (the Rust standard library) but instead uses a subset, the core library. The Embedded Rust Book has a great section on this.

It is important to note that no_std uses the Rust core library. As this library is part of the Rust standard library, a no_std crate can compile in std environment. However, the opposite isn't true: an std crate can't compile in no_std environment. This information is worth remembering when deciding which library to choose.

Current Support

The table below covers the current support for no_std at this moment for different Espressif products.

⚠️ Note:

• ✅ in Wi-Fi/BLE/ESP-NOW means that the target supports, at least, one of the listed technologies. For details, see Current support table of the esp-wifi repository.
• ESP8266 HAL is in maintenance mode and no further development will be done for this chip.

Relevant esp-rs Crates

When You Might Want to Use the Core Library (no_std)

• Small memory footprint: If your embedded system has limited resources and needs to have a small memory footprint, you will likely want to use bare-metal because std features add a significant amount of final binary size and compilation time.
• Direct hardware control: If your embedded system requires more direct control over the hardware, such as low-level device drivers or access to specialized hardware features you will likely want to use bare-metal because std adds abstractions that can make it harder to interact directly with the hardware.
• Real-time constraints or time-critical applications: If your embedded system requires real-time performance or low-latency response times because std can introduce unpredictable delays and overhead that can affect real-time performance.
• Custom requirements: bare-metal allows more customization and fine-grained control over the behavior of an application, which can be useful in specialized or non-standard environments.