rust-error-handling

Rust error handling with thiserror and anyhow involves defining structured error types for libraries and adding contextual messages for applications. You use thiserror to create custom error enums and anyhow to wrap and propagate errors with rich context.

The best way to propagate errors in Rust applications is using the ? operator alongside anyhow. This allows you to easily bubble up errors while enriching them with helpful context, ensuring reliable error reporting across services and CLI tools.

Use thiserror for building libraries where you need clear, structured error types for consumers, and use anyhow for applications where you need flexible error handling and context enrichment without defining specific error enums.

Converting between Option and Result in Rust involves mapping values to handle missing data or errors effectively. The Skill provides patterns for these conversions, ensuring robust propagation and mapping within your application logic.

Structuring error types for a Rust CLI tool requires defining clear error enums with thiserror and wrapping them with anyhow. This approach provides consistent error reporting and presents helpful, user-facing messages when operations like file reading or JSON parsing fail.

Yes, you must add thiserror and anyhow as dependencies in your Cargo.toml to implement these Rust error handling patterns. This setup allows you to structure error types, propagate errors with ?, and present helpful context to users.