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Add quickstart for how to build and run the compiler (rust-lang#1951)
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* Add quickstart for how to build and run the compiler

The chapter is quite long, and a lot of the information is, while
valuable, not very important for newcomers. I think it makes sense to
have a condensed version for anyone just wanting to get started with
only the most important information.

* A few improvements to quickstart
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Noratrieb authored Mar 31, 2024
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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions src/doc/rustc-dev-guide/src/SUMMARY.md
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# Building and debugging `rustc`

- [How to build and run the compiler](./building/how-to-build-and-run.md)
- [Quickstart](./building/quickstart.md)
- [Prerequisites](./building/prerequisites.md)
- [Suggested Workflows](./building/suggested.md)
- [Distribution artifacts](./building/build-install-distribution-artifacts.md)
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5 changes: 5 additions & 0 deletions src/doc/rustc-dev-guide/src/building/how-to-build-and-run.md
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The compiler is built using a tool called `x.py`. You will need to
have Python installed to run it.

## Quick Start

For a less in-depth quick-start of getting the compiler running, see [quickstart](./quickstart.md).


## Get the source code

The main repository is [`rust-lang/rust`][repo]. This contains the compiler,
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# Quickstart

This is a quickstart guide about getting the compiler running. For more information in the individual steps,
see the other pages in this chapter.

First, clone the repository:

```sh
git clone https://github.com/rust-lang/rust.git
cd rust
```

When building the compiler, we don't use `cargo` directly, instead we use a wrapper called "x".
It is invoked with `./x`.

We need to create a configuration for the build. Use `./x setup` to create a good default.

```sh
./x setup
```

Then, we can build the compiler. Use `./x build` to build the compiler, standard library and a few tools.
You can also `./x check` to just check it.
All these commands can take specific components/paths as arguments, for example `./x check compiler` to just check the compiler.

```sh
./x build
```

> When doing a change to the compiler that does not affect the way it compiles the standard library
(so for example, a change to an error message), use `--keep-stage-std 1` to avoid recompiling it.

After building the compiler and standard library, you now have a working compiler toolchain.
You can use it with rustup by linking it.

```sh
rustup toolchain link stage1 build/host/stage1
```

Now you have a toolchain called `stage1` linked to your build. You can use it to test the compiler.

```sh
rustc +stage1 testfile.rs
```

After doing a change, you can run the compiler test suite with `./x test`.

`./x test` runs the full test suite, which is slow and rarely what you want.
Usually, `./x test tests/ui` is what you want after a comiler change,
testing all [UI tests](../tests/ui.md) that invoke the compiler on a specific test file and check the output.

```sh
./x test tests/ui
```

Use `--bless` if you've made a change and want to update the `.stderr` files with the new output.

> `./x suggest` can also be helpful for suggesting which tests to run after a change.
Congrats, you are now ready to make a change to the compiler! If you have more questions,
[the full chapter](./how-to-build-and-run.md) might contain the answers, and if it doesn't,
feel free to ask for help on [Zulip](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/182449-t-compiler.2Fhelp).

If you use VSCode, `./x setup` will ask you if you want to set up the config. For other editors, check out [suggested workflows](./suggested.md).

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