Cot framework aims to ease Rust web development

Web developers looking for an easier time with the Rust language may want to check out Cot, an emerging web framework pitched as being for “lazy developers.”

While still in early stages of development and not ready for production use, Cot promises to combine an “easy-to-use” API modeled after the Django web framework and a built-in ORM (object-relational mapper) for database interaction. Other features of Cot include type safety, an admin panel, and safeguards against common web vulnerabilities designed to make apps “secure by default.” Developers can try out Cot by running the command cargo install cot-cli && cot new.

“Cot was born out of frustration — the kind that every Rust developer feels when searching for a batteries-included, Django-like web framework that just handles the basics for you,” Cot co-developer Mateusz Mackowski wrote in a February 18 blog post. “While Rust is a really mature language, the web ecosystem is still sort of lacking. Let’s change that.” Mackowski describes himself as an open-source contributor in the Rust ecosystem. He and Marek Grzelak, a hobbyist Rust developer, are partnering in the development of Cot.

While noting there are many web libraries for Rust, such as axum, Rocket, and Actix, Mackowski said that most are very low-level and pretty rough even for the basics. “Cot tries to fill in this gap and tries to create a web framework for lazy developers.” Early releases of Cot can be found on GitHub. Cot currently is ready for community involvement, said Mackowski. Developers interested in participating can reach out via the project’s Discord server.