Crates / cargo-expand / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 27, 2026
Alternatives to cargo-expand
Short answerThe closest alternatives to cargo-expand on crates.io data are syn (8.4M real downloads a day), quote (5M real downloads a day), proc-macro2 (4.9M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is syn, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. cargo-expand itself gets 5,999 a day with 6 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs cargo-expand | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| syn Foundational | 8,378,886 | 1396.71x | 18,848 | 12d | keyword "macros" | compare |
| quote Foundational | 5,007,445 | 834.71x | 18,227 | 3mo | keyword "macros" | compare |
| proc-macro2 Foundational | 4,890,919 | 815.29x | 16,351 | 3mo | keyword "macros" | compare |
| pin-project-lite Widely used | 3,270,978 | 545.25x | 1,708 | 8mo | keyword "macros" | compare |
| semver Widely used | 2,771,038 | 461.92x | 4,141 | 7mo | keyword "cargo" | compare |
| zerovec-derive Pulled in | 2,561,390 | 426.97x | 6 | 2d | keyword "macros" | compare |
| synstructure Established | 2,554,307 | 425.79x | 146 | 3mo | keyword "macros" | compare |
| yoke-derive Pulled in | 2,432,865 | 405.55x | 14 | 24d | keyword "macros" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with cargo-expand; read its description before you swap.
- More dependents means more answered questions and a smaller chance it disappears.
- Check the last release against how fast you need fixes. For cargo-expand: is it still maintained?
Rules
Alternatives = tracked crates (top 1000 by downloads) that share a specific crates.io category (2 points each) or keyword (3 points each) with cargo-expand, most similar first; its own parts (same name prefix) and crates it depends on or that depend on it are left out, because those are companions, not substitutes. Real downloads = quiet-day median, crates.io data Oct 27, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Foundational and steady. 8,378,886 real downloads a day.synRust crate. Parser for Rust source code. Real use: 8.4M downloads a day on quiet days; 18,848 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time
Art: Nicholas Roerich, Nag Lake (1925). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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