Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to cc
Short answerThe closest alternatives to cc on crates.io data are vcpkg (1.5M real downloads a day), pkg-config (2.4M real downloads a day), autocfg (3.8M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is autocfg, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. cc itself gets 3,852,250 a day with 4,294 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs cc | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vcpkg Established | 1,467,123 | 0.38x | 135 | 5.3y | category Build Utils, keyword "build-dependencies" | compare |
| pkg-config Widely used | 2,394,417 | 0.62x | 1,241 | 2mo | keyword "build-dependencies" | side by side |
| autocfg Pulled in | 3,840,273 | 1.00x | 82 | 5mo | category Build Utils | compare |
| rustversion Established | 2,686,635 | 0.70x | 652 | 4mo | category Build Utils | side by side |
| cfg_aliases Established | 2,163,249 | 0.56x | 283 | 3mo | category Build Utils | compare |
| litrs Pulled in | 718,877 | 0.19x | 96 | 12d | category Build Utils | compare |
| ctor Established | 686,862 | 0.18x | 848 | 2mo | category Build Utils | compare |
| inventory Widely used | 449,319 | 0.12x | 1,291 | 17d | category Build Utils | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with cc; 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 cc: 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 cc, 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 24, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Established and quiet for years. 1,467,123 real downloads a day.vcpkgRust crate. A library to find native dependencies in a vcpkg tree at build time in order to be used in Cargo build scripts. Real use: 1.5M downloads a day on quiet days...Read it next →Also worth your time