Crates / fs-err / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to fs-err
Short answerThe closest alternatives to fs-err on crates.io data are rustix (3.4M real downloads a day), shlex (3.3M real downloads a day), clap (3.1M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is rustix, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. fs-err itself gets 422,324 a day with 474 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs fs-err | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rustix Widely used | 3,390,892 | 8.03x | 1,684 | 38d | category Filesystem | side by side |
| shlex Established | 3,284,146 | 7.78x | 754 | 5mo | category Command-line interface | compare |
| clap Foundational | 3,139,218 | 7.43x | 49,450 | 40d | category Command-line interface | compare |
| clap_builder Pulled in | 2,755,258 | 6.52x | 26 | 40d | category Command-line interface | compare |
| clap_lex Pulled in | 2,652,105 | 6.28x | 35 | 40d | category Command-line interface | compare |
| anstyle Established | 2,632,269 | 6.23x | 607 | 7mo | category Command-line interface | compare |
| clap_derive Established | 2,491,922 | 5.90x | 136 | 40d | category Command-line interface | compare |
| anstream Established | 2,459,829 | 5.82x | 428 | 8mo | category Command-line interface | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with fs-err; 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 fs-err: 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 fs-err, 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: Widely used and steady. 3,390,892 real downloads a day.rustixRust crate. Safe Rust bindings to POSIX/Unix/Linux/Winsock-like syscalls. Real use: 3.4M downloads a day on quiet days; 1,684 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time