Crates / gethostname / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to gethostname
Short answerThe closest alternatives to gethostname on crates.io data are hostname (560K real downloads a day), num_threads (566K real downloads a day), wasite (348K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is getrandom, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. gethostname itself gets 420,580 a day with 311 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs gethostname | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hostname Established | 560,440 | 1.33x | 743 | 11mo | category API bindings, category Operating systems, keyword "gethostname", keyword "hostname" | side by side |
| num_threads Pulled in | 566,226 | 1.35x | 11 | 7d | category API bindings, category Operating systems | compare |
| wasite Pulled in | 348,285 | 0.83x | 1 | 10mo | category API bindings, category Operating systems | compare |
| idna_adapter Pulled in | 2,429,162 | 5.78x | 41 | 6mo | keyword "dns" | compare |
| hickory-proto Established | 343,221 | 0.82x | 153 | 44d | keyword "dns" | compare |
| hickory-resolver Established | 330,212 | 0.79x | 512 | 44d | keyword "dns" | compare |
| resolv-conf Pulled in | 322,165 | 0.77x | 22 | 11mo | keyword "dns" | compare |
| getrandom Widely used | 7,623,482 | 18.13x | 5,558 | 4mo | category Operating systems | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with gethostname; 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 gethostname: 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 gethostname, 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 losing ground. 560,440 real downloads a day.hostnameRust crate. Cross-platform system's host name functions. Real use: 560K downloads a day on quiet days; 743 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time