Crates / proc-macro-hack / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to proc-macro-hack
Short answerThe closest alternatives to proc-macro-hack on crates.io data are syn (8.4M real downloads a day), quote (5M real downloads a day), unicode-ident (4.4M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is syn, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. proc-macro-hack itself gets 217,464 a day with 200 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs proc-macro-hack | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| syn Foundational | 8,378,886 | 38.53x | 18,848 | 12d | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| quote Foundational | 5,007,445 | 23.03x | 18,227 | 3mo | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| unicode-ident Established | 4,390,154 | 20.19x | 222 | 12d | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| clap_derive Established | 2,491,922 | 11.46x | 136 | 40d | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| strum_macros Widely used | 1,935,017 | 8.90x | 2,140 | 8mo | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| strum Widely used | 1,901,257 | 8.74x | 5,075 | 8mo | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| derive_more Widely used | 1,604,594 | 7.38x | 3,690 | 10mo | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
| litrs Pulled in | 718,877 | 3.31x | 96 | 12d | category Procedural macro helpers | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with proc-macro-hack; 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 proc-macro-hack: 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 proc-macro-hack, 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: 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