Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to tap
Short answerThe closest alternatives to tap on crates.io data are os_pipe (294K real downloads a day), thiserror (5M real downloads a day), itertools (4.5M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is thiserror, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. tap itself gets 784,547 a day with 255 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs tap | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| os_pipe Established | 294,362 | 0.38x | 144 | 12mo | keyword "pipe" | compare |
| thiserror Foundational | 5,048,791 | 6.44x | 75,923 | 31d | category No standard library, category Rust patterns | compare |
| itertools Widely used | 4,545,996 | 5.79x | 8,656 | 4mo | category No standard library, category Rust patterns | compare |
| once_cell Widely used | 3,785,180 | 4.82x | 8,656 | 7mo | category Rust patterns | compare |
| pin-project-lite Widely used | 3,270,978 | 4.17x | 1,708 | 8mo | category No standard library, category Rust patterns | compare |
| zerocopy Established | 3,245,504 | 4.14x | 878 | 11d | category Rust patterns | compare |
| anyhow Foundational | 2,875,638 | 3.67x | 52,113 | 3mo | category No standard library, category Rust patterns | compare |
| scopeguard Established | 2,724,718 | 3.47x | 567 | 3.3y | category No standard library, category Rust patterns | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with tap; 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 tap: 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 tap, 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 gaining. 294,362 real downloads a day.os_pipeRust crate. a cross-platform library for opening OS pipes. Real use: 294K downloads a day on quiet days; 144 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time