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Tokio

A Rust library for writing fast, reliable async programs that handle networking and timers.

GitHub Download tokio-1.54.1
Stars
33.6k
Forks
4.5k
Licence
MIT
Language
Rust
Last update
5 days ago
Type
Library

What it is

Tokio is a runtime for the Rust programming language that lets a program do many slow tasks at once, such as handling network connections, without waiting on each one in turn. It provides a task scheduler, an interface to the operating system's event queue for I/O, and asynchronous TCP and UDP sockets. Developers use it as the foundation for network servers and other async applications.

  • Write a TCP echo server that accepts connections and spawns a task per client
  • Build an asynchronous network client that sends and receives data without blocking
  • Run timers and scheduled work alongside network I/O in one program
  • Use the mini-redis example as a larger reference for a real-world async application

Great for

  • Rust developers building network servers or clients
  • Teams writing async services that handle many connections at once
  • Developers who want an established, widely referenced async runtime
  • Projects that need timers, scheduling, and async I/O in one package

Not ideal for

  • Non-Rust programmers, since it is a Rust library and requires Rust to use
  • People who only need synchronous code, because the async model adds complexity without benefit for simple scripts
  • Anyone needing a binary app; the README describes a library with no downloadable binaries
Step-by-step guide: how to use TokioInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs
libuv vs Tokio

How to get it

  1. 1

    Install with a package manager

    You'll need: Rust toolchain with Cargo (MSRV 1.85 per README)

    Add tokio to Cargo.toml with full features

    tokio = { version = "1.54.1", features = ["full"] }
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Add the tokio dependency with the full feature flag to Cargo.toml
    • Write a main.rs using the #[tokio::main] attribute
    • Copy the TCP echo server example from the README into main.rs
    • Run it with cargo run and connect to 127.0.0.1:8080 to test
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Read the Guides at tokio.rs/tokio/tutorial for structured learning
    • Check the feature flag documentation to include only the parts you need
    • Explore the examples directory in the repository for more patterns
    • Pair it with related projects named in the README such as axum, hyper, or tonic for web and gRPC work
    • Pin to an LTS release such as 1.53.x using a tilde version specifier if you want stability, as the README recommends

Downloads

Source code (.zip)master branch · straight from GitHubRelease tokio-1.54.1Release notes and sourceOfficial website & docstokio.rs

Strengths

  • The README describes it as built on Rust's ownership and type system to reduce bugs and ensure thread safety
  • Includes a multithreaded, work-stealing task scheduler and an OS-level event reactor
  • Has an active community, a Discord server, a tutorial site, and a discussions page

Trade-offs

  • Requires learning Rust and async concepts, which the README does not teach in depth
  • Some features are enabled through Cargo feature flags, so you must choose which to include (the example uses full)
  • The README lists a minimum supported Rust version (currently 1.85) that you must meet

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
tokio (this)33.6kLibraryadvanced5 days agoRust developers building network servers or clients
libuv27.3kLibraryadvanced5 days agoDevelopers building networked or I/O-heavy software in C or a language with C bindings
Alamofire42.4kLibraryintermediate5 days agoSwift developers building iOS or macOS apps that call web APIs
workerman11.5kLibraryintermediate13 days agoPHP developers who need a long-running socket or WebSocket server
Moya15.4kLibraryintermediate4 months agoSwift developers building iOS or macOS apps that call web APIs
bandwhich12kCLIintermediate3 months agoPeople who want to see which program is using their bandwidth at a given moment

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.