rs2 / restspace

2.1 Installing the runtime and the rs2 CLI

RS2 publishes Linux server binaries and is also a Rust workspace you can build from source. The rs2 CLI is built from the workspace. After installation you run a node (the server) and use the rs2 CLI for development and a small set of admin tasks.

Prerequisites

  • The repo-pinned Rust toolchain (rustup, cargo) when building from source. rust-toolchain.toml selects the supported version for you.
  • Node.js on your PATH — only if you'll bundle custom JavaScript services with rs2 deploy --bundle (it shells out to npx esbuild). Not needed to run the server or the prebuilt services.
  • The wasm32-wasip2 target — only if you'll build WebAssembly custom services: rustup target add wasm32-wasip2.

Building

From the workspace root:

cargo build                 # the whole workspace, native engine only

The default build deliberately excludes the optional engines so it stays quick. Turn them on with Cargo features when you need them:

cargo build --features wasm  # + the WebAssembly (Wasmtime) engine
cargo build --features js    # + the JavaScript (V8) engine

Whether an engine is compiled in matters at runtime: a server built without the js feature will accept a JavaScript code: mount in config but answer requests to it with 501 engine_unavailable. Build with the engines you intend to run.

For an Ubuntu production node, the repository's deploy/ directory contains a release installer, hardened systemd unit, Apache reverse-proxy template, and a build-from-source runbook. Production binaries come in a Wasm-capable variant and a larger JS variant; choose JS when you use JavaScript services, templates, or loadable adapters. Section 10.7 covers the network and filesystem layout.

The two things you'll run

Tool Crate What it's for
rs2-server rs2-server The production-style node: a real HTTP listener
rs2 rs2-cli Scaffold, run locally, validate, deploy, migrate, and perform focused admin tasks

During development you can run either — rs2 dev starts a node using the same server library, so it's interchangeable with rs2-server for local work. Use rs2-server when you want the supported binary; use rs2 dev when you're already living in the CLI.

You can invoke the CLI two ways:

cargo run -p rs2-cli -- <args>     # from the workspace, without installing
rs2 <args>                          # if you've put the built binary on PATH

Throughout this manual we'll write rs2 <verb> for brevity; substitute cargo run -p rs2-cli -- if you haven't installed the binary.

With a build in hand, the next section starts a node.

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