Project Types Reference

Quick lookup for type-specific questions, patterns, and recommended stacks.

Type Index

CLI Tool

Discovery Questions

1. •Execution model: One-shot or interactive?
2. •Arguments: Positional args, flags, or subcommands?
3. •Output: Text, JSON, or files?
4. •Config: Config file needed?

Patterns

• •Use clap for argument parsing
• •Support --json for machine output
• •Use anyhow for error handling
• •Exit codes: 0 success, 1 error

Stack

[dependencies]
clap = { version = "4", features = ["derive"] }
anyhow = "1"
serde_json = "1"  # if JSON output

Example Structure

src/
  main.rs      # Entry point, arg parsing
  lib.rs       # Core logic
  commands/    # Subcommand handlers (if needed)

REST API

Discovery Questions

1. •Audience: Internal, public, or partner?
2. •Auth: None, API Key, JWT, OAuth2?
3. •Rate limiting: Needed?
4. •Versioning: /v1/, header, or none?

Patterns

• •OpenAPI spec first (consider)
• •JSON responses with consistent error format
• •Health endpoint required: GET /health
• •Structured logging (tracing)

Stack

[dependencies]
axum = "0.8"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1"
tracing = "0.1"
tracing-subscriber = "0.3"

Example Structure

src/
  main.rs          # Server setup
  lib.rs           # Router, handlers
  routes/          # Route modules
  models/          # Data structures
  middleware/      # Auth, logging

Web App (SaaS)

Discovery Questions

1. •Auth: Email/password, OAuth, magic link, or none?
2. •Realtime: WebSocket, SSE, or none?
3. •Multi-tenant: Yes/no?
4. •Admin panel: Needed?

Patterns

• •HTMX for interactivity (minimal JS)
• •Server-rendered templates (Askama)
• •Progressive enhancement
• •CSRF protection on forms

Stack

[dependencies]
axum = "0.8"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
askama = "0.12"
askama_axum = "0.4"
tower-http = { version = "0.6", features = ["fs"] }

Example Structure

src/
  main.rs
  lib.rs
  routes/
  templates/
    base.html
    pages/
    components/
static/
  css/
  js/ (minimal)

Telegram Bot

Discovery Questions

1. •Interaction: Commands, dialog, inline, or buttons?
2. •State: Stateless, SQLite, or PostgreSQL?
3. •Integrations: LLM, payments, external APIs?
4. •Delivery: Webhooks or polling?

Patterns

• •Start with polling (simpler), switch to webhooks for prod
• •FSM (finite state machine) for dialogs
• •Inline keyboards for navigation
• •Rate limit user requests

Stack

[dependencies]
teloxide = { version = "0.13", features = ["macros"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
sqlx = { version = "0.8", features = ["runtime-tokio", "sqlite"] }  # if DB
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }

Example Structure

src/
  main.rs          # Bot setup
  lib.rs           # Command handlers
  handlers/
    commands.rs    # /start, /help, etc
    callbacks.rs   # Button callbacks
  state.rs         # FSM states (if dialog)
  db.rs            # Database (if needed)

Key Considerations

• •Store bot token in env var: TELOXIDE_TOKEN
• •Handle /start and /help commands
• •Graceful shutdown for webhook mode

Discord Bot

Discovery Questions

1. •Type: Slash commands, prefix commands, or both?
2. •Scope: Single server or multi-server?
3. •Features: Moderation, games, integrations?
4. •State: In-memory, SQLite, or PostgreSQL?

Patterns

• •Use slash commands (modern)
• •Respect rate limits
• •Handle guild joins/leaves
• •Shard for 2500+ servers

Stack

[dependencies]
serenity = { version = "0.12", features = ["framework", "standard_framework"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
sqlx = { version = "0.8", features = ["runtime-tokio", "sqlite"] }  # if DB

Mobile App

Discovery Questions

1. •Platforms: iOS, Android, or both?
2. •Offline: Offline-first or online-only?
3. •Push: Push notifications needed?
4. •Native: Camera, GPS, sensors?

Patterns

• •Consider Flutter for cross-platform
• •Local storage with Hive/SQLite
• •Deep linking support
• •App store submission requirements

Stack Options

• •Flutter: Dart, single codebase
• •React Native: JS/TS, web dev friendly
• •Native: Swift/Kotlin for full control

Key Considerations

• •Design for both platforms (different UX conventions)
• •Handle offline gracefully
• •Consider app size
• •Test on real devices

Data Pipeline

Discovery Questions

1. •Trigger: Schedule, event, or manual?
2. •Volume: How much data? How often?
3. •Sources: APIs, databases, files?
4. •Output: Database, files, API?

Patterns

• •Idempotent operations
• •Checkpointing for resumability
• •Structured logging
• •Alerting on failures

Stack

[dependencies]
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["json"] }
sqlx = { version = "0.8", features = ["runtime-tokio", "postgres"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
chrono = "0.4"

Browser Extension

Discovery Questions

1. •Browser: Chrome, Firefox, or both?
2. •Permissions: What site access?
3. •UI: Popup, sidebar, or page action?
4. •Storage: Local or sync?

Patterns

• •Manifest V3 for Chrome
• •Content scripts for page interaction
• •Background service workers
• •Careful with permissions (minimal)

Stack

• •TypeScript for type safety
• •Vite for bundling
• •Chrome Extension APIs

Example Structure

src/
  background.ts    # Service worker
  content.ts       # Content script
  popup/           # Popup UI
  options/         # Options page
manifest.json

Quick Selection Guide

Need CLI tool?
  → Rust + clap

Need API?
  → REST: Rust + axum
  → GraphQL: Rust + async-graphql

Need Web UI?
  → Simple: Rust + HTMX
  → Complex SPA: Consider separate frontend

Need Bot?
  → Telegram: Rust + teloxide
  → Discord: Rust + serenity

Need Mobile?
  → Cross-platform: Flutter
  → Web skills: React Native

Need Data Processing?
  → Batch: Rust or Python
  → Stream: Rust + Tokio