cargo-nightly

Cargo subcommand that forwards commands to the nightly toolchain, enabling nightly toolchain usage in cargo aliases.

Why it exists

Cargo aliases in .cargo/config.toml cannot directly use +nightly syntax because cargo aliases can only invoke cargo subcommands, not external commands or toolchain selectors. This plugin provides a cargo-nightly subcommand that forwards all arguments to cargo +nightly <args>, making it possible to use nightly toolchain commands through cargo aliases.

The Problem

If you try to use +nightly directly in a cargo alias:

[alias]
clippy2 = "+nightly clippy"  # ❌ This doesn't work

You'll get an error:

error: no such command: `+nightly`
help: invoke `cargo` through `rustup` to handle `+toolchain` directives

The Solution

With cargo-nightly installed, you can create aliases like:

[alias]
clippy2 = "nightly clippy"
check2 = "nightly clippy"
clippy-all = "nightly clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings"

When you run cargo clippy2, cargo will:

1. Look for a cargo-nightly subcommand
2. cargo-nightly forwards to cargo +nightly clippy
3. The nightly toolchain runs your command

Installation

Using cargo-binstall (Recommended)

First install cargo-binstall if you haven't already:

cargo install cargo-binstall

Then install cargo-nightly:

cargo binstall cargo-nightly

Using cargo install

cargo install cargo-nightly

Usage

Once installed, you can use it directly:

cargo nightly clippy
cargo nightly check
cargo nightly build

Or through aliases in .cargo/config.toml:

[alias]
# Use nightly clippy for comprehensive linting
clippy2 = "nightly clippy"
check2 = "nightly clippy"

# Comprehensive clippy checks
clippy-all = "nightly clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings"
clippy-fix = "nightly clippy --fix --workspace --all-targets --all-features --allow-dirty --allow-staged"
clippy-strict = "nightly clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings -D clippy::pedantic"

# Quick fixes
fixlib = "nightly clippy --fix --lib --allow-dirty"

Then use the aliases:

cargo clippy2
cargo check2
cargo clippy-all

How it works

The cargo-nightly command is a simple wrapper that:

1. Takes all arguments after nightly
2. Executes cargo +nightly <args>
3. Forwards stdin, stdout, and stderr
4. Exits with the same exit code

This allows cargo to recognize nightly as a subcommand, which can then be used in aliases.

License

Copyright © 2026 DataRoad Inc, Delaware, USA, trading as Legra.

Licensed under either the MIT license or the Apache License, Version 2.0, at your option.