How to handle graceful shutdown in Rust web server

Handle graceful shutdown by listening for OS signals and stopping the server loop before joining worker threads.

use std::net::TcpListener;
use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
use std::thread;

fn main() {
    let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:7878").unwrap();
    let shutdown = Arc::new(Mutex::new(false));

    let shutdown_clone = shutdown.clone();
    thread::spawn(move || {
        ctrlc::set_handler(move || {
            *shutdown_clone.lock().unwrap() = true;
        }).unwrap();
    });

    for stream in listener.incoming() {
        if *shutdown.lock().unwrap() {
            break;
        }
        let _stream = stream.unwrap();
        println!("Connection established!");
    }

    println!("Shutting down...");
}

Add ctrlc to your Cargo.toml dependencies to capture the interrupt signal.

Graceful shutdown ensures your server stops accepting new connections and finishes current tasks before closing, rather than crashing instantly. It works like a restaurant manager telling the kitchen to stop taking new orders while finishing the meals already being cooked. This prevents data loss and ensures clients receive a proper response before the server exits.