How to use serde with CSV

Add the csv crate to your dependencies and use serde derive macros to automatically parse and serialize CSV data into Rust structs.

[dependencies]
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
csv = "1.3"

use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};

#[derive(Debug, Deserialize, Serialize)]
struct Record {
    name: String,
    age: u32,
}

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut reader = csv::Reader::from_path("data.csv")?;
    for result in reader.deserialize() {
        let record: Record = result?;
        println!("{:?}", record);
    }
    Ok(())
}

Using serde with CSV connects your Rust code to CSV files, allowing you to read rows as structured data or write data back out as CSV. Think of it as a translator that turns comma-separated text into usable variables in your program without manual parsing. You use this whenever you need to import spreadsheets or export logs in a standard format.