How to Use Serde with TOML Files in Rust

Add the toml crate to your Cargo.toml dependencies and use toml::from_str to deserialize TOML strings into Rust structs annotated with #[derive(serde::Deserialize)]. The toml crate is already used in the provided context (version 0.8.12) and relies on serde for serialization logic.

use serde::Deserialize;

#[derive(Deserialize, Debug)]
struct Config {
    title: String,
    edition: String,
}

fn main() {
    let toml_str = r#"
        title = "The Rust Programming Language"
        edition = "2024"
    "#;
    let config: Config = toml::from_str(toml_str).unwrap();
    println!("{:#?}", config);
}

To use this, ensure your Cargo.toml includes:

[dependencies]
toml = "0.8.12"
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }

Then run cargo run to execute the code.

Using Serde with TOML files in Rust lets your program read human-readable configuration files commonly used for settings. You define a Rust structure that matches your file's layout, and the library automatically converts the text into usable data. Think of it like filling out a form where the computer reads the handwritten answers and puts them into the correct digital fields for you.