Install nestrs and configure Cargo features

nestrs is available on crates.io. Add it to your project by editing Cargo.toml directly, or use cargo add. This page covers the minimum required setup, the tokio runtime configuration, and the full table of optional feature flags.

Minimum supported Rust version

nestrs requires Rust 1.88 or later. Run rustup update stable to ensure your toolchain is current before adding the dependency.

Adding nestrs to your project

nestrs depends on tokio for its async runtime. You must enable the macros and rt-multi-thread features on tokio alongside nestrs:

[dependencies]
nestrs = "1.5.0"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

cargo add nestrs
cargo add tokio --features macros,rt-multi-thread

Your main function must be annotated with #[tokio::main]:

use nestrs::prelude::*;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    NestFactory::create::<AppModule>().listen_graceful(3000).await;
}

If you use DTO validation with #[dto] and its field-level macros, also add serde and validator:

serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
validator = { version = "0.20", features = ["derive"] }

Optional feature flags

nestrs has a default = [] feature set — nothing optional is enabled unless you ask for it. Enable features by adding them to the features list on the nestrs dependency:

nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["openapi", "cache-redis"] }

The table below lists every available feature flag and what it adds to your project.

Transport and protocol features

Feature	What it enables
`ws`	WebSocket gateway helpers via `nestrs-ws`
`graphql`	async-graphql router integration via `nestrs-graphql`
`openapi`	OpenAPI spec generation and Swagger UI via `nestrs-openapi`

Microservices features

Feature	What it enables
`microservices`	Base microservices support: transport traits, event bus (`nestrs-microservices` + `nestrs-events`)
`microservices-nats`	NATS transport (implies `microservices`, adds `async-nats`)
`microservices-redis`	Redis pub/sub transport (implies `microservices`, adds `redis`)
`microservices-kafka`	Kafka transport (implies `microservices`)
`microservices-mqtt`	MQTT transport (implies `microservices`)
`microservices-rabbitmq`	RabbitMQ transport (implies `microservices`)
`microservices-grpc`	gRPC-style transport (implies `microservices`)

All microservices-* features automatically enable the base microservices feature. You do not need to list both.

Data and storage features

Feature	What it enables
`cache-redis`	Redis-backed caching via the `redis` crate
`database-sqlx`	SQLx integration for Postgres, SQLite, and other databases
`mongo`	MongoDB adapter via `nestrs-mongodb` (`MongoModule`, `MongoRepository<T>`)
`mongo-dns`	`mongodb+srv://` Atlas seed lists (implies `mongo`)

nestrs-storage is a separate crate, not a feature flag on nestrs. It provides object storage (Local filesystem, S3, GCS, Azure Blob) behind one Storage trait. Add it as its own dependency with one of local, s3, gcs, azure, or all.

OAuth2 features

Feature	What it enables
`oauth2`	OAuth2 client (authorization code + PKCE, client credentials, refresh), JWKS-backed resource server (`JwtVerifier`), `OAuth2Guard`, the `OAuth2Principal` extractor, and `NestApplication::use_oauth2` via the `nestrs-oauth2` crate
`authn-oauth2`	Compound: `oauth2` + `authn`, so a route can read either a JWT or an OAuth2 token identity through the `Principal` extractor

nestrs/oauth2 enables the underlying crate’s client, resource-server, and guard features but not social. For the social provider wrappers (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Apple), depend on nestrs-oauth2 directly with its own feature flags — client, resource-server, social, guard (implies client + resource-server), and all. See the OAuth2 guide for the full walkthrough.

HTTP and request handling features

Feature	What it enables
`cookies`	Cookie extraction and setting via `tower-cookies`
`session`	Session middleware via `tower-sessions` (implies `cookies`)
`session-redis`	Redis-backed sessions (`RedisSessionStore`, `use_session_redis`; implies `session`)
`csrf`	CSRF protection (implies `cookies`, adds `subtle`)
`http-client`	HTTP client via `reqwest` (JSON support, rustls TLS)
`sse`	Server-Sent Events (`SseResponse`, `IntoSseEvent`, `serialize_to_event`) via `nestrs-core/sse`
`throttler`	Per-route rate limits (`ThrottlerModule`, `ThrottlerGuard`, `#[throttle]`)
`throttler-redis`	Redis backend for `throttler`
`files`	Static file serving via `tokio-util`
`mvc`	Server-side template rendering via `minijinja`

Infrastructure features

Feature	What it enables
`schedule`	Cron-style task scheduling via `tokio-cron-scheduler` and `linkme`
`queues`	In-process job queues via `linkme`
`queues-redis`	Durable Redis lists (`LPUSH` / `BRPOP`) for `QueuesModule`. Bull-style envelopes, not the BullMQ protocol (implies `queues`)
`otel`	OpenTelemetry tracing export (OTLP/gRPC) via `opentelemetry`, `opentelemetry_sdk`, `opentelemetry-otlp`, and `tracing-opentelemetry`

Common configuration examples

[dependencies]
nestrs = "1.5.0"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

[dependencies]
nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["openapi"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
validator = { version = "0.20", features = ["derive"] }

[dependencies]
nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["openapi", "session-redis", "csrf", "database-sqlx"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
validator = { version = "0.20", features = ["derive"] }

[dependencies]
nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["microservices-nats"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

[dependencies]
nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["graphql", "ws"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

[dependencies]
nestrs = { version = "1.5.0", features = ["otel"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread"] }

Release profile recommendations

The CLI-generated Cargo.toml includes a tuned release profile. Add this to your own Cargo.toml for optimised production builds:

[profile.release]
opt-level = 3
lto = "thin"
codegen-units = 1
strip = "symbols"
panic = "abort"

panic = "abort" skips stack unwinding on panic. This reduces binary size and can improve performance, but means destructors do not run on panic. Evaluate this setting against your application’s requirements before enabling it.

Environment variables

nestrs reads a .env file at startup via dotenvy. Create a .env file in your project root to configure the runtime:

PORT=3000
NESTRS_ENV=development
RUST_LOG=info
DATABASE_URL=file:./dev.db

Set NESTRS_ENV=production to switch nestrs into production mode: 5xx JSON bodies are sanitized by default (generic message, errors dropped, stack traces never reach clients) — no builder call needed. .enable_production_errors_from_env() re-reads the environment explicitly and .enable_production_errors() forces sanitization on in any environment.

Next steps

Quickstart

Build and run your first nestrs project from scratch using the CLI.

Core concepts

Learn how modules, controllers, and providers compose into a structured application.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Ecosystem

Adapters

CLI

Migration

Install nestrs and configure Cargo features

Minimum supported Rust version

Adding nestrs to your project

Optional feature flags

Transport and protocol features

Microservices features

Data and storage features

OAuth2 features

HTTP and request handling features

Infrastructure features

Common configuration examples

Release profile recommendations

Environment variables

Next steps

Quickstart

Core concepts

​Minimum supported Rust version

​Adding nestrs to your project

​Optional feature flags

​Transport and protocol features

​Microservices features

​Data and storage features

​OAuth2 features

​HTTP and request handling features

​Infrastructure features

​Common configuration examples

​Release profile recommendations

​Environment variables

​Next steps

Quickstart

Core concepts

Minimum supported Rust version

Adding nestrs to your project

Optional feature flags

Transport and protocol features

Microservices features

Data and storage features

OAuth2 features

HTTP and request handling features

Infrastructure features

Common configuration examples

Release profile recommendations

Environment variables

Next steps