Yeah, this is a problem that the distribution packaged rust compiler is quickly out of date compared to what most of the ecosystem expect. However there is hop

Yeah, this is a problem that the distribution packaged rust compiler is quickly out of date compared to what most of the ecosystem expect. However there is hope for a better future: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/65262 https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/65262 will allow crates to specify a minimum supported rust version (MSRV), this way, we can imagine cargo resolving algorithm taking the installed rust version into account when picking the version of a crate to download so it would pick the last version of the crate that still compile on your system. Another thing is the Sealed Rust / Ferrocene initiative [https://ferrous-systems.com/ferrocene/ https://ferrous-systems.com/ferrocene/]. The idea is to have a version of rust supported for a long time, and it is likely that many core crates from the ecosystem will decide to keep compatibility with that LTS version.