Migrate To Rust
GoogleOfficialPublished by Google
- Skill
- Workflow
- Software development
- Apache-2.0
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a comprehensive, multi-stage process for porting legacy codebases written in languages like C++, Fortran, Java, or Python into modern, memory-safe Rust. It emphasizes a rigorous engineering approach, requiring the use of specific telemetry scripts to track progress, performance benchmarks, and test coverage. The workflow includes architectural planning, iterative refactoring, A/B parity testing, and Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO) to ensure the resulting Rust implementation is both safe and performant. It concludes by generating a detailed, first-person engineering narrative and an interactive HTML infographic to visualize the migration journey.
What it does
- Analyzes legacy codebases to identify technical debt and architectural opportunities.
- Scaffolds a Rust workspace with strict memory safety requirements.
- Performs iterative refactoring with automated test-driven self-healing.
- Validates output parity between legacy and new implementations using deterministic seeds.
- Optimizes performance through data-oriented design and LLVM Profile-Guided Optimization.
- Generates telemetry reports and interactive infographics documenting the migration metrics.
When to use it
- When migrating a legacy GitHub repository or local codebase to Rust.
- When porting complex C++, Fortran, Python, or Java workloads to memory-safe Rust.
- When designing high-performance Struct-of-Arrays or SIMD architectures in Rust.
- When optimizing Rust ports using LLVM Profile-Guided Optimization.
Advantages
- Ensures 100% memory safety by forbidding unsafe code blocks.
- Provides quantified performance improvements across four distinct optimization stages.
- Maintains high code quality through strict file size and documentation standards.
- Delivers transparent, data-backed reporting on the migration process and outcomes.
Usage examples
- “Migrate the legacy C++ codebase located at /local/path/to/project to Rust.”
- The agent initializes the telemetry ledger, scans the legacy project, benchmarks the baseline, and begins the multi-stage migration process.
- “Port my Python data processing library to a high-performance Rust implementation.”
- The agent audits the Python code, scaffolds a Rust workspace, implements the core logic, and verifies parity before applying PGO.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/google/migrate-to-rust/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip migrate-to-rust.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Google
Migrate Legacy Codebases to Safe Rust
Act as a Systems Architect, Performance Engineer, and Rust Specialist. Your goal
is to migrate legacy codebases into 100% Safe, PGO-tuned Rust while recording
measured telemetry and a first-person engineering narrative via
scripts/telemetry.py.
Execution Contract & Portability
When migrating a repository or local directory ({github_url} or
{codebase_path}), follow these execution rules across agentic harnesses:
Stage 0 External Code Confirmation Gate: After cloning an external repository and inspecting its build files, present the resolved legacy build command, run command, and target directory to the user and obtain confirmation before compiling or executing cloned code. (For local code that the user explicitly instructed you to run, or once Stage 0 confirmation is granted, proceed directly.)
Continuous Stage 1 -> Stage 2 Progression: Once Stage 0 baseline capture is complete, proceed directly from writing the Architectural Blueprint (Stage 1) into implementing and verifying the Rust workspace (Stage 2) without pausing between milestones, where the host environment permits autonomous tool execution.
Bounded Automated Self-Healing (Max 5 Iterations): When tests,
clippylints, or A/B parity checks fail, log the failure viascripts/telemetry.py, diagnose and fix the root cause, and re-test automatically up to a budget of 5 self-healing iterations (or 15 minutes per phase). If any test or seed still diverges after the budget is exhausted, record the partial state inmigration_telemetry.jsonand document the remaining gap in the final report rather than looping indefinitely.Verification Targets & Definition of Done:
#![forbid(unsafe_code)]Rust crate compiles with a target of0cargo clippywarnings (any unavoidable exception must be documented).Unit, integration, doc, and property-based (
proptest) tests pass with a target of>= 95%branch coverage (any unavoidable exception must be documented), with every run logged inmigration_telemetry.json.A/B differential output parity is verified across
Ndeterministic seeds within a documented numerical epsilon (--max-abs-error), with any floating-point/FMA/PRNG divergence root-caused and logged.All 4 benchmark stages (
legacy_baseline,safe_rust,soa_simd,pgo_lto) are measured and logged (or omitted cleanly if a tool such asllvm-profdatais unavailable).The interactive HTML infographic (
migration_infographic.html) is rendered viascripts/telemetry.py render-infographic.
End-to-End Workflow Checklist
Copy this checklist to track progress across the three stages (detailed command recipes and architectural specifications are in references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md):
- [ ] Stage 0: Acquire repo, initialize `migration_telemetry.json` (`discovery` bucket), scan legacy codebase, confirm resolved build/run commands, and benchmark baseline
- [ ] Stage 1: Audit legacy code (`blueprint` bucket), log opportunities & latent legacy bugs, and generate 6-section Architectural Blueprint
- [ ] Stage 2.1: Scaffold `#![forbid(unsafe_code)]` Rust workspace & deterministic PRNG parity layer (`rewrite` bucket)
- [ ] Stage 2.2: Implement core domain types & SoA/SIMD kernels (<= 400 LOC/file target, full rustdoc) & benchmark `safe_rust` + `soa_simd`
- [ ] Stage 2.3: Run Verification Crucible (`test_heal` bucket, max 5 iterations) — log initial test failure % and each self-healing fix
- [ ] Stage 2.4: Run A/B differential parity harness (`parity` bucket, max 5 iterations) across N seeds within documented epsilon tolerance
- [ ] Stage 2.5: Run LLVM Profile-Guided Optimization (`pgo_bench` bucket), scan final Rust codebase, and render `migration_infographic.html`Stage 0: Repository Acquisition, Telemetry Init & Legacy Baseline
Resolve context parameters from the repository or directory:
| Parameter | Placeholder | Resolution Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Source Input | {codebase_path} or {github_url} | Accept a GitHub URL (https://github.com/...) or a local filesystem path |
| Original Language / Framework | {legacy_language} | Auto-detect from file extensions and build files (CMakeLists.txt, Makefile, meson.build, pyproject.toml, pom.xml, *.f90, *.cpp) |
| Baseline Run Command | {baseline_run_command} | Identify from README.md, CI workflows (.github/workflows/*.yml), Makefile, or test scripts |
| Telemetry Ledger | {workspace_dir}/migration_telemetry.json | Initialized via scripts/telemetry.py init at the start of Stage 0 |
Stage 0 Execution Steps
Clone Repository (if GitHub URL): Choose a clean local directory (default to
~/rust_migrations/{repo_name}, or inside the current workspace if requested) and rungit clone {github_url} ~/rust_migrations/{repo_name}.Initialize Telemetry & Scan Legacy Codebase: Run
scripts/telemetry.py init --telemetry "{workspace_dir}/migration_telemetry.json" --project-name "{project_name}" --legacy-lang "{legacy_language}". Start thediscoverybucket and runscripts/telemetry.py scan-codebase --phase beforeon the legacy source directory to record baseline file count, code LOC, comment density %, max file LOC, nesting depth, average function length, and raw pointer/memory hazards.Confirm & Benchmark Legacy Baseline: Before executing build or run commands from a cloned external repository, surface the resolved build command,
{baseline_run_command}, and working directory for user confirmation. Once confirmed, compile the legacy project in release mode (-O3/Release), capture golden reference outputs across deterministic seeds, measure baseline wall-clock runtime (ms) and peak RSS (MB), and log Stage 1 viascripts/telemetry.py log-benchmark --stage legacy_baseline.
Stage 1: Deep Audit, Opportunity Discovery & Architectural Blueprint
Start the blueprint timer bucket (scripts/telemetry.py start-bucket --bucket blueprint), inspect the repository, log every discovered opportunity and
latent legacy bug (scripts/telemetry.py log-opportunity), and generate the
6-section Markdown blueprint defined in Section 2 of
references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md.
Stage 1 -> Stage 2 Transition: Save the blueprint and proceed directly to Stage 2 (unless the user explicitly requested a blueprint-only plan).
Stage 2: Phased Safe Rust Implementation, Self-Healing, PGO & Infographic
Follow the command recipes and core engineering standards in references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md for each step:
Step 1: Scaffold Safe Rust Workspace & Port Modules (rewrite Bucket)
Start the
rewritetimer bucket (scripts/telemetry.py start-bucket --bucket rewrite).Initialize the Rust workspace with
#![forbid(unsafe_code)]insrc/lib.rsandsrc/main.rs.Implement the deterministic PRNG wrapper, domain types, and modules in dependency order (
<= 400LOC per file target, complete//!and///rustdoc with runnable doc-tests).Benchmark and log Stage 2 (
safe_rust) and Stage 3 (soa_simd) viascripts/telemetry.py log-benchmark.
Step 2: The Verification Crucible — Test, Fail, Diagnose & Fix (test_heal Bucket)
Start the
test_healtimer bucket (scripts/telemetry.py start-bucket --bucket test_heal).Write unit tests, runnable doc-tests, and
proptestboundary tests.Run
cargo test --all-targets,cargo test --doc, andcargo clippy --all-targets.Log Every Iteration (Up to 5 Iterations): After Run 1 and each subsequent run, invoke
scripts/telemetry.py log-test-runwith total tests, passed, failed, coverage %, clippy warnings, diagnostic summary, and fix applied. Iterate until0failures and0warnings (or until the 5-iteration budget is reached, documenting any unavoidable exception).
Step 3: A/B Differential Output Parity (parity Bucket)
Start the
paritytimer bucket (scripts/telemetry.py start-bucket --bucket parity).Run the automated A/B differential harness across
Ndeterministic seeds comparing{baseline_run_command}and the Rust binary within the documented epsilon tolerance.Log each parity iteration via
scripts/telemetry.py log-parity-run. If any seed diverges beyond epsilon, bisect the first diverging step, repair the discrepancy, and re-run (up to 5 iterations).
Step 4: Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO) & Final Benchmarks (pgo_bench Bucket)
Start the
pgo_benchtimer bucket (scripts/telemetry.py start-bucket --bucket pgo_bench).Execute the LLVM PGO workflow in references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md: build with
RUSTFLAGS="-Cprofile-generate=./pgo-data", run representative workloads, merge profiles viallvm-profdata, and rebuild withRUSTFLAGS="-Cprofile-use=./pgo-data/merged.profdata"andlto = "fat"(or use the documented-Ctarget-cpu=nativefallback ifllvm-profdatais unavailable).Verify that tests and A/B parity still pass on the PGO binary, then measure wall-clock runtime and peak RSS and log Stage 4 (
pgo_lto) viascripts/telemetry.py log-benchmark --stage pgo_lto.
Step 5: Final Census, First-Person AI Story & Visual Infographic
Run
scripts/telemetry.py scan-codebase --phase afteronsrc/to capture final LOC,<= 400LOC compliance, comment/rustdoc density, runnable doc-tests, nesting depth, andunsafeblock count.Log a Before vs. After Code Spotlight (
scripts/telemetry.py log-spotlight) and populate the First-Person AI Story Chapters (scripts/telemetry.py set-story).End the
pgo_benchtimer bucket and render the interactive HTML infographic (where{skill_dir}is the directory containing thisSKILL.md):python3 "{skill_dir}/scripts/telemetry.py" render-infographic \ --telemetry "{workspace_dir}/migration_telemetry.json" \ --out "{output_dir}/migration_infographic.html" \ --scope-summary "{short_summary_of_ported_modules}"Output a concise executive summary referencing the generated
migration_infographic.htmlreport and key measured before/after metrics.
Bundled Resources
Telemetry & Infographic CLI:
scripts/telemetry.pyEngineering Standards, Blueprint Spec, PGO & Telemetry Recipes: references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md
Interactive HTML Infographic Template: references/infographic_template.html
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer853 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer11.1 KiB
- SKILL.md12.2 KiB
- references/infographic_template.html61.6 KiB
- references/pgo_and_telemetry_guide.md17.3 KiB
- scripts/telemetry.pyScript41.4 KiB
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs Python
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Attribution and licence
- Published by
- Publisher
- Google (Official)
- Source
- google/skills · skills/developers/migrate-to-rust · commit 2194d3b
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
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