#Rust Error Handling Libraries

#thiserror vs snafu

#thiserror

thiserror is a lightweight library that provides derive macros to simplify error definition.

Features:

• Concise syntax with low ceremony
• Ideal for creating error type libraries and APIs
• Typically used for creating libraries meant for others

use thiserror::Error;

#[derive(Error, Debug)]
pub enum DataError {
    #[error("Database error: {0}")]
    DatabaseError(#[from] sqlx::Error),
    
    #[error("Validation error: {0}")]
    ValidationError(String),
    
    #[error("Record not found")]
    NotFound,
}

#snafu

snafu offers a more comprehensive error handling framework with emphasis on error context and chaining.

Features:

• Encourages precise error context through "context selector" pattern
• Promotes "one error enum per module" approach
• Supports both struct and tuple-style error variants
• Built-in backtrace support

use snafu::{Snafu, ResultExt, Backtrace};

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
pub enum Error {
    #[snafu(display("Failed to read config file {filename:?}"))]
    ReadConfig {
        filename: String,
        source: std::io::Error,
        backtrace: Backtrace,
    },
    
    // Tuple-style also supported
    #[snafu(display("IO error"))]
    Io(#[snafu(source)] std::io::Error, #[snafu(backtrace)] Backtrace),
}

// Context selector example
fn read_config(path: &str) -> Result<Config, Error> {
    std::fs::read_to_string(path).context(ReadConfigSnafu { filename: path })?;
    // ...
}

#Comparison

Recommendations:

• Choose thiserror when you need straightforward error types, especially in libraries
• Choose snafu when you need more structured error handling, particularly in large applications

#anyhow

anyhow takes a different approach from the above libraries, focusing on applications rather than libraries.

Features:

• Designed for application error handling, not libraries
• Provides dynamic anyhow::Error type that can wrap any error implementing Error trait
• Simplifies handling across multiple error types
• No need to define custom error types

use anyhow::{Context, Result};

fn main() -> Result<()> {
    let config = std::fs::read_to_string("config.json")
        .context("Failed to read config file")?;
        
    let app_config: AppConfig = serde_json::from_str(&config)
        .context("Invalid config format")?;
        
    // Using Result<T> as type alias for Result<T, anyhow::Error>
    Ok(())
}

anyhow vs thiserror/snafu:

• anyhow focuses on rapid error handling during application development
• thiserror/snafu focus on creating precise error type hierarchies
• anyhow is typically used in application code
• thiserror/snafu are typically used in library code

In practice, anyhow and thiserror are often used together: libraries define precise error types with thiserror, while applications use anyhow to handle various error sources.