How to use this book

There’s no single “correct” path through this mdbook, and you shouldn’t feel pressured to read it cover-to-cover (so to speak!) in a linear order. Instead, treat it as a toolkit you can dip into depending on what you’re trying to build, debug, or understand.

The primary goal is to help you grow as a Rust developer working in applied AI - someone who not only knows the language, but can wield it effectively when dealing with models, pipelines, observability, concurrency, and real-world deployment concerns. Rig gives you the building blocks; this book shows you how to assemble and reason about them.

Some chapters explain concepts from first principles. Others walk through practical examples, patterns, and trade-offs drawn from real systems. Throughout, the focus is on clarity and applicability: why the tools exist, when to use them, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that crop up in AI-heavy Rust projects.

If you’re new to Rig, you may want to skim the introductory material before jumping into the deeper sections. If you’re already familiar with Rust and just want to see how Rig structures agents, pipelines, or telemetry, feel free to jump directly to the relevant chapters. Everything is written to stand on its own.

Above all, use this book in whatever way helps you build better, more reliable AI systems in Rust - whether that means reading it linearly, cross-referencing specific patterns, or treating it as a reference you return to as your projects evolve.