GoKawiilRust developer builds JSONPath library in Zig, compares developer experience
A longtime Rust open-source developer spent time reimplementing their existing Rust JSONPath project, jsonpath-rust, as a new Zig library called zig-jsonpath, in order to directly compare the two languages. Coming from years of RustRover and JetBrains tooling, they found Zig's IDE support strikingly minimal, offering little more than syntax highlighting and basic autocomplete, which forced a return to more manual, low-level development habits.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Zig is increasingly positioned as a modern successor to C, and firsthand comparisons from experienced developers in other ecosystems help clarify where its tooling and ergonomics still lag mature languages like Rust. Weak IDE support is a practical friction point that can slow adoption even among developers otherwise open to a lower-level, lighter-weight alternative to C.
- A Rust developer ported their jsonpath-rust project to Zig as zig-jsonpath to compare the languages directly.
- Zig's tooling currently lacks the rich IDE support found in Rust's ecosystem, offering mainly syntax highlighting and basic autocompletion.
- The experience reflects broader growing pains for Zig as it competes for developers considering alternatives to C.
Source: besok.github.io, 2026-09-19
Published there as: “What Zig felt like, coming from Rust”
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