One of several notable open-source projects to rewrite key Linux software components with the memory-safety-focused Rust programming language is uutils as an alternative to GNU Coreutils. Released this weekend was uutils v0.0.18 that continues to enhance compatibility with the upstream GNU Coreutils programs.

For two years already uutils has been able to work as a Coreutils replacement for a basic environment on Debian Linux. In the time since uutils has become more robust and working better as a drop-in replacement to Coreutils for more diverse Linux environments.

Back at FOSDEM 2023 was a presentation by uutils developer Sylvestre Ledru on why go with uutils as a Rust replacement for the many programs shipped by GNU Coreutils.

With the uutils v0.0.18 release there are updates to enhance the GNU test suite compatibility coverage, expanded fuzzing coverage, adjusting various utilities like chmod / cp / cut / cksum, and other random improvements.

Downloads and more details on this Rust-written Coreutils replacement via uutils on GitHub .