nrc/derive-new

---

nrc/derive-new.json

{
  "createdAt": "2016-10-08T02:10:24Z",
  "defaultBranch": "master",
  "description": "derive simple constructor functions for Rust structs",
  "fullName": "nrc/derive-new",
  "homepage": null,
  "language": "Rust",
  "name": "derive-new",
  "pushedAt": "2024-08-29T02:17:52Z",
  "stargazersCount": 570,
  "topics": [],
  "updatedAt": "2025-11-22T01:44:20Z",
  "url": "https://github.com/nrc/derive-new"
}

A custom derive implementation for #[derive(new)]

A derive(new) attribute creates a new constructor function for the annotated type. That function takes an argument for each field in the type giving a trivial constructor. This is useful since as your type evolves you can make the constructor non-trivial (and add or remove fields) without changing client code (i.e., without breaking backwards compatibility). It is also the most succinct way to initialise a struct or an enum.

Implementation uses macros 1.1 custom derive (which works in stable Rust from 1.15 onwards).

#[no_std] is fully supported if you switch off the default feature "std".

Examples

Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
derive-new = "0.5"

Include the macro:

• Rust Edition 2015

  #[macro_use]
  extern crate derive_new;

• Rust Edition 2018

  use derive_new::new;

Generating constructor for a simple struct:

#[derive(new)]
struct Bar {
    a: i32,
    b: String,
}

let _ = Bar::new(42, "Hello".to_owned());

Default values can be specified either via #[new(default)] attribute which removes the argument from the constructor and populates the field with Default::default(), or via #[new(value = "..")] which initializes the field with a given expression:

#[derive(new)]
struct Foo {
    x: bool,
    #[new(value = "42")]
    y: i32,
    #[new(default)]
    z: Vec<String>,
}

let _ = Foo::new(true);

To make type conversion easier, #[new(into)] attribute changes the parameter type to impl Into<T>, and populates the field with value.into():

#[derive(new)]
struct Foo {
    #[new(into)]
    x: String,
}

let _ = Foo::new("Hello");

For iterators/collections, #[new(into_iter = "T")] attribute changes the parameter type to impl IntoIterator<Item = T>, and populates the field with value.into_iter().collect():

#[derive(new)]
struct Foo {
    #[new(into_iter = "bool")]
    x: Vec<bool>,
}

let _ = Foo::new([true, false]);
let _ = Foo::new(Some(true));

Generic types are supported; in particular, PhantomData<T> fields will be not included in the argument list and will be initialized automatically:

use std::marker::PhantomData;

#[derive(new)]
struct Generic<'a, T: Default, P> {
    x: &'a str,
    y: PhantomData<P>,
    #[new(default)]
    z: T,
}

let _ = Generic::<i32, u8>::new("Hello");

For enums, one constructor method is generated for each variant, with the type name being converted to snake case; otherwise, all features supported for structs work for enum variants as well:

#[derive(new)]
enum Enum {
    FirstVariant,
    SecondVariant(bool, #[new(default)] u8),
    ThirdVariant { x: i32, #[new(value = "vec![1]")] y: Vec<u8> }
}

let _ = Enum::new_first_variant();
let _ = Enum::new_second_variant(true);
let _ = Enum::new_third_variant(42);