SDKs

Authorization for Rust applications

Add Cerbos authorization to your Rust application with the async, type-safe SDK. Built on tonic for gRPC communication with serde-compatible types.

Async and type-safe

Fully async SDK built on tonic and tokio, with all authorization requests and responses represented as strongly typed Rust structs

Serde integration

Request and response types derive Serialize and Deserialize, making it straightforward to work with Cerbos data alongside your application models

Rust error handling

Returns Result types for all operations, integrating with the ? operator and standard Rust error handling patterns

What is Cerbos?

Cerbos is an enterprise authorization solution built to secure access across complex, distributed environments, SaaS products, and regulated systems.

It externalizes authorization logic from application code, making access control consistent and centrally managed across all your services. Instead of scattering permission checks throughout your codebase, you make a single API call to the Cerbos PDP.

Authorization policies are written in human-readable YAML supporting RBAC, ABAC, and conditional rules. They live outside your application and can be updated, tested, and deployed independently.

The Rust SDK makes integrating Cerbos straightforward, checking authorization is as simple as calling a function, and the stateless PDP scales horizontally with your infrastructure.

Policy-as-codeHuman-readable YAML policies managed like source code Scalable PDPStateless policy decision point with sub-millisecond latency Centralized managementManage, test, and deploy policies from a single control plane

How to authorize with the Rust SDK

Install the Rust SDK. Add the crate to your project with cargo add cerbos.
Initialize the Cerbos client. Create an async client pointing at your Cerbos PDP instance running as a sidecar, remote service, or connected via Cerbos Hub.
Call check_resources(). Pass the principal, resource, and actions. The method returns a Future that resolves to a Result with the authorization decision.
Cerbos returns allow or deny. The PDP evaluates your YAML policies and returns a decision your application can enforce immediately.

FAQ

How do I use the Cerbos Rust SDK?

Add `cerbos` to your Cargo.toml with `cargo add cerbos`, create an async client pointing at your Cerbos PDP, and call check_resources() with the principal, resource, and actions. The SDK is fully async and returns typed Result values.

Does the Rust SDK support async runtimes?

Yes. The SDK is built on tonic and tokio, so it integrates natively with the Rust async ecosystem. All authorization checks are non-blocking async operations.