Build workspace packages

Use docs_rs_build to check a local package with the docs.rs build pipeline. It requires a Linux host, Docker, and Rust installed through rustup, but no docs.rs database.

From the docs.rs repository, select a package in another workspace:

cargo run --locked -p docs_rs_build -- /path/to/workspace --package my_lib

Or point directly at the member directory:

cargo run --locked -p docs_rs_build -- /path/to/workspace/my_lib

If the CLI is already installed, the equivalent command is:

docs_rs_build /path/to/workspace --package my_lib

Packaging and inherited workspace settings

The CLI runs cargo package --allow-dirty --no-verify automatically and extracts its archive before building. Cargo normalizes the packaged manifest, resolving inherited values such as version.workspace = true. The CLI also adds an empty [workspace] table to the extracted manifest so Cargo does not discover an unrelated parent workspace. The original manifest is unchanged.

For example, a workspace can define:

[workspace]
members = ["my_lib"]

[workspace.package]
version = "0.1.0"

And my_lib/Cargo.toml can inherit that version:

[package]
name = "my_lib"
version.workspace = true

With my_lib/src/lib.rs present, either command above packages and builds the member without a separate manual packaging step. Cargo’s packaging rules still apply, including file inclusion and dependency requirements. Dirty working trees are accepted so uncommitted changes can be tested.

Selecting a package

Virtual workspaces require --package, even if they define default-members. For a workspace root that is also a package, selection without --package follows cargo package, including workspace.default-members. The CLI requires exactly one generated archive; use --package to make the selection explicit.

The CLI reports results and retained artifact paths; it does not publish the local build into a docs.rs development instance. For building registry releases or importing published documentation into that instance, see README.md.