9. Error Handling Patterns 🟢
What you'll learn:
- When to use
thiserror(libraries) vsanyhow(applications)- Error conversion chains with
#[from]and.context()wrappers- How the
?operator desugars and works inmain()- When to panic vs return errors, and
catch_unwindfor FFI boundaries
thiserror vs anyhow — Library vs Application
Rust error handling centers on the Result<T, E> type. Two crates dominate:
// --- thiserror: For LIBRARIES ---
// Generates Display, Error, and From impls via derive macros
use thiserror::Error;
#[derive(Error, Debug)]
pub enum DatabaseError {
#[error("connection failed: {0}")]
ConnectionFailed(String),
#[error("query error: {source}")]
QueryError {
#[source]
source: sqlx::Error,
},
#[error("record not found: table={table} id={id}")]
NotFound { table: String, id: u64 },
#[error(transparent)] // Delegate Display to the inner error
Io(#[from] std::io::Error), // Auto-generates From<io::Error>
}
// --- anyhow: For APPLICATIONS ---
// Dynamic error type — great for top-level code where you just want errors to propagate
use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail, ensure};
fn read_config(path: &str) -> Result<Config> {
let content = std::fs::read_to_string(path)
.with_context(|| format!("failed to read config from {path}"))?;
let config: Config = serde_json::from_str(&content)
.context("failed to parse config JSON")?;
ensure!(config.port > 0, "port must be positive, got {}", config.port);
Ok(config)
}
fn main() -> Result<()> {
let config = read_config("server.toml")?;
if config.name.is_empty() {
bail!("server name cannot be empty"); // Return Err immediately
}
Ok(())
}
When to use which:
thiserror | anyhow | |
|---|---|---|
| Use in | Libraries, shared crates | Applications, binaries |
| Error types | Concrete enums — callers can match | anyhow::Error — opaque |
| Effort | Define your error enum | Just use Result<T> |
| Downcasting | Not needed — pattern match | error.downcast_ref::<MyError>() |
Error Conversion Chains (#[from])
use thiserror::Error;
#[derive(Error, Debug)]
enum AppError {
#[error("I/O error: {0}")]
Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
#[error("JSON error: {0}")]
Json(#[from] serde_json::Error),
#[error("HTTP error: {0}")]
Http(#[from] reqwest::Error),
}
// Now ? automatically converts:
fn fetch_and_parse(url: &str) -> Result<Config, AppError> {
let body = reqwest::blocking::get(url)?.text()?; // reqwest::Error → AppError::Http
let config: Config = serde_json::from_str(&body)?; // serde_json::Error → AppError::Json
Ok(config)
}
Context and Error Wrapping
Add human-readable context to errors without losing the original:
use anyhow::{Context, Result};
fn process_file(path: &str) -> Result<Data> {
let content = std::fs::read_to_string(path)
.with_context(|| format!("failed to read {path}"))?;
let data = parse_content(&content)
.with_context(|| format!("failed to parse {path}"))?;
validate(&data)
.context("validation failed")?;
Ok(data)
}
// Error output:
// Error: validation failed
//
// Caused by:
// 0: failed to parse config.json
// 1: expected ',' at line 5 column 12
The ? Operator in Depth
? is syntactic sugar for a match + From conversion + early return:
// This:
let value = operation()?;
// Desugars to:
let value = match operation() {
Ok(v) => v,
Err(e) => return Err(From::from(e)),
// ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
// Automatic conversion via From trait
};
? also works with Option (in functions returning Option):
fn find_user_email(users: &[User], name: &str) -> Option<String> {
let user = users.iter().find(|u| u.name == name)?; // Returns None if not found
let email = user.email.as_ref()?; // Returns None if email is None
Some(email.to_uppercase())
}
Panics, catch_unwind, and When to Abort
// Panics: for BUGS, not expected errors
fn get_element(data: &[i32], index: usize) -> &i32 {
// If this panics, it's a programming error (bug).
// Don't "handle" it — fix the caller.
&data[index]
}
// catch_unwind: for boundaries (FFI, thread pools)
use std::panic;
let result = panic::catch_unwind(|| {
// Run potentially panicking code safely
risky_operation()
});
match result {
Ok(value) => println!("Success: {value:?}"),
Err(_) => eprintln!("Operation panicked — continuing safely"),
}
// When to use which:
// - Result<T, E> → expected failures (file not found, network timeout)
// - panic!() → programming bugs (index out of bounds, invariant violated)
// - process::abort() → unrecoverable state (security violation, corrupt data)
C++ comparison:
Result<T, E>replaces exceptions for expected errors.panic!()is likeassert()orstd::terminate()— it's for bugs, not control flow. Rust's?operator makes error propagation as ergonomic as exceptions without the unpredictable control flow.
Key Takeaways — Error Handling
- Libraries:
thiserrorfor structured error enums; applications:anyhowfor ergonomic propagation#[from]auto-generatesFromimpls;.context()adds human-readable wrappers?desugars toFrom::from()+ early return; works inmain()returningResult
See also: Ch 14 — API Design for "parse, don't validate" patterns. Ch 10 — Serialization for serde error handling.
flowchart LR
A["std::io::Error"] -->|"#[from]"| B["AppError::Io"]
C["serde_json::Error"] -->|"#[from]"| D["AppError::Json"]
E["Custom validation"] -->|"manual"| F["AppError::Validation"]
B --> G["? operator"]
D --> G
F --> G
G --> H["Result<T, AppError>"]
style A fill:#e8f4f8,stroke:#2980b9,color:#000
style C fill:#e8f4f8,stroke:#2980b9,color:#000
style E fill:#e8f4f8,stroke:#2980b9,color:#000
style B fill:#fdebd0,stroke:#e67e22,color:#000
style D fill:#fdebd0,stroke:#e67e22,color:#000
style F fill:#fdebd0,stroke:#e67e22,color:#000
style G fill:#fef9e7,stroke:#f1c40f,color:#000
style H fill:#d4efdf,stroke:#27ae60,color:#000
Exercise: Error Hierarchy with thiserror ★★ (~30 min)
Design an error type hierarchy for a file-processing application that can fail during I/O, parsing (JSON and CSV), and validation. Use thiserror and demonstrate ? propagation.
use thiserror::Error;
#[derive(Error, Debug)]
pub enum AppError {
#[error("I/O error: {0}")]
Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
#[error("JSON parse error: {0}")]
Json(#[from] serde_json::Error),
#[error("CSV error at line {line}: {message}")]
Csv { line: usize, message: String },
#[error("validation error: {field} — {reason}")]
Validation { field: String, reason: String },
}
fn read_file(path: &str) -> Result<String, AppError> {
Ok(std::fs::read_to_string(path)?) // io::Error → AppError::Io via #[from]
}
fn parse_json(content: &str) -> Result<serde_json::Value, AppError> {
Ok(serde_json::from_str(content)?) // serde_json::Error → AppError::Json
}
fn validate_name(value: &serde_json::Value) -> Result<String, AppError> {
let name = value.get("name")
.and_then(|v| v.as_str())
.ok_or_else(|| AppError::Validation {
field: "name".into(),
reason: "must be a non-null string".into(),
})?;
if name.is_empty() {
return Err(AppError::Validation {
field: "name".into(),
reason: "must not be empty".into(),
});
}
Ok(name.to_string())
}
fn process_file(path: &str) -> Result<String, AppError> {
let content = read_file(path)?;
let json = parse_json(&content)?;
let name = validate_name(&json)?;
Ok(name)
}
fn main() {
match process_file("config.json") {
Ok(name) => println!("Name: {name}"),
Err(e) => eprintln!("Error: {e}"),
}
}