Cargo vs Hex

Cargo is the free package manager and build tool for Rust, used through a command-line interface. It downloads dependencies, builds packages, and supports repeatable builds with lockfiles. Developers can compile, check, document, test, run, package, install, and publish Rust projects. The `cargo new` command creates a package, defaulting to a binary; adding `--lib` creates a library. Cargo uses crates.io by default and also handles alternate registries, Git dependencies, and local paths. Workspaces allow multiple packages to share a lockfile and output directory. Package features can enable conditional compilation and optional dependencies. In offline mode, Cargo avoids network access and attempts to use cached data. It supports authentication options for registries and new subcommands without modifying Cargo itself. Rustup installs Cargo with the stable Rust release, and installation instructions cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems. Cargo is open source under the MIT and Apache License, Version 2.0. Some documented capabilities remain unstable and require a nightly toolchain and `-Z` flags.

Hex is a package manager for the BEAM ecosystem, including Elixir and Erlang. Its services include an HTTP API, a website, a package and index repository, HexDocs, Mix integration, and other components. Packages work with Mix, Rebar, and erlang.mk, and the site provides usage guidance for Gleam. Developers can fetch dependencies without creating an account.

Organizations can publish and retrieve private packages and manage which users can access them. Free organizations can publish public dependency policies; paid organizations can make policies private and apply them to public and private packages. A private package can depend only on packages in its organization’s repository and the global hexpm repository. Documentation explains how to build and serve a repository on infrastructure an organization operates. Hex supports organization authentication keys for CI, and its source code is licensed under the Apache 2 License. The Open Source plan is free. Private Packages are listed at $9 / user / month, with an annual option at $90 / per user / per year. Enterprise pricing is by contacting sales. Hex lists API, self-hosted, and web platforms.