What This Project Does

This project lets Rust developers use BoringSSL—Google's version of the OpenSSL cryptography library—in their applications. BoringSSL is optimized for security and performance, and this library makes it easy to access from Rust code. It also provides ready-made connectors for popular Rust web frameworks like Tokio and Hyper, so developers can use BoringSSL for encrypted connections without building the glue code themselves.

How It Works

The library acts as a bridge between Rust and BoringSSL. When you use it, Rust code can call BoringSSL's cryptographic functions—things like encrypting data, verifying signatures, or managing secure connections. By default, the library automatically downloads and compiles BoringSSL when you install it, so there's minimal setup. If you need to customize things, you can point it to pre-built BoringSSL binaries you've compiled separately, which is useful in corporate or embedded environments where you want tighter control over dependencies.

Who Uses This and Why

Rust developers building networked applications—anything that needs HTTPS connections, encrypted communication, or cryptographic operations—would reach for this. A startup building a cloud service, an infrastructure team securing internal APIs, or anyone shipping Rust code that needs rock-solid encryption would benefit. The Tokio and Hyper integrations are particularly valuable because they plug directly into Rust's popular async web ecosystem, so you get encrypted connections with minimal effort.

The project also supports FIPS mode, which matters for government contractors, financial institutions, and other regulated industries that need certified encryption. A compliance officer might require FIPS validation before approving a tech stack—this library makes that possible in Rust.

What Makes It Notable

This crate is essentially a cleaned-up, maintained port of an older project called rust-openssl, refocused on BoringSSL instead. The tradeoff is that you're betting on BoringSSL as your cryptography foundation; if you need features that only other OpenSSL variants provide, you'd need a different approach. But BoringSSL's focus on security and Google's track record with it make it a solid choice for most modern applications.