• target/debug/: This directory contains the artifacts from a development build.
    These builds are created by running cargo build or cargo run.
    They are optimized for faster compilation times and include debugging information, which makes them larger and slower to run.
    This is the default mode you use during development.
    This can be removed without affecting the runtime execution of your project release.

  • target/release/: This directory holds the artifacts from a production build.
    You create this by running cargo build --release or cargo run --release.
    These builds are heavily optimized for performance, have debug symbols stripped away, and will have significantly faster runtime execution, but they take longer to compile.

  • target/release/deps/: This directory contains the compiled dependencies of your project.
    These are the libraries that your project depends on, and they are used to build your project.
    They are not meant to be used directly, but they are used by the compiler to build your project.
    This is essential for the runtime execution of your project release.

  • target/release/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/: This folder exists because you have either:

    • Explicitly cross-compiled your project for a different target, using cargo build --target x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.
    • A dependency in your project that requires this target.
      This can be removed without affecting the runtime execution of your project release.

  • target/release/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/: The gnu target produces an executable that is dynamically linked against your system’s glibc shared libraries.
    This results in smaller executable file sizes, but the program requires those shared libraries to be present on the system where it runs.
    This can be removed without affecting the runtime execution of your project release.