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Microsoft makes Rust a Tier-1 language for internal development

Microsoft makes Rust a Tier-1 language for internal development

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Rust joins C++, C#, and TypeScript as a first-class language, capping a four-year push

September 10th, 2026: Microsoft declares Rust a Tier-1 language

Overview

Updated Sep 10

Microsoft has formally elevated Rust to Tier-1 language status, placing it alongside C++, C#, and TypeScript as one of the best-supported languages for internal development. The designation gives engineering teams secure toolchain builds, developer tooling, quality workflows, and compliance with Microsoft's security requirements.

The move caps a four-year push led by Azure CTO Mark Russinovich, who in 2022 urged developers to stop using C and C++ for new projects. Roughly 70% of Microsoft's security vulnerabilities over the prior decade traced to memory safety issues in those languages.

Why it matters

The memory safety bugs behind 70% of Microsoft's vulnerabilities could disappear if its Rust shift succeeds.

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Key Indicators

70%
Share of Microsoft vulnerabilities from memory safety issues in C/C++
Over a decade of Microsoft Security Response Center triage data, per Russinovich.
$10M
Microsoft's investment in Rust
Revealed by David Weston in 2022 to make Rust a first-class language.
$1M
Donation to Rust Foundation
Support for critical Rust language and project priorities.
1M
Lines of code per month refactoring target
Galen Hunt's stated goal: '1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code.'

Voices

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People Involved

Mark Russinovich
Mark Russinovich
Azure CTO
Leading Rust adoption at Microsoft
 Galen Hunt
Galen Hunt
Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft
Leading the C/C++ elimination effort
 David Weston
David Weston
Corporate VP for OS Security and Enterprise
Overseeing security-focused Rust adoption

Organizations Involved

Microsoft
Microsoft
Software and cloud company
Elevating Rust to Tier-1 language status

Microsoft is making Rust a first-class language for internal development, joining C++, C#, and TypeScript.
Rust Foundation
Rust Foundation
Nonprofit
Receiving Microsoft support

The Rust Foundation supports the Rust programming language project.

Timeline

May 2015 September 2026

11 events Latest: September 10th, 2026 · 2 months ago Showing 8 of 11
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Microsoft declares Rust a Tier-1 language

    Latest Announcement

    Rust joins C++, C#, and TypeScript as a best-supported language for internal development.

  2. Galen Hunt sets 2030 C/C++ elimination goal

    Statement

    Distinguished Engineer posts goal to eliminate every line of C and C++ by 2030.

  3. Russinovich keynote at RustConf 2025

    Conference

    Azure CTO recounts the Rust journey and details core projects powered by Rust.

  4. Russinovich details Rust adoption at Rust Nation UK

    Conference

    Azure CTO outlines successes, challenges, and commitment to Rust across Microsoft products.

  5. Windows drivers in Rust framework announced

    Announcement

    Microsoft begins work on a framework for writing Windows drivers in Rust.

  6. Azure SDK for Rust reaches stable

    Release

    Production-ready SDK with stable APIs and semver guarantees.

  7. Microsoft donates $1M to Rust Foundation

    Funding

    Donation supports critical Rust language and project priorities.

  8. Rust kernel features ship in Windows 11

    Product

    Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25905 includes Rust-based kernel features.

  9. Microsoft invests $10M in Rust

    Investment

    David Weston reveals the investment to make Rust a first-class language.

  10. Russinovich urges avoiding C and C++

    Statement

    Azure CTO tweets that new projects should use Rust where garbage collection isn't required.

  11. Rust 1.0 released

    Release

    Mozilla Research ships the first stable version of Rust.

Scenarios

1

Microsoft eliminates C and C++ by 2030

Possible Resolves by End of 2030

Discussed by: Galen Hunt's stated goal, covered by IT Pro

Microsoft's code processing infrastructure scales to refactor one million lines per month. The company hits its 2030 target, and production systems run on Rust, C#, and TypeScript. This is the outcome Hunt outlined in his LinkedIn post.

2

C/C++ elimination slips past 2030

Likely Resolves by End of 2031

Discussed by: Developer community observers and Microsoft's .NET migration history

The scale of legacy code proves larger than expected. Microsoft extends its timeline, keeping C and C++ in maintenance mode while new code is written in Rust. Microsoft's.NET migration history suggests timelines often slip.

3

Microsoft abandons full C/C++ elimination

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Skeptics in the developer community

The cost of rewriting legacy code proves prohibitive. Microsoft keeps C and C++ in production for legacy systems while using Rust for new development. The company never formally abandons the goal but stops pursuing it.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 2017

Mozilla's Firefox Quantum (2017)

Mozilla rewrote key components of Firefox in Rust, shipping the first major browser with Rust code. The rewrite improved performance and eliminated entire classes of memory safety bugs.

Then

Firefox Quantum shipped in November 2017 with significant performance gains.

Now

Proved Rust could handle large, production systems, giving other companies confidence to adopt it.

Why this matters now

Firefox was the first proof that Rust could work at scale in a major product, laying the groundwork for Microsoft's adoption.

2016-2020

Microsoft's .NET Framework to .NET Core (2016-2020)

Microsoft rebuilt its.NET platform from a Windows-only framework to a cross-platform, open-source one. The migration required years of tooling work and code conversion.

Then

.NET Core became the default.NET implementation by 2020.

Now

Showed Microsoft can execute large platform migrations, but timelines often slip from initial estimates.

Why this matters now

Microsoft's last major platform migration shows both the company's capacity for large-scale change and the tendency for such timelines to extend.

2010-2019

Google's Go language adoption (2010s)

Google developed Go for systems programming and adopted it for cloud infrastructure, including Kubernetes and other core services.

Then

Go became a standard language for cloud infrastructure.

Now

Demonstrated that a large tech company can shift its systems language over a decade.

Why this matters now

Google's Go adoption is the closest parallel to Microsoft's Rust shift, showing both the benefits and the long timeline required.

Sources

(7)
+1
Rust Foundation InfoQ IT Pro Azure SDK Blog Microsoft Community Hub GeekWire The New Stack