Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Cygwin VS RustyBox

Compare Cygwin VS RustyBox and see what are their differences

Cygwin logo Cygwin

Cygwin is a set of tools that provide Linux and POSIX functionality to Windows.

RustyBox logo RustyBox

BusyBox port in 100% Rust.
  • Cygwin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-27
  • RustyBox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

Cygwin features and specs

  • Unix-like Environment on Windows
    Cygwin provides a large collection of GNU and Open Source tools that give functionality similar to a Unix distribution on Windows. This allows for Unix-like programming and shell scripting without leaving the Windows environment.
  • Package Management
    Cygwin offers a robust package management system, making it easy to install, update, and manage various software packages. This streamlines the development and operational workflow.
  • Interoperability
    Cygwin enables interoperability between POSIX and Windows applications, allowing users to run Linux tools and Windows software side-by-side, enhancing cross-platform development.
  • Broad Tool Set
    It comes with a vast array of tools and libraries, including compilers, text editors, and networking utilities, providing a comprehensive environment for developers.

Possible disadvantages of Cygwin

  • Performance Overhead
    Cygwin introduces a performance overhead as it acts as a compatibility layer between Windows and POSIX systems. This can lead to slower performance compared to native Unix/Linux environments.
  • Complexity
    Setting up and maintaining Cygwin can be complex, especially for new users unfamiliar with Unix/Linux environments. Additional steps are required for configuration and management.
  • Partial Emulation
    While Cygwin offers a Unix-like environment, it doesn’t provide full compatibility with all Unix/Linux programs. Some applications may not run properly or may require additional tweaks.
  • Resource Intensive
    Cygwin can be resource-intensive, consuming significant memory and CPU resources, which might affect the performance of the host system, particularly on less powerful machines.

RustyBox features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Cygwin videos

Cygwin Review Part 1: Running Linux programs... on Windows?

More videos:

  • Review - Cygwin Review Part 2 - it didn't quite go to plan, again!
  • Review - What is Cygwin? | How does Cygwin work?

RustyBox videos

No RustyBox videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Cygwin and RustyBox)
SSH
96 96%
4% 4
Server Management
95 95%
5% 5
Terminal Tools
91 91%
9% 9
Tool
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Cygwin and RustyBox

Cygwin Reviews

10 Termux Alternatives
Cygwin is open-source software with a collection of GNU and provides all functions similar to the Linux shell environment on windows. This software also has the functionality of API manager that has premium packages to have complete control on your files and move them to other software based on your requirement. This app also has the functionality of editing different files...

RustyBox Reviews

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Cygwin should be more popular than RustyBox. It has been mentiond 12 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Cygwin mentions (12)

  • dotnet cross-platform interop with C via Environment.ProcessId system call
    Altough, built-in libc on Windows doesn't support POSIX API and dotnet uses WinAPI instead, POSIX support can be added externally via cygwin, WSL or MinGW. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Bash vs. Zsh: Key differences and when to use each
    Download Cygwin from the official site by first downloading the .exe file. Click on the downloaded .exe file to get the full package: During installation, type in Zsh as the shell you want to get, and click Next:. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Groovy 🎷 Cheat Sheet - 01 Say "Hello" from Groovy
    Alternatively, you can use sdkman. A great tool to install your Software Development Kit. The downside is that it only works on *nix systems. So for Widnows users, you will have to use WSL or Cygwin as the official page suggests. It is really simple to use sdkman. After a successful installation, just type those commands into your *nix shell:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • How do you even get started programming in c++ on Windows?
    You could try Cygwin. I never leave home without it. Source: about 2 years ago
  • What exactly IS gitbash?
    It's launching MSYS2, which is in turn based on cygwin, which is a collection of common Linux utilities built for windows and an incomplete POSIX abstraction layer. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

RustyBox mentions (2)

  • Anyone have Rust code running on under Garlic OS?
    Has anyone used Rust to make any apps/mods/whatever to run on a RG35XX under Garlic OS or any other OS? I've heard of rustybox but I don't think that applies here. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Forking OpenBSD
    Ls is part of the shell, grep is a standalone app. Rust/cargo etc is in the port tree, so I don't think getting a dev env would be an issue. I notice there exists "rustbox" which is a busybox clone in Rust, maybe try getting that to compile and then add upon it? Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Cygwin and RustyBox, you can also consider the following products

MobaXterm - Enhanced terminal for Windows with X11 server, tabbed SSH client, network tools and much more

Toybox (Linux command line utilities) - Toybox combines common Linux command line utilities together into a single BSD-licensed executable...

PuTTY - Popular free terminal application. Mostly used as an SSH client.

BusyBox - BusyBox is a single binary that provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable.

PowerShell - Download WMF. Windows Management Framework contains the latest versions of PowerShell, DSC, WMI, and WinRM for older versions of Windows. PowerShell Module Browser. Search for PowerShell modules and cmdlets.

GNU Core Utilities - The GNU Core Utilities or coreutils is a package of GNU software containing many of the basic...