Unsafe Rust basics
Answer: Unsafe Rust adds five "superpowers" that safe Rust forbids. You may build raw pointers in safe code, but you may only dereference them inside unsafe.
Unsafe blocks
Unsafe annotations bypass compiler protections on purpose. Enter unsafe Rust with the unsafe keyword and a block that contains the unsafe operations.
Claims
- id: C1 claim: Raw pointers can be created in safe code but not dereferenced there. source: S1 evidence: "We can create raw pointers in safe code; we just can't dereference raw pointers outside"
- id: C2 claim: You can take five actions in unsafe Rust that you can't in safe Rust. source: S1 evidence: "You can take five actions in unsafe Rust that you can't in safe Rust, which"
- id: C3 claim: Unsafe annotations bypass compiler protections. source: S2 evidence: "Unsafe annotations in Rust are used to bypass protections put in place by the compiler;"
Sources
- [S1] Unsafe Rust. The Rust Project (The Rust Programming Language book). https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch20-01-unsafe-rust.html . License: MIT OR Apache-2.0. Accessed 2026-11-09.
- [S2] Unsafe operations - Rust By Example. Rust by Example (rust-lang/rust-by-example). https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/unsafe.html . License: MIT OR Apache-2.0. Accessed 2026-11-09.
License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources and notices: The Rust Programming Language book (rust-lang/book): Copyright (c) 2010 The Rust Project Developers; MIT OR Apache-2.0, used under MIT (https://github.com/rust-lang/book/blob/main/LICENSE-MIT). Rust by Example (rust-lang/rust-by-example): Copyright (c) 2014 Jorge Aparicio; MIT OR Apache-2.0, used under MIT (https://github.com/rust-lang/rust-by-example/blob/master/LICENSE-MIT). Text was condensed and changed from the originals.
License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: The Rust Project (The Rust Programming Language book), Unsafe Rust, MIT OR Apache-2.0; Rust by Example (rust-lang/rust-by-example), Unsafe operations - Rust By Example, MIT OR Apache-2.0. Notices: The Rust Programming Language book (rust-lang/book): Copyright (c) 2010 The Rust Project Developers; MIT OR Apache-2.0, used under MIT (https://github.com/rust-lang/book/blob/main/LICENSE-MIT). Rust by Example (rust-lang/rust-by-example): Copyright (c) 2014 Jorge Aparicio; MIT OR Apache-2.0, used under MIT (https://github.com/rust-lang/rust-by-example/blob/master/LICENSE-MIT).
Cite this
iinventedlight. 2026. "Unsafe Rust basics." iinventedlight Library, iil:note:6seaf485, version of 2026-11-09. https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/rust-unsafe-basics/. License: CC-BY-4.0.
@misc{iil_note_6seaf485,
author = {{iinventedlight}},
title = {{Unsafe Rust basics}},
howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-11-09},
url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/rust-unsafe-basics/},
note = {Permanent ID iil:note:6seaf485. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}Spotted a mistake? Use the MCP feedback tool or email hello@iinventedlight.com.
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