Derive Macro snafu::Snafu

#[derive(Snafu)]
{
    // Attributes available to this derive:
    #[snafu]
}

Expand description

The Snafu macro is the entrypoint to defining your own error types. It is designed to require little configuration for the recommended and typical usecases while still offering flexibility for unique situations.

backtrace
context
crate_root
display
implicit
module
provide
source
transparent
visibility
whatever

§Attribute cheat sheet

Use this as a quick reminder of what each attribute can do and where it is valid. Detailed information on each attribute is below.

§Enum

Option (inside `#[snafu(...)]`)	Description
`visibility(V)`	Sets the default visibility of the generated context selectors to `V` (e.g. `pub`)
`module`	Puts the generated context selectors into a module (module name is the enum name converted to `snake_case`)
`module(N)`	Same as above, but with the module named `N` instead
`context(suffix(N))`	Changes the default context selector suffix from `Snafu` to `N`
`crate_root(C)`	Generated code refers to a crate named `C` instead of the default `snafu`

§Enum variant or struct

Option (inside `#[snafu(...)]`)	Description
`display("{field:?}: {}", foo)`	Sets the display implementation for this error variant using `format_args!` syntax. If this is omitted, the default is `“VariantName”
`context(false)`	Skips creation of the context selector, implements `From` for the mandatory source error
`context(suffix(N))`	Changes the suffix of the generated context selector to `N`
`context(suffix(false))`	No suffix for the generated context selector
`transparent`	Delegates `Display` and `Error::source` to this error’s source, implies `context(false)`
`visibility(v)`	Sets the visibility of the generated context selector to `v` (e.g. `pub`)
`visibility`	Resets visibility back to private
`provide(flags, type => expr)`	Provides the type using the `expr` with the optional flags
`whatever`	Stringly-typed error. Message field must be called `message`. Source optional, but if present must be of a specific format

§Context fields

Option (inside `#[snafu(...)]`)	Description
`source`	Marks a field as the source error (even if not called `source`)
`source(from(type, transform))`	As above, plus converting from `type` to the field type by calling `transform`
`source(false)`	Marks a field that is named `source` as a regular field
`backtrace`	Marks a field as backtrace (even if not called `backtrace`)
`backtrace(false)`	Marks a field that is named `backtrace` as a regular field
`implicit`	Marks a field as implicit (Type needs to implement `GenerateImplicitData`)
`provide`	Marks a field as providing a reference to the type

§Controlling `Display`

You can specify how the Display trait will be implemented for each variant. The argument is a format string and the arguments. All of the fields of the variant will be available and you can call methods on them, such as filename.display(). As an extension to the current format string capabilities, a shorthand is available for named arguments that match a field.

Example

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    #[snafu(display("{username} may not log in until they pay USD {amount:E}"))]
    UserMustPayForService { username: String, amount: f32 },
}
fn main() {
    assert_eq!(
        UserMustPayForServiceSnafu {
            username: "Stefani",
            amount: 1_000_000.0,
        }
        .build()
        .to_string(),
        "Stefani may not log in until they pay USD 1E6",
    );
}

§The default `Display` implementation

It is recommended that you provide a value for snafu(display), but if it is omitted, the summary of the documentation comment will be used. If that is not present, the name of the variant will be used.

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    /// No user available.
    /// You may need to specify one.
    MissingUser,
    MissingPassword,
}

fn main() {
    assert_eq!(
        MissingUserSnafu.build().to_string(),
        "No user available. You may need to specify one.",
    );
    assert_eq!(MissingPasswordSnafu.build().to_string(), "MissingPassword");
}

§Controlling context

§Changing the context selector suffix

When context selectors are generated, any Error suffix is removed and the suffix Snafu is added by default. If you’d prefer a different suffix, such as Ctx or Context, you can specify that with #[snafu(context(suffix(SomeIdentifier)))]. If you’d like to disable the suffix entirely, you can use #[snafu(context(suffix(false)))].

Example

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    UsesTheDefaultSuffixError,

    #[snafu(context(suffix(Ctx)))]
    HasAnotherSuffix,

    #[snafu(context(suffix(false)))]
    DoesNotHaveASuffix,
}

fn my_code() -> Result<(), Error> {
    UsesTheDefaultSuffixSnafu.fail()?;

    HasAnotherSuffixCtx.fail()?;

    DoesNotHaveASuffix.fail()?;

    Ok(())
}

#[snafu(context(suffix))] can be specified on an enum as the default suffix for variants of the enum. In that case, if you wish to have one variant with a suffix, you will need to express it explicitly with #[snafu(context(suffix(SomeIdentifier)))].

§Disabling the context selector

Sometimes, an underlying error can only occur in exactly one context and there’s no additional information that can be provided to the caller. In these cases, you can use #[snafu(context(false))] to indicate that no context selector should be created. This allows using the ? operator directly on the underlying error.

Please think about your end users before making liberal use of this feature. Adding context to an error is often what distinguishes an actionable error from a frustrating one.

Example

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    #[snafu(context(false))]
    NeedsNoIntroduction { source: VeryUniqueError },
}

fn my_code() -> Result<i32, Error> {
    let val = do_something_unique()?;
    Ok(val + 10)
}

fn do_something_unique() -> Result<i32, VeryUniqueError> {
    // ...
}

§Delegating to the underlying error

When creating a contextful error you might want to reuse it in multiple places - composing different error types is idiomatic, after all. This can lead to unwanted nesting as both the enum variant and the source error are visible in the source chain and in autogenerated Display implementations.

You can use #[snafu(transparent)] to delegate the Display and Error::source implementations to the underlying error instead, effectively removing the wrapping error variant from the logical error chain. That way you get both the maintenance and logical benefits of composing errors, without the redundant nesting.

#[snafu(transparent)] implies #[snafu(context(false))]. Because #[snafu(transparent)] errors delegate Display to the source error, you cannot use #[snafu(display(...))] on them.

Example

This example allows adding or removing users from groups. The group ID is passed as a raw integer which needs to be validated first.

Since adding and removing users have distinct error types, there’s nothing useful to say in addition to the validation error message, so this is a good time to use #[snafu(transparent)].

fn add_to_group(group: u32, user: &str) -> Result<(), AddToGroupError> {
    let group = GroupId::validate(group)?;
    // ... do useful operation
    Ok(())
}

fn remove_from_group(group: u32, user: &str) -> Result<(), RemoveFromGroupError> {
    let group = GroupId::validate(group)?;
    // ... do useful operation
    Ok(())
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum AddToGroupError {
    #[snafu(transparent)]
    Group { source: GroupIdError },

    // ... other failure conditions
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum RemoveFromGroupError {
    #[snafu(transparent)]
    Group { source: GroupIdError },

    // ... other failure conditions
}

#[derive(Debug)]
struct GroupId(u32);

impl GroupId {
    fn validate(id: u32) -> Result<Self, GroupIdError> {
        // ... perform validation
    }
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(display("Group ID {id} does not exist"))]
struct GroupIdError { id: u32 };

§Controlling visibility

By default, each of the context selectors and their inherent methods will be private. It is our opinion that each module should have one or more error types that are scoped to that module, reducing the need to deal with unrelated errors when matching and increasing cohesiveness.

If you need to access the context selectors from outside of their module, you can use the #[snafu(visibility)] attribute. This can be applied to the error type as a default visibility or to specific context selectors.

There are multiple forms of the attribute:

#[snafu(visibility(X))]

X is a normal Rust visibility modifier (pub, pub(crate), pub(in some::path), etc.).
#[snafu(visibility)] will reset back to private visibility.

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(visibility(pub(crate)))] // Sets the default visibility for these context selectors
pub(crate) enum Error {
    IsPubCrate, // Uses the default
    #[snafu(visibility)]
    IsPrivate, // Will be private
}

It should be noted that API stability of context selectors is not guaranteed. Therefore, exporting them in a crate’s public API could cause semver breakage for such crates, should SNAFU internals change.

§Placing context selectors in modules

When you have multiple error enums that would generate conflicting context selectors, you can choose to place the context selectors into a module using snafu(module):

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(module)]
enum ReadError {
    Opening,
}

fn example() -> Result<(), ReadError> {
    read_error::OpeningSnafu.fail()
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum WriteError {
    Opening, // Would conflict if `snafu(module)` was not used above.
}

By default, the module name will be the snake_case equivalent of the enum name. You can override the default by providing an argument to #[snafu(module(...))]:

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(module(read))]
enum ReadError {
    Opening,
}

fn example() -> Result<(), ReadError> {
    read::OpeningSnafu.fail()
}

As placing the context selectors in a module naturally namespaces them, you may wish to combine this option with #[snafu(context(suffix(false)))]:

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(module, context(suffix(false)))]
enum ReadError {
    Opening,
}

fn example() -> Result<(), ReadError> {
    read_error::Opening.fail()
}

The generated module starts with use super::*, so any types or traits used by the context selectors need to be in scope — complicated paths may need to be simplified or made absolute.

By default, the visibility of the generated module will be private while the context selectors inside will be pub(super). Using #[snafu(visibility)] to control the visibility will change the visibility of both the module and the context selectors.

§Controlling error sources

§Selecting the source field

If your error enum variant contains other errors but the field cannot be named source, or if it contains a field named source which is not actually an error, you can use #[snafu(source)] to indicate if a field is an underlying cause or not:

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    SourceIsNotAnError {
        #[snafu(source(false))]
        source: String,
    },

    CauseIsAnError {
        #[snafu(source)]
        cause: another::Error,
    },
}

§Transforming the source

If your error type contains an underlying cause that needs to be transformed, you can use #[snafu(source(from(...)))]. This takes two arguments: the real type and an expression to transform from that type to the type held by the error.

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    SourceNeedsToBeBoxed {
        #[snafu(source(from(another::Error, Box::new)))]
        source: Box<another::Error>,
    },
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(source(from(Error, Box::new)))]
struct ApiError(Box<Error>);

Note: If you specify #[snafu(source(from(...)))] then the field will be treated as a source, even if it’s not named “source” - in other words, #[snafu(source(from(...)))] implies #[snafu(source)].

§Controlling backtraces

If your error enum variant contains a backtrace but the field cannot be named backtrace, or if it contains a field named backtrace which is not actually a backtrace, you can use #[snafu(backtrace)] to indicate if a field is actually a backtrace or not:

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    BacktraceIsNotABacktrace {
        #[snafu(backtrace(false))]
        backtrace: bool,
    },

    TraceIsABacktrace {
        #[snafu(backtrace)]
        trace: Backtrace,
    },
}

If your error contains other SNAFU errors which can report backtraces, you may wish to delegate returning a backtrace to those errors. To specify this, use #[snafu(backtrace)] on the source field representing the other error:

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    MyError {
        #[snafu(backtrace)]
        source: another::Error,
    },
}

§Providing data beyond the `Error` trait

When the unstable-provider-api feature flag is enabled, errors will implement the Error::provide method. This allows arbitrary data to be associated with an error instance, expanding the abilities of the receiver of the error:

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug)]
struct UserId(u8);

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum ApiError {
    Login {
        #[snafu(provide)]
        user_id: UserId,
    },

    Logout {
        #[snafu(provide)]
        user_id: UserId,
    },

    NetworkUnreachable {
        source: std::io::Error,
    },
}

let e = LoginSnafu { user_id: UserId(0) }.build();
match error::request_ref::<UserId>(&e) {
    // Present when ApiError::Login or ApiError::Logout
    Some(user_id) => {
        println!("{user_id:?} experienced an error");
    }
    // Absent when ApiError::NetworkUnreachable
    None => {
        println!("An error occurred for an unknown user");
    }
}

This attribute may be used even when the unstable-provider-api feature flag is not enabled. In that case, the attribute will be parsed but no code will be generated, allowing library authors to provide data to consumers willing to use nightly without losing support for stable Rust.

§Automatically provided data

By default, source and backtrace fields are exposed to the provider API. Additionally, any data provided by the wrapped error will be available on the wrapping error:

use snafu::{prelude::*, IntoError};

#[derive(Debug)]
struct UserId(u8);

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
struct InnerError {
    #[snafu(provide)]
    user_id: UserId,
    backtrace: snafu::Backtrace,
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
struct OuterError {
    source: InnerError,
}

let outer = OuterSnafu.into_error(InnerSnafu { user_id: UserId(0) }.build());

// We can get the source error and downcast it at once
error::request_ref::<InnerError>(&outer).expect("Must have a source");

// We can get the deepest backtrace
error::request_ref::<snafu::Backtrace>(&outer).expect("Must have a backtrace");

// We can get arbitrary values from sources as well
error::request_ref::<UserId>(&outer).expect("Must have a user id");

By default, SNAFU will gather the provided data from the source first, before providing any data from the current error. This can be overridden through the priority flag.

§Manually provided data

When used on a field, the #[snafu(provide)] attribute will expose that field as a reference, allowing it to be used with request_ref. For more control, the #[snafu(provide)] attribute can be placed on the error struct or enum variant. In this location, you supply a type and an expression that will generate that type:

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
struct HttpCode(u16);

const HTTP_NOT_FOUND: HttpCode = HttpCode(404);

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(HttpCode => HTTP_NOT_FOUND))]
struct WebserverError;

let e = WebserverError;
assert_eq!(Some(HTTP_NOT_FOUND), error::request_value::<HttpCode>(&e));

The expression may access any field of the error as well as self:

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
struct Summation(u8);

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(Summation => Summation(left_side + right_side)))]
struct AdditionError {
    left_side: u8,
    right_side: u8,
}

let e = AdditionSnafu {
    left_side: 1,
    right_side: 2,
}
.build();
assert_eq!(Some(Summation(3)), error::request_value::<Summation>(&e));

§Configuring how data is provided

You may also provide a number of optional flags that control how the provided data will be exposed. These flags may be combined as required and may be provided in any order.

§`provide(ref, ...`

Provides the data as a reference instead of as a value. The reference must live as long as the error itself.

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(ref, str => name))]
struct RefFlagExampleError {
    name: String,
}

let e = RefFlagExampleSnafu { name: "alice" }.build();

assert_eq!(Some("alice"), error::request_ref::<str>(&e));

§`provide(opt, ...`

If the data being provided is an Option<T>, the opt flag will flatten the data, allowing you to request T instead of Option<T>.

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(opt, char => char::from_u32(*char_code)))]
struct OptFlagExampleError {
    char_code: u32,
}

let e = OptFlagExampleSnafu { char_code: b'x' }.build();

assert_eq!(Some('x'), error::request_value::<char>(&e));

§`provide(priority, ...`

Error::provide works by types and can only return one piece of data for a type. When there are multiple pieces of data for the same type, the one that is provided first will be used.

By default, SNAFU provides data from any source error or chained fields before any data from the current error. This means that the deepest matching data is returned.

Specifying the priority flag will cause that data to take precedence over the chained data, resulting in the shallower data being returned.

use snafu::{prelude::*, IntoError};

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
struct Fatal(bool);

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(Fatal => Fatal(true)))]
struct InnerError;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(priority, Fatal => Fatal(false)))]
struct PriorityFlagExampleError {
    source: InnerError,
}

let e = PriorityFlagExampleSnafu.into_error(InnerError);

assert_eq!(Some(Fatal(false)), error::request_value::<Fatal>(&e));

§`provide(chain, ...`

If a member of your error implements Error and you’d like for its data to be included when providing data for your error, but it isn’t automatically provided because it’s not a source error, you may add the chain flag. This flag must always be combined with the ref flag.

use snafu::prelude::*;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(u8 => 1))]
struct NotTheSourceError;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(provide(ref, chain, NotTheSourceError => data))]
struct ChainFlagExampleError {
    data: NotTheSourceError,
}

let e = ChainFlagExampleSnafu {
    data: NotTheSourceError,
}
.build();

assert_eq!(Some(1), error::request_value::<u8>(&e));

§API stability concerns

For public errors, it’s a good idea to explicitly state your intended stability guarantees around provided values. Some consumers may expect that if your error type returns data via the provider API in one situation, it will continue to do so in future SemVer-compatible releases. However, doing so can greatly hinder your ability to refactor your code.

Stating your guarantees is especially useful for opaque errors, which will expose all the provided data from the inner error type.

§Controlling implicitly generated data

Sometimes, you can capture contextual error data without needing any arguments. Backtraces are a common example, but other global information like the current time or thread ID could also be useful. In these cases, you can use #[snafu(implicit)] on a field that implements GenerateImplicitData to remove the need to specify that data at error construction time:

use snafu::prelude::*;
use std::time::Instant;

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
struct Timestamp(Instant);

impl snafu::GenerateImplicitData for Timestamp {
    fn generate() -> Self {
        Timestamp(Instant::now())
    }
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
struct RequestError {
    #[snafu(implicit)]
    timestamp: Timestamp,
}

fn do_request() -> Result<(), RequestError> {
    // ...
    ensure!(request_count < 3, RequestSnafu);

    Ok(())
}

You can use #[snafu(implicit(false))] if a field is incorrectly automatically identified as containing implicit data.

§Controlling stringly-typed errors

This allows your custom error type to behave like the Whatever error type. Since it is your type, you can implement additional methods or traits. When placed on a struct or enum variant, you will be able to use the type with the whatever! macro as well as whatever_context methods, such as ResultExt::whatever_context.

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
enum Error {
    SpecificError {
        username: String,
    },

    #[snafu(whatever, display("{message}"))]
    GenericError {
        message: String,

        // Having a `source` is optional, but if it is present, it must
        // have this specific attribute and type:
        #[snafu(source(from(Box<dyn std::error::Error>, Some)))]
        source: Option<Box<dyn std::error::Error>>,
    },
}

§Controlling how the `snafu` crate is resolved

If the snafu crate is not called snafu for some reason, you can use #[snafu(crate_root)] to instruct the macro how to find the crate root:

use my_custom_naming_of_snafu::Snafu;

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(crate_root(my_custom_naming_of_snafu))]
enum Error {
    SomeFailureMode,
}

#[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
#[snafu(crate_root(my_custom_naming_of_snafu))]
struct ApiError(Error);

Derive Macro snafu::SnafuCopy item path

§Attribute cheat sheet

§Enum

§Enum variant or struct

§Context fields

§Controlling Display

§The default Display implementation

§Controlling context

§Changing the context selector suffix

§Disabling the context selector

§Delegating to the underlying error

§Controlling visibility

§Placing context selectors in modules

§Controlling error sources

§Selecting the source field

§Transforming the source

§Controlling backtraces

§Providing data beyond the Error trait

§Automatically provided data

§Manually provided data

§Configuring how data is provided

§provide(ref, ...

§provide(opt, ...

§provide(priority, ...

§provide(chain, ...

§API stability concerns

§Controlling implicitly generated data

§Controlling stringly-typed errors

§Controlling how the snafu crate is resolved

Derive Macro snafu::Snafu

§Controlling `Display`

§The default `Display` implementation

§Providing data beyond the `Error` trait

§`provide(ref, ...`

§`provide(opt, ...`

§`provide(priority, ...`

§`provide(chain, ...`

§Controlling how the `snafu` crate is resolved