August 1, 2025 – Version 0.8.0
What happens when you realize the tool you’re building deserves better than the language you chose?
That’s the uncomfortable question I faced this week. After months of developing Vibe-Guard in TypeScript, I made the decision to rewrite it in Rust. Not because TypeScript failed me, but because I realized I was failing the tool’s potential.
In a world where we’re constantly told to “move fast and break things,” we rarely pause to ask: what are we actually breaking? Sometimes it’s not just code that needs fixing, it’s our fundamental approach to solving problems.
The Realization
CLI tools deserve system-level languages. This isn’t about language wars or technical superiority. It’s about recognizing that when you’re building tools that live at the command line, you’re building tools that become part of a developer’s daily workflow. They need to be fast, reliable, and respectful of system resources.
TypeScript served Vibe-Guard well during prototyping. It allowed rapid iteration, excellent tooling, and a familiar ecosystem. But as the tool grew more sophisticated, I began to notice the cracks: startup times measured in seconds rather than milliseconds, memory usage that felt wasteful for a security scanner, and deployment complexity that made distribution harder than it should be.
The Ethical Decision
Performance isn’t just about speed, it’s about respect. Every millisecond of startup time, every megabyte of memory usage, every unnecessary dependency these aren’t just technical metrics. They’re statements about how much we value our users’ time and system resources.
When a developer runs a security tool, they’re already in a state of concern. The last thing they need is a tool that feels sluggish or resource-heavy. Security tools should feel like a sharp knife precise, fast, and reliable. Not like a blunt instrument that makes you wait.
The Technical Trade-offs
Rust isn’t just about performance, it’s about guarantees. The memory safety, thread safety, and zero cost abstractions aren’t just nice-to-haves for a security tool they’re essential. When you’re scanning for vulnerabilities, you can’t afford to introduce new ones through your tooling.
But here’s what I learned the transition isn’t just technical. It’s philosophical. Rust forces you to think differently about ownership, about resource management, about the relationship between your code and the system it runs on. It’s a language that doesn’t just let you build fast programs it forces you to build correct ones.
The Support Strategy
Maintaining TypeScript support isn’t just about backward compatibility, it’s about accessibility. Not every developer wants to install Rust toolchains. Not every environment supports compiled binaries. The TypeScript version will continue to exist, serving developers who prefer the JavaScript ecosystem.
This dual approach isn’t about hedging bets it’s about serving different needs. The Rust version for performance critical environments, the TypeScript version for accessibility and rapid prototyping. Both versions will share the same core logic, the same security rules, the same commitment to protecting developers.
The Broader Implications
This decision reflects a larger shift in how we think about developer tools. We’re moving beyond the era where “good enough” was acceptable. Developers deserve tools that are not just functional, but excellent. Tools that respect their time, their systems, and their workflows.
The choice of Rust isn’t about abandoning the JavaScript ecosystem, it’s about recognizing that different problems require different solutions. CLI tools, security scanners, and system utilities benefit from languages that prioritize performance and safety. Web applications, on the other hand, thrive in environments that prioritize developer experience and rapid iteration.
The Learning Process
Rust has a steep learning curve, but it’s a curve worth climbing. The borrow checker, the ownership model, the trait system these aren’t just language features, they’re ways of thinking about code that make you a better programmer regardless of language.
The most surprising lesson? How much I’ve learned about TypeScript by learning Rust. Understanding memory management, ownership, and system level concerns has made me a better JavaScript developer. The languages aren’t competitors they’re teachers.
The Future Vision
Vibe-Guard in Rust will be more than just a faster version. It will be a more reliable version, a more secure version, a version that truly serves its purpose as a security tool. The goal isn’t just to scan for vulnerabilities it’s to do so in a way that respects the developer’s time and the system’s resources.
This rewrite isn’t about abandoning what worked it’s about building something that works better. It’s about recognizing that when you’re building tools for developers, you’re building tools that need to be excellent, not just adequate.
The question isn’t whether TypeScript or Rust is better. It’s whether we’re building tools that truly serve their users, or just tools that serve our own convenience.
Next Steps
- Core logic port to Rust with zero dependencies
- Performance benchmarking against TypeScript version
- Cross platform binary distribution strategy
- Maintaining feature parity between both versions
- Documentation updates reflecting the dual approach