Cargo

The proxy implements the Cargo sparse registry protocol.

Endpoint: sparse+<proxy-url>/cargo/

Authentication: the API key, sent as the Authorization header. Cargo passes the stored token through verbatim, so the token value has to include the Bearer prefix itself.

Source replacement

Cargo does not have a mirror setting. Instead, crates.io is replaced as a source, in .cargo/config.toml:

[source.crates-io]
replace-with = "shieldedstack"

[source.shieldedstack]
registry = "sparse+<proxy-url>/cargo/"

[registries.shieldedstack]
index = "sparse+<proxy-url>/cargo/"

[registry]
global-credential-providers = ["cargo:token"]

Both the [source.*] and [registries.*] entries are needed: the first redirects crates.io resolution, the second is what the credential provider attaches a token to.

Store the token

cargo login --registry shieldedstack "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

The Bearer prefix is part of the stored value, not something Cargo adds.

cargo login writes to CARGO_HOME, normally ~/.cargo/credentials.toml. That file is a secret and must not be committed.

For CI and other ephemeral environments, skip the credentials file entirely:

export CARGO_REGISTRIES_SHIELDEDSTACK_TOKEN="Bearer ${SHIELDEDSTACK_API_KEY}"
cargo fetch

Use HTTPS wherever the token is sent.

Committing the configuration

.cargo/config.toml holds no secret and should be committed as shown, so every checkout resolves through the proxy. Supply the token at runtime through CARGO_REGISTRIES_SHIELDEDSTACK_TOKEN rather than committing ~/.cargo/credentials.toml.

Verify

cargo fetch

The fetched crates appear under Packages in the Portal, attributed to the project name on the API key.

Names in package filters

crates.io treats a crate’s name as case-insensitive and - and _ as the same character, so serde_json, serde-json and Serde_Json are one crate. A filter on any of them is saved and shown as serde-json and matches every spelling. The swap is one for one: serde__json is a different name, and dots are not folded. See Package names for how every ecosystem compares names.

Troubleshooting

401 or 403. The most common cause is a token stored without the literal Bearer prefix. Check CARGO_REGISTRIES_SHIELDEDSTACK_TOKEN or the stored credential.

Crates still come from crates.io. Confirm [source.crates-io] has replace-with = "shieldedstack" and that the sparse index entry is present.

cargo login cannot store or read a token. Confirm cargo:token is in global-credential-providers.

After key rotation. Replace the environment variable, or rerun cargo login --registry shieldedstack "Bearer YOUR_NEW_API_KEY".