Rust's strict type system and efficient execution make it a popular choice for agentic development -- but agents fail to make best use of Rust's idioms. We'll explore Symposium, a new Rust tool that improves agent performance by installing skills and other extensions based on your project dependencies, as well as the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), a rapidly growing protocol that can let you apply LLMs in new and exciting ways.
Interview:
What is the focus of your work these days?
My time is split between Rust language development — I co-lead the Rust language design team — and building Symposium, an open-source platform for agent mods built on the Agent Client Protocol. Symposium is my effort to put Rust at the forefront of agentic development by tapping into the creative energy of Rust developers writ large.
And what was the motivation behind your talk?
When I started using AI agents, I was blown away by what they could do — but I immediately wanted to open up the hood and start tinkering. I love tools like VSCode or Emacs that grow rich ecosystems of extensions, and I wanted the same thing for agentic development. But the existing extension mechanisms were either incomplete (MCP servers and skills can add tools and context, but can't deeply shape agent behavior) or non-portable (hooks and plugins are tied to a single agent). When I found the Agent Client Protocol, I realized it could provide the foundation for powerful, portable extensions — and agent mods were born.
Who is your talk for?
Anyone using or interested in AI agents. My whole thesis is that we want people to be able to control and contribute to their own agentic experience — you never know who's going to invent the next big thing. No Rust experience required; Rust is the proving ground, but the ideas and protocol are language-agnostic.
Speaker
Niko Matsakis
Senior Principal Engineer @Amazon, One of the Lead Designers of the Rust Programming Language, Creator of Symposium (symposium.dev), Project Director on the Rust Foundation Board
Niko Matsakis is one of the lead designers of the Rust programming language and co-lead of the Rust language design team. He is a Senior Principal Engineer at Amazon and a Project Director on the Rust Foundation Board. He is the creator of Symposium (symposium.dev), an open-source platform for agent mods built on the Agent Client Protocol.
