As of Rust 1.17, [build.rs is used automatically when present](https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/3664), but the [documentation](http://doc.crates.io/build-script.html) says otherwise: `Note that there is no default value for build, it must be explicitly specified if required.` There are several of `Cargo.toml` examples with a `build = "build.rs"` line in the build documentation, too.