E0446 - Error codes index
Description: Book listing all Rust error codes

# Error code E0446

A private type was used in a public type signature.

Erroneous code example:

    #![deny(private_in_public)]
    struct Bar(u32);

    mod foo {
        use crate::Bar;
        pub fn bar() -> Bar { // error: private type in public interface
            Bar(0)
        }
    }

    fn main() {}

There are two ways to solve this error. The first is to make the public type signature only public to a module that also has access to the private type. This is done by using pub(crate) or pub(in crate::my_mod::etc) Example:

    struct Bar(u32);

    mod foo {
        use crate::Bar;
        pub(crate) fn bar() -> Bar { // only public to crate root
            Bar(0)
        }
    }

    fn main() {}

The other way to solve this error is to make the private type public. Example:

    pub struct Bar(u32); // we set the Bar type public
    mod foo {
        use crate::Bar;
        pub fn bar() -> Bar { // ok!
            Bar(0)
        }
    }

    fn main() {}