diff --git a/nix/dev-shell.nix b/nix/dev-shell.nix
--- a/nix/dev-shell.nix
+++ b/nix/dev-shell.nix
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 , better-prompt
 , boost
 , c-ares_cmake-config
-, cargo
 , cmake
 , cmake-format
 , cocoapods
@@ -34,7 +33,6 @@
 , python3
 , redis
 , redis-up
-, rustc
 , rustup
 , shellcheck
 , sqlite
@@ -64,8 +62,6 @@
     # native dependencies
     # C/CXX toolchains are already brought in with mkShell
     # Identity Service
-    cargo # includes rustc
-    rustc # allow for direct invocation of rustc
     rustfmt
     rustup
 
@@ -137,6 +133,9 @@
     # Render default configuration for keyserver
     $PRJ_ROOT/scripts/create_url_facts.sh
 
+    # Ensure rustup tooling is installed
+    $PRJ_ROOT/scripts/ensure_rustup_setup.sh
+
     # Provide decent bash prompt
     source "${better-prompt}/bin/better-prompt"
 
diff --git a/scripts/build-rust-native-library.sh b/scripts/build-rust-native-library.sh
--- a/scripts/build-rust-native-library.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-rust-native-library.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 set -euxo pipefail
 
 COMM_NIX_PATH="$HOME/.cache/comm/path"
+PRJ_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
 
 # If in nix environment, re-expose nix PATH
 if [[ -f "$COMM_NIX_PATH" ]]; then
@@ -15,13 +16,13 @@
 # developer tools that your Cargo isn't expecting to use, fix that.
 # Note: This assumes a default `rustup` setup and default path.
 build_path="$HOME/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
+
 # cd to Cargo project
 cd "${SRCROOT}/../native_rust_library" || exit
-# Add iOS targets for cross-compilation
-env PATH="${build_path}" rustup target add aarch64-apple-ios
-env PATH="${build_path}" rustup target add x86_64-apple-ios
-# Install cargo lipo
-env PATH="${build_path}" cargo install cargo-lipo
+
+# Ensure rust tooling is available
+env PATH="${build_path}" "$PRJ_ROOT/scripts/ensure_rustup_setup.sh"
+
 # Set C++ standard and build cxx bridge
 export CXXFLAGS="-std=c++14"
 env PATH="${build_path}" cargo build
diff --git a/scripts/ensure_rustup_setup.sh b/scripts/ensure_rustup_setup.sh
new file mode 100755
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ensure_rustup_setup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+ensure_target() {
+  local target="$1"
+
+  if ! rustup target list --installed | grep "$target" > /dev/null; then
+    rustup target add "$1"
+  fi
+}
+
+if ! command -v rustup > /dev/null; then
+  echo "Please install rustup" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ "$(rustup toolchain list)" == "no installed toolchains" ]]; then
+  rustup toolchain install stable
+fi
+
+ensure_target aarch64-apple-ios
+ensure_target x86_64-apple-ios
+
+if ! command -v cargo-lipo > /dev/null; then
+  cargo install cargo-lipo
+fi