It was missing in guix/build-system/cargo.scm cargo-build as a keyword parameter.
Adding (define* (cargo-build store name inputs #:key (tests? #t) (test-target #f) - (configure-flags #f) + (configure-flags #f) ; XXX unused + (cargo-build-flags ''("--release")) (phases '(@ (guix build cargo-build-system) %standard-phases)) (outputs '("out")) @@ -89,6 +99,7 @@ to NAME and VERSION." source)) #:system ,system #:test-target ,test-target + #:cargo-build-flags ,cargo-build-flags #:tests? ,tests? makes it work.