diff --git a/.cargo/config.toml b/.cargo/config.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..35049cbcb13c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cargo/config.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[alias]
+xtask = "run --package xtask --"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/install-mdbook/action.yml b/.github/workflows/install-mdbook/action.yml
index d46db7580deb..a0869d005e27 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/install-mdbook/action.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/install-mdbook/action.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ runs:
   using: composite
   steps:
     - name: Install mdbook
-      run: ./install-mdbook.sh
+      run: cargo xtask install-tools
       shell: bash
 
     - name: Install dependencies for mdbook-pandoc
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 5dea16de6a8b..145e4d6c8a7b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # This file is automatically @generated by Cargo.
 # It is not intended for manual editing.
-version = 3
+version = 4
 
 [[package]]
 name = "addr2line"
@@ -3703,6 +3703,10 @@ version = "0.5.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "1e9df38ee2d2c3c5948ea468a8406ff0db0b29ae1ffde1bcf20ef305bcc95c51"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "xtask"
+version = "0.1.0"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "yoke"
 version = "0.7.5"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 2452ca0753bd..9402942f9571 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -29,5 +29,6 @@ members = [
   "src/unsafe-rust",
   "src/user-defined-types",
   "third_party/cxx/blobstore",
+  "xtask",
 ]
 resolver = "2"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index db7ca9639cc6..1315de592232 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ cd comprehensive-rust
 Then install these tools with:
 
 ```shell
-bash install-mdbook.sh
+cargo xtask install-tools
 ```
 
 Run
diff --git a/install-mdbook.sh b/install-mdbook.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index abd812585fc2..000000000000
--- a/install-mdbook.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# The --locked flag is important for reproducible builds. It also
-# avoids breakage due to skews between mdbook and mdbook-svgbob.
-cargo install mdbook --locked --version 0.4.44
-cargo install mdbook-svgbob --locked --version 0.2.1
-cargo install mdbook-pandoc --locked --version 0.9.3
-cargo install mdbook-i18n-helpers --locked --version 0.3.5
-cargo install i18n-report --locked --version 0.2.0
-# these packages are located in this repository
-cargo install --path mdbook-exerciser --locked
-cargo install --path mdbook-course --locked
diff --git a/xtask/Cargo.toml b/xtask/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..337bfe3d6d6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[package]
+name = "xtask"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+
+[dependencies]
diff --git a/xtask/src/main.rs b/xtask/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8ec42909c0ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+use std::{env, process::Command};
+
+type DynError = Box<dyn std::error::Error>;
+
+fn main() {
+    if let Err(e) = execute_task() {
+        eprintln!("{e}");
+        std::process::exit(-1);
+    }
+}
+
+fn execute_task() -> Result<(), DynError> {
+    let task = env::args().nth(1);
+    match task.as_deref() {
+        Some("install-tools") => install_tools()?,
+        _ => {
+            return Err(Box::from(get_help_string(task.as_deref())));
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn install_tools() -> Result<(), DynError> {
+    println!("Installing project tools...");
+
+    let install_args: Vec<Vec<&str>> = vec![
+        // The --locked flag is important for reproducible builds. It also
+        // avoids breakage due to skews between mdbook and mdbook-svgbob.
+        vec!["mdbook", "--locked", "--version", "0.4.44"],
+        vec!["mdbook-svgbob", "--locked", "--version", "0.2.1"],
+        vec!["mdbook-pandoc", "--locked", "--version", "0.9.3"],
+        vec!["mdbook-i18n-helpers", "--locked", "--version", "0.3.5"],
+        vec!["i18n-report", "--locked", "--version", "0.2.0"],
+        // These packages are located in this repository
+        vec!["--path", "mdbook-exerciser", "--locked"],
+        vec!["--path", "mdbook-course", "--locked"],
+    ];
+
+    for args in &install_args {
+        let status = Command::new(env!("CARGO"))
+            .arg("install")
+            .args(args)
+            .status()
+            .expect("Failed to execute cargo install");
+
+        if !status.success() {
+            let error_message = format!(
+                "Command 'cargo install {}' exited with status code: {}",
+                args.join(" "),
+                status.code().unwrap()
+            );
+            return Err(Box::from(error_message));
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn get_help_string(task: Option<&str>) -> String {
+    if let Some(t) = task {
+        format!(
+            "Unrecognized task '{t}'. Available tasks:
+
+install-tools            Installs the tools the project depends on."
+        )
+    } else {
+        "Missing task. To execute a task run `cargo xtask [task]`.".to_string()
+    }
+}