docs(unstable): Expand on manifest commands so far

This is written to reflect the current implementation though some parts
might read a little weird because I didn't want to write throw-away
documentation for when we change this.  For example, single-file
packages are currently only supported in `cargo <command>` and not as
manifest paths but this will change.

Author: epage

src/bin/cargo/cli.rs

@@ -490,9 +490,9 @@ pub fn cli() -> Command {
     #[allow(clippy::disallowed_methods)]
     let is_rustup = std::env::var_os("RUSTUP_HOME").is_some();
     let usage = if is_rustup {
-        "cargo [+toolchain] [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]"
+        "cargo [+toolchain] [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]\n       cargo [+toolchain] [OPTIONS] -Zscript <MANIFEST_RS> [ARGS]..."
     } else {
-        "cargo [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]"
+        "cargo [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]\n       cargo [OPTIONS] -Zscript <MANIFEST_RS> [ARGS]..."
     };
     Command::new("cargo")
         // Subcommands all count their args' display order independently (from 0),

src/doc/src/reference/unstable.md

@@ -1397,6 +1397,101 @@ Valid operations are the following:
 
 * Tracking Issue: [#12207](https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/12207)
 
+Cargo can directly run `.rs` files as:
+```console
+$ cargo -Zscript file.rs
+```
+where `file.rs` can be as simple as:
+```rust
+fn main() {}
+```
+
+A user may optionally specify a manifest in a `cargo` code fence in a module-level comment, like:
+```rust
+#!/usr/bin/env cargo
+
+//! ```cargo
+//! [dependencies]
+//! clap = { version = "4.2", features = ["derive"] }
+//! ```
+
+use clap::Parser;
+
+#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
+#[clap(version)]
+struct Args {
+    #[clap(short, long, help = "Path to config")]
+    config: Option<std::path::PathBuf>,
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    let args = Args::parse();
+    println!("{:?}", args);
+}
+```
+
+#### Single-file packages
+
+In addition to today's multi-file packages (`Cargo.toml` file with other `.rs`
+files), we are adding the concept of single-file packages which may contain an
+embedded manifest.  There is no required distinguishment for a single-file
+`.rs` package from any other `.rs` file.
+
+A single-file package may contain an embedded manifest.  An embedded manifest
+is stored using `TOML` in a markdown code-fence with `cargo` at the start of the
+infostring inside a target-level doc-comment.  It is an error to have multiple
+`cargo` code fences in the target-level doc-comment.  We can relax this later,
+either merging the code fences or ignoring later code fences.
+
+Supported forms of embedded manifest are:
+``````rust
+//! ```cargo
+//! ```
+``````
+``````rust
+/*!
+ * ```cargo
+ * ```
+ */
+``````
+
+Inferred / defaulted manifest fields:
+- `package.name = <slugified file stem>`
+- `package.version = "0.0.0"` to [call attention to this crate being used in unexpected places](https://matklad.github.io/2021/08/22/large-rust-workspaces.html#Smaller-Tips)
+- `package.publish = false` to avoid accidental publishes, particularly if we
+  later add support for including them in a workspace.
+- `package.edition = <current>` to avoid always having to add an embedded
+  manifest at the cost of potentially breaking scripts on rust upgrades
+  - Warn when `edition` is unspecified.  While with single-file packages this will be
+    silenced by default, users wanting stability are also likely to be using
+    other commands, like `cargo test` and will see it.
+
+Disallowed manifest fields:
+- `[workspace]`, `[lib]`, `[[bin]]`, `[[example]]`, `[[test]]`, `[[bench]]`
+- `package.workspace`, `package.build`, `package.links`, `package.autobins`, `package.autoexamples`, `package.autotests`, `package.autobenches`
+
+As the primary role for these files is exploratory programming which has a high
+edit-to-run ratio, building should be fast.  Therefore `CARGO_TARGET_DIR` will
+be shared between single-file packages to allow reusing intermediate build
+artifacts.
+
+The lockfile for single-file packages will be placed in `CARGO_TARGET_DIR`.  In
+the future, when workspaces are supported, that will allow a user to have a
+persistent lockfile.
+
+#### Manifest-commands
+
+You may pass single-file packages directly to the `cargo` command, without subcommand.  This is mostly intended for being put in `#!` lines.
+
+The precedence for how to interpret `cargo <subcommand>` is
+1. Built-in xor single-file packages
+2. Aliases
+3. External subcommands
+
+A parameter is identified as a single-file package if it has one of:
+- Path separators
+- A `.rs` extension
+
 ### `[lints]`
 
 * Tracking Issue: [#12115](https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/12115)