Rust server guides

Rust servers fall into a few well-known styles. Players browse by them, so picking one up front decides who finds your server, which plugins you need and how often you wipe. Pick a style below for a step-by-step setup.

Vanilla

VanillaThe game exactly as Facepunch ships it.Map wipe: Monthly (forced wipe), or weekly/biweeklyRead the guide Community (light admin tools)Vanilla gameplay with admin tools for moderation.Map wipe: Every two weeks, plus forced wipeRead the guide

Modded

2x ModdedVanilla feel, half the grind.Map wipe: Every two weeks, plus forced wipeRead the guide 5x ModdedKits, teleports and fast progression.Map wipe: Weekly, plus forced wipeRead the guide 10x ModdedStraight to the fighting.Map wipe: Weekly or twice a weekRead the guide PvEBuild, farm and fight NPCs without being raided.Map wipe: Forced wipe onlyRead the guide Roleplay (RP)Towns, jobs and a player economy.Map wipe: Forced wipe onlyRead the guide

Minigame

Battlefield / ArenaSpawn with gear and fight.Map wipe: Weekly or more oftenRead the guide

Official, Community and Modded

The in-game server browser has three tabs. Official servers are run by Facepunch. Community servers are run by players and keep the game's rules as they are. Modded servers change how the game plays.

Rule of thumb: if a plugin changes gameplay (gather rates, stack sizes, kits, teleports, PvE rules), the server belongs in Modded. Admin tools, chat filters and anti-cheat don't change gameplay. Check Facepunch's server rules before you launch, and never sell gameplay advantages.

Carbon and uMod (Oxide) are the two plugin frameworks. Most uMod plugins run on Carbon too, and Carbon is faster, so new modded servers start on Carbon here.

Rates: 2x, 5x, 10x

The number is how much faster players gather resources than vanilla. 2x keeps the vanilla feel with less grind. 5x is the busy middle ground with kits and teleports. 10x and up gets to raiding within hours and suits weekly or twice-weekly wipes.

Higher rates mean more building, more entities and more RAM use over a wipe, so give 10x servers a bigger plan or a smaller map.

Wipes

Facepunch ships an update on the first Thursday of every month, and every server's map is wiped then (the forced wipe). You can wipe more often in between: weekly, every two weeks, or monthly only.

Blueprint wipes reset what players have learned. Most servers wipe blueprints on forced wipes only. Announce your schedule in your server description and keep to it; players pick servers by wipe day.

Take a backup before each wipe from the Backups page in your control panel.

Plugins

Every plugin-capable server has a Plugins tab in its control panel. Search uMod and install with one click, or upload files you bought on Codefling, Lone.Design or Chaos Code. Plugins load without a restart and their settings live in carbon/configs (or oxide/config).

If you picked a style at checkout, the Plugins tab offers its recommended plugins as one 'Install all' button.