Creating a Rust server comes down to four steps: SteamCMD, App ID 258550, a few ports to open and a launch file. And the game isn't slowing down. In August 2026, Rust averaged 99,323 concurrent players on Steam, with a peak of 196,181 according to SteamCharts. That's a lot of players looking for a server to their liking. Yours can be one of them. We'll guide you from installation to the first wipe, commands included.
Key takeaways
- The Rust dedicated server is free, installs with SteamCMD (App ID 258550) without a Steam account, and requires at least 12 GB of free RAM according to Facepunch.
- Four ports come into play: 28015 UDP for playing, 28017 UDP to appear in the server list, 28016 TCP for RCON and 28082 TCP for Rust+.
- For a first modded server, Oxide remains the safest choice, and Carbon takes the lead as soon as plugins start piling up.
- Every first Thursday of the month, the mandatory update forces a wipe, and Facepunch's July 2025 rules govern monetization and DLC.
Rent or self-host: which option should you choose?
Before typing a single command, one question settles everything else: where will your server run? There are three options, and they don't target the same audience at all.
| Criterion | Specialized host | VPS or dedicated server | Your own PC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Around €4.50 to €10 at the entry level (as of September 2026) | Variable, driven mostly by RAM | Electricity only |
| Skills required | Low, everything goes through a web panel | Linux, SSH, firewall | Port forwarding on your router |
| Anti-DDoS protection | Included with most | Depends on the offer | None |
| 24/7 availability | Yes | Yes | Only if the PC stays on |
| Configuration freedom | Limited to the panel | Total | Total |
Avoid the home PC if your server needs to stay open when you turn your computer off, or if your upload bandwidth is modest. It suits a weekend session with a few friends, nothing more.
A specialized Rust host is perfect for those who want to play rather than administer: one-click Oxide installation, scheduled wipes, anti-DDoS included. The prices quoted come from the YorkHost, OuiHeberg and OneHeberge pages consulted in September 2026, and they may change.
A VPS or dedicated server is for those who want full control and have already touched Linux. It's the route this guide details, because it teaches you how a Rust server works from the inside. Even if you rent afterwards, you'll know how to read a console and diagnose a failure.
What machine does a Rust server need?
12 GB of free RAM. That's the floor stated by the official Facepunch wiki, along with 15 GB of disk space, preferably SSD or NVMe. The wiki specifies that these values vary with usage and population, and that a size 6,000 map will consume more.
Why so much? Because the server simulates the entire map in memory: every base, every entity, every loot barrel. The bigger and more populated the map, the higher the bill. On the processor side, Facepunch only gives one guideline: the more players there are, the faster the CPU needs to be. In the field, we notice that specialized hosts almost all bet on high-frequency processors, like the Ryzen 9, rather than on a multitude of cores.
| Profile | Concurrent players | Map size | Recommended RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server with friends | 5 to 10 | 2,000 to 3,000 | 12 GB free |
| Small community | Around 50 | 3,500 | 12 to 16 GB |
| Active community | Around 100 | 4,000 to 4,500 | 16 GB and up |
| Large server | 200 and up | 4,500 to 6,000 | 24 GB and up |
This table is an editorial estimate that cross-references the Facepunch floor with the grids published by hosts (Flux, for example, advertises around 12 GB for 100 players and 24 GB for 200 slots). Your plugins can shift these numbers.
Our advice: don't go below 16 GB of physical RAM on a dedicated machine, because the system and plugins take their share. If in doubt, the Facepunch wiki points to two RAM calculators, offered by Pine Hosting and Physgun, which estimate your needs based on the targeted map and population.
Installing the server with SteamCMD, step by step
A nice surprise to start with: no Steam account is needed to install and run the server. You'll need one, with Rust purchased, only to connect to it and play. The dedicated server has App ID 258550 (the game client has 252490) and installs with SteamCMD, Valve's command-line tool documented on the Valve Developer Community.
On Linux (Ubuntu, Debian)
- Create a dedicated user, for example
steam: Valve advises against running SteamCMD as root, for security reasons. - Install the 32-bit libraries SteamCMD needs (on Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install lib32gcc-s1). - Download SteamCMD, then the Rust server:
mkdir ~/rust ~/steamcmd && cd ~/steamcmd
wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
tar xvfz steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
chmod +x steamcmd.sh
./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ../rust +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quitThe +login anonymous parameter is anything but optional. Without it, SteamCMD responds with the "No subscription" error and refuses to install the server.
SteamCMD drops a basic launch script named runds.sh. Make it executable with chmod +x runds.sh, add your parameters to it, then run it in a screen session so you can close your terminal without stopping the server:
screen -S rust_server ./runds.shCtrl+A then D to detach, screen -x rust_server to get back to the console.
On Windows
Same logic, different setting. Download steamcmd.zip from Valve's page, unzip it into C:\steamcmd, then open a command prompt:
cd C:\steamcmd
steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\rust\server +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quitThen create a RunServer.bat file in the server folder. Enable file extension display in Explorer, otherwise you'll end up with a RunServer.bat.txt that Windows will refuse to run:
RustDedicated.exe -batchmode +server.port 28015 +server.queryport 28017 +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "ARealPassword" +rcon.web 1 +server.hostname "[EN] My Rust server" +server.identity "myserver" +server.seed 48213 +server.worldsize 3500 +server.maxplayers 50 -logfile server.logThe parameters that really matter
| Parameter | Role | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| server.port | Game port (UDP) | 28015 by default |
| server.queryport | Visibility in the server list (UDP) | 28017, never the same as the game port |
| rcon.port and rcon.password | Remote administration (TCP) | Long, unique password |
| server.identity | Name of the save folder | Short, no spaces |
| server.seed | Map generation seed | Any value from 0 to 2,147,483,647 |
| server.worldsize | Map size | From 1,000 to 6,000 |
| server.maxplayers | Number of slots | Match it to your RAM |
For everything else (gameplay settings, messages, advanced variables), Facepunch recommends a server.cfg file placed in server/myserver/cfg/. The server reads it at startup and gives it priority over the command line. You write one variable per line, without the + in front.
First launch: allow several minutes. Wait for the Server startup complete line, launch Rust, press F1 and type connect localhost:28015. If you wake up on a beach, you're halfway there.
Ports and your internet router: why your server stays invisible
Let's take a typical case. Theo installs his server on an old PC connected to his router, connects via localhost without any problem, sends his public IP to his friends… and nobody finds the server in the game's list. The server is running, though. The culprit? The query port, never forwarded. We come across this scenario all the time on help forums.
| Port | Protocol | Usage | Essential? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28015 | UDP | Game connection | Yes |
| 28017 | UDP | Appearing in the server browser | Yes for a public server |
| 28016 | TCP | RCON (administration) | If you administer remotely |
| 28082 | TCP | Rust+ app | If you want Rust+ |
Many people think opening the game port is enough. In reality, the server then accepts direct connections by IP, but stays absent from the server browser as long as its query port is closed. Facepunch advises validating the game port alone first, then adding the others, and avoiding the "TCP/UDP" or "Both" options on routers: one precise protocol per rule.
On a home router or ISP box (Freebox, Livebox, Bbox, SFR box), everything happens in the administration interface, under port forwarding or NAT/PAT. First assign a fixed local IP to the server machine (static DHCP lease), otherwise the forwarding will one day end up pointing at nothing. Some Free lines share their IPv4 address between several subscribers: in that case, request a fullstack IP from your subscriber area before any forwarding.
Did you know? The separate query port dates from the February 2, 2023 update, tied to the move to a multithreaded network. Without an explicit setting, it equals the larger of server.port and rcon.port, plus 1: hence 28017 with the default configuration. The Rust+ port follows a similar logic (plus 67, i.e. 28082) and must stay greater than or equal to 10000, as explained on the Rust+ page of the Facepunch wiki. Carefully keep the companion.id file in your save folder: deleting it forces all your players to re-pair the app.
Becoming an administrator and controlling the server remotely
Your server is running, but you don't have any power on it yet. Once connected in game, go through the server console (or your RCON client on Linux):
users
ownerid 76561198XXXXXXXXX "YourUsername"The users command displays your SteamID64, ownerid grants you the owner rank (moderatorid for a moderator). Disconnect, reconnect, and the console should display "has auth level". No need to save by hand, saving happens automatically.
On Linux, the console doesn't accept commands: an RCON client becomes mandatory. Facepunch offers a web console, but its own wiki notes that it doesn't work over HTTPS, which sends your RCON password in clear text. We prefer an installed client like RustAdmin, paired with a long RCON password never reused elsewhere.
Oxide or Carbon: which plugin framework to choose in 2026?
Starter kits, teleportation, doubled gather rates, an in-game shop: none of that exists in Rust without a third-party framework. Two contenders share the field, with one absolute rule. Never both on the same server, since they hook into the same game files.
| Criterion | Oxide (uMod) | Carbon |
|---|---|---|
| History | Around since the early days of Rust | Launched in the early 2020s |
| Plugins | 1,419 Rust plugins on uMod (counter as of September 22, 2026) | Runs the vast majority of Oxide plugins |
| Updates | Manual reinstall after every patch | Automatic update |
| How it works | Modifies the server files | Only loads the hooks in use |
| Documentation | The most extensive | Younger, growing community |
Our recommendation is clear-cut. First server, a dozen popular plugins: go with Oxide, you'll find an answer to every problem in two searches. Server loaded with plugins, a machine that's a bit tight, fed up with reinstalling the framework at every patch: Carbon is cut out for you. The host VYKIX advertises 30 to 40% faster startups under Carbon in a comparison published in January 2026, but these are a host's internal measurements, not an independent study.
A classic trap awaits Oxide users. If your startup script launches SteamCMD before the server, every restart restores the original files and wipes out Oxide, as the Facepunch wiki points out. The right order: update the server, reinstall Oxide, start.
The first-Thursday wipe, an appointment you must never miss
Every first Thursday of the month, Facepunch releases a mandatory update. Players' games update, and until your server has followed, nobody can connect to it. This update also forces a new map: it's the forced wipe, the moment when servers fill up the most. Here is the routine we apply:
- Back up the
server/myserverfolder, companion.id file included. - Cleanly stop the server with the
quitcommand via RCON. - Rerun SteamCMD with
app_update 258550 validate. - Reinstall the compatible version of Oxide (Carbon updates itself), then check your plugins one by one.
- Change the seed if you want a new geography, then restart.
Between two forced wipes, nothing stops you from scheduling others, weekly or biweekly. Deleting the .map and .sav files in the identity folder wipes the map, deleting the player.blueprints files wipes learned blueprints. Always announce the date on your Discord and in the server description: Rust players often choose their server based on the wipe schedule.
One last subtlety, rarely known to beginners: the server.gamemode variable offers, among others, the softcore modes (teams limited to 4, half the inventory kept on death) and hardcore. According to the Facepunch documentation on game modes, changing mode mid-wipe resets all players and their inventory, with no way back. For a classic server, leave the variable empty rather than writing "vanilla", a value that causes bugs.
What Facepunch really allows on your server
Few administrators have read it in full, and yet this text decides whether your server stays visible in the game. The Community Server and Hosting Guidelines, updated on July 15, 2025, set the rules for all community servers of Facepunch games, Rust included.
Let's start with the good news: monetizing is allowed. The document lists five possibilities:
- a one-time entry fee or a subscription;
- donations;
- selling cosmetic items, effects or upgrades;
- a server-specific currency;
- advertising, sponsorship and product placement.
The real turning point of 2025 concerns DLC. It's forbidden to give access to paid Facepunch content (building skins, instrument packs, approved Steam Market skins) to a player who hasn't bought it. The reverse is also forbidden: throttling those who paid for it. In summer 2025, several hosts warned their customers: skin plugins remain usable, but only with Workshop skins that aren't part of the official DLC.
Two other rules weigh heavily: never present your server as "official", and keep content suitable for the game's audience. The penalties provided range from removal from the server browser to a game ban in case of serious or repeated breaches.
Our opinion: the text allows the sale of "upgrades" without ever defining them. Reading it, a VIP rank seems covered. For the health of your community, a server perceived as pay-to-win empties quickly. Sell comfort and cosmetics, not firepower.
Frequently asked questions about creating a Rust server
Do you need to buy Rust to create a server?
Not to install it: SteamCMD with an anonymous login is enough. To play on it, however, every player, you included, must own Rust on Steam.
Can you host the server on the PC you play on?
Technically yes, in practice it's rarely comfortable. The server alone demands 12 GB of free RAM, and the game runs in parallel on the same machine. With 32 GB, a small map and three or four friends, it works. Below that, renting will spare you a lot of stuttering.
How do I make my Rust server private?
By hiding it from the server browser and only allowing a whitelist of players. Facepunch details the procedure on the "Creating a hidden, whitelisted server" page of the Rust wiki.
Can you change the map size without a wipe?
No. The size and seed define the world generation: changing them amounts to creating a new map. Take advantage of a wipe to try another configuration.
Why is my server displayed in the wrong country?
Facepunch detects the server's country using the MaxMind geolocation database. If it's wrong, send a correction request to MaxMind and, if you go through a host, ask them to pass on their own location data.
Rust+ shows my server as offline, what should I do?
Check that TCP port 28082 is open, that it stays greater than or equal to 10000 if you changed it, and that the machine can reach companion-rust.facepunch.com. The app.info command displays the current configuration. If the automatic test fails, the server disables Rust+ and says so in its logs.
Can console players join my server?
No. Rust Console Edition, developed by Double Eleven for PlayStation and Xbox, runs separately from the PC version. A server installed with SteamCMD only hosts PC players on Steam.
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