Running your own Rust server means you control the wipe schedule, gather rates, map and plugins — the things that define a community. Here is how to set one up.
Rust is hungry: plan for 8 GB for a small map and modest population, and 12–16 GB+ for large maps or 150+ slots. Memory scales with map size and players.
Most servers wipe the map weekly or biweekly, with a blueprint wipe on the forced monthly Rust update. Wipe automation and seed rotation are built into the GGameHost panel.
Plugins are what make a Rust server yours — kits, clans, economy, raid protection and events. GGameHost ships with Oxide/uMod ready and supports Carbon; install from the panel or upload your own.
Adjust gather/craft rates, map size and seed to set the server's pace, from vanilla-pure to heavily modded — all from the config editor, no SSH required.
Facepunch's server documentation lists four ports: the server and query ports are UDP, while RCON and Rust+ are TCP.
| Purpose | Convar | Documented value | Protocol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game traffic | server.port | 28015 is documented as the default | UDP |
| Server browser / query | server.queryport | If not explicitly set, it defaults to 1 + server.port or rcon.port, whichever is greatest | UDP |
| RCON | rcon.port | The wiki states that the default is equal to server.port; its example startup line uses 28016 | TCP |
| Rust+ companion | app.port | Game port + 67 or RCON port + 67, whichever is larger; with no custom ports set, this gives 28082 | TCP |
LinuxGSM, a separate server-management project, publishes a diagnostic example of a running Rust server listening on game 28015/udp, query 28017/udp, RCON 28016/tcp, and app 28082/tcp — the combination you get when the RCON port is set to 28016, as in Facepunch's example command.
Two constraints are stated outright. The server wiki says that server.port and server.queryport must both be open and accessible over UDP, and that they cannot be set to the same port. The query port exists so that services can query your server for information, and it is needed for your server to appear in the game's server browser list — if the server is running but never shows up in the browser, check that port first.
The Rust+ companion service has its own rules. Its port must be 10000 or higher for Facepunch's Rust+ backend to reach it. app.info displays the port currently in use, app.listenip specifies which network interface to listen on, and app.publicip sets the public IP the app connects to. Changing app.port requires a server restart to take effect.
The Rust dedicated server is published through SteamCMD as app ID 258550 and installs with an anonymous login:
./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ../rust +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quitFacepunch's wiki states that you do not need a Steam account to install and run a Rust server, but you do need an account that owns Rust in order to join and play. Test builds are pulled by appending -beta staging or -beta aux01 to the same app_update line; the wiki notes that once you have moved up in buildID, you need to specify the public branch to return to the default build.
Host systems documented by Facepunch are Windows, Linux, and OSX. The server is launched with RustDedicated.exe on Windows and runds.sh on Linux.
The world is defined at launch rather than in a config file, and the wiki documents the accepted ranges:
+server.worldsize — use 1000 to 6000. Larger maps require more disk space and memory.+server.seed — any value from 0 to 2147483647.+server.level — the documented example is Procedural Map.+server.identity — the internal name of the server; the wiki's file paths are built from it, as in rust/server/server1.-batchmode — tells the server to run without a GUI.RCON is configured on the same command line. The wiki's example sets +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password letmein +rcon.web 1, explicitly tells you to change the password value, and notes that rcon.web 1 is the suggested setting.
Plugins are loaded by a framework installed on top of the dedicated server files. The site Facepunch directs owners to for plugin support, umod.org, publishes a separate archive for each platform: Oxide.Rust.zip for Windows servers and Oxide.Rust-linux.zip for Linux servers.
Oxide's own installation guide is specific about the sequence:
RustDedicated_Data directory inside the main Rust server folder.oxide.version to confirm the result.Carbon installs differently: download the archive, unzip it to the root of your Rust dedicated server, and restart. Production, Edge, and Experimental builds are offered for both Windows and Linux.
server.tags takes a comma-separated list that the server browser reads, such as server.tags weekly,vanilla,roleplay. Facepunch's documented tag table covers:
The server browser displays up to four tags at a time, and the wiki notes that some tags may be set automatically by other convars — server.pve applies the PvE tag, for example.
Running SteamCMD in your startup script reverts your files to vanilla, which the wiki flags as potentially undesirable if you use Oxide.
Facepunch also notes that any time there is a server update, Oxide releases an update shortly after, which you have to apply every time the server is updated. Oxide's guide states the same requirement from its side: for every server update by Facepunch there is an Oxide update, and Oxide and server versions should not be mismatched.