Rust Server Admin Guide: Convars, WebRCON, Admins, Wipes & Mods

Rust is unusual among survival servers: almost its entire configuration is a flat namespace of convars you can set three ways - on the launch command line with a + prefix, live over RCON, or in cfg/server.cfg. There is no sprawling INI. The two things that trip up new operators are that RCON is WebSocket-based (generic Source RCON clients do not work) and that the save folder is chosen by server.identity, so a stray change there silently starts a brand-new world. This reference describes how the server actually behaves.

Installing the server

The dedicated server is Steam app 258550 (RustDedicated), and anonymous SteamCMD login works - no account needed:

steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /home/rust/server +app_update 258550 validate +quit

You get native binaries on both platforms: RustDedicated.exe on Windows, RustDedicated on Linux, and LinuxGSM supports it as rustserver if you prefer a managed install. Rust updates roughly weekly and hard every month (see Wipes below), so re-run the app_update line on every restart.

Launching: everything is a convar

A typical launch line looks like this - flags after -batchmode are convars, each +namespace.key value:

RustDedicated.exe -batchmode -nographics ^
 +server.identity "myserver" ^
 +server.port 28015 +server.maxplayers 100 ^
 +server.hostname "My Rust Server" +server.description "Welcome" ^
 +server.url "https://example.com" +server.headerimage "https://example.com/header.jpg" ^
 +server.seed 12345 +server.worldsize 4000 ^
 +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "USE_A_STRONG_SECRET" +rcon.web 1 ^
 -logfile rust-server.log

Things worth knowing before your first launch:

• +server.identity names the save folder (server/<identity>/). The map, saves, player data, blueprints and config all live under it. Change the identity and you start a fresh world - this is the single most common "why did my server reset" cause.
• +server.seed and +server.worldsize together define the procedural map. The same seed at the same worldsize regenerates the same terrain; change either and you get a different map. Worldsize is a trade-off - a bigger map means more to explore but noticeably more RAM and CPU, so pick a size your hardware can actually hold rather than the maximum.
• The game port and the RCON port are separate. +server.port 28015 is the UDP game port; the Steam query port defaults from it; +rcon.port 28016 is a distinct port you forward independently.

RCON is WebSocket, not Source

Modern Rust exposes RCON over WebSockets (+rcon.web 1, which is the standard transport - the old plaintext RCON was removed). A WebRCON client connects to:

ws://your-server-host:28016/USE_A_STRONG_SECRET

The password is passed as the URL path, not a login command. Generic Source RCON clients (mcrcon and friends) will not connect to Rust - reach for a WebRCON tool (or a panel that speaks it) instead. Set a long random rcon.password; anyone with it has full server control.

Admins: ownerid, moderatorid, and server.writecfg

Grant admin from the server console or over RCON using a player's 64-bit SteamID, then persist it:

ownerid 76561198000000000 "PlayerName" "head admin"
moderatorid 76561198000000001 "PlayerName" "moderator"
server.writecfg

• ownerid grants full admin (every F1 console and admin command); moderatorid grants the moderation subset.
• server.writecfg is not optional - it flushes the owner/moderator lists to cfg/users.cfg. Skip it and your admins vanish on the next restart.
• Revoke with removeowner <steamid> / removemoderator <steamid> (again followed by server.writecfg).

Moderation commands

• players - list connected players; status - server/connection state.
• kick "<name or steamid>" - drop a player for this session.
• ban "<steamid>" "reason" - permanent ban (written to cfg/bans.cfg); banid bans by id without them being present; unban <steamid> lifts it.

Wipes: map, blueprint, and the monthly force

Rust worlds are periodically wiped, and there are two independent things you can reset:

• Map wipe - delete the map (.map) and save (.sav) files in server/<identity>/. Keep the same seed and worldsize to regenerate the identical terrain with fresh loot and cleared bases; change the seed (or worldsize) to roll a brand-new map. Announce and schedule these; a surprise wipe empties your server.
• Blueprint wipe - additionally clear the stored player-progression data so everyone re-learns crafting. A map wipe alone keeps blueprints; a "full wipe" is map + blueprints.
• Forced wipe - Facepunch ships a mandatory update on the first Thursday of every month that breaks existing saves, so every server force-wipes its map then. Plan your wipe schedule around it; many servers also run their own weekly or bi-weekly map wipes in between.

Anti-cheat and modding

• EasyAntiCheat is on by default (server.secure). Leave it on for a public server; only turn it off for isolated LAN or testing.
• Vanilla Rust has no plugin support. Two frameworks add it, and a server running either shows in the Modded browser tab:
  • Oxide/uMod - the long-standing framework. Install it over the dedicated server, drop plugin .cs files into oxide/plugins/ (configs appear in oxide/config/); it hot-loads on file changes.
  • Carbon - a newer, performance-focused alternative that is largely Oxide-plugin compatible.
• Keep whichever framework you use updated in lockstep with the monthly forced wipe - after a Rust update a stale Oxide/Carbon build will refuse to load and the server will not start.

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MantaScope tracks the live Rust server list with decoded server attributes - filter and browse by Modded, PvE, last/next wipe, map size, seed, group limit, server FPS and the live join queue, alongside real player counts, population history, wipe schedule and uptime per server. And because Rust speaks WebSocket RCON, you can claim your server on MantaScope and administer it straight from the browser - player list, kick/ban, chat and console over the rcon.port you configured above - alongside monitoring, population graphs, downtime alerts and Discord notifications.