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Guides / Rust / Basics

Set up a Rust server from scratch

Set up a Rust dedicated server: order one on Loafhosts or install it with SteamCMD, set the name, map and player limit, start it, and get players in.

Updated , checked on Rust October 2026 update

A Rust server is a copy of the game that runs on its own, so the world stays up when you log off. Order one, let it install, set the name and map, press Start, then give players the address.

Hosting it yourself? Skip to By hand.

In the ArthOS panel

  1. Open the Store, choose Game servers, then Rust. Pick your region and a size, and finish the order. The server is built for you with its settings in place.
  2. The server shows Installing while the game files download. Wait until it finishes. You cannot use the server until then, and this is the long step.
  3. Open the server and the Startup tab. Set these under Variables, then press Save:
    • Server name: what players see in the server browser.
    • Map size: 1000 to 6000. The default is 4000. A bigger map needs more memory and takes longer to make.
    • Map seed: any number from 0 to 2147483647. The same size and seed always make the same map.
    • Maximum players: 1 to 500. It is 40 on a new server.
The bottom of the Startup tab, with the Server name, Map size and Map seed boxes
  1. Type the name
  2. Set the map size
  3. Set the map seed
  1. Set the name and map before the first start. A new size or seed later means a new world. See choose your map size and seed.
  1. Go to the Console tab and press Start at the top of the page.
  2. The first start also makes the map. Watch the console. The server is ready when it prints Server startup complete.
  3. Open the Players tab. The join line, client.connect and the address, is shown there with Copy. Copy it. How to connect.
The Players tab with the join line and its Copy button
  1. The join line
  2. Copy

Your plan’s memory is shown under Limits on the right of the server page. A 4000 map with nobody online used about 6.5 GB in our test.

The ports are set by the panel. Query and Rust+ port is read only on the Startup tab, and you do not need to change it.

Want plugins? Open the Plugins tab and choose Oxide or Carbon under Framework. Vanilla is the game exactly as Facepunch, the maker of Rust, ships it.

By hand

Facepunch asks for 12 GB of free RAM (a 6000 map needs more) and 15 GB of free disk, with an SSD preferred. You do not need a Steam account to run the server. Players need one with Rust.

  1. Install SteamCMD, then download the server. App id 258550. Log in as anonymous, or you get “No subscription”:
./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ../rust +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quit
  1. Start it from the install folder. This is Facepunch’s own example, trimmed:
./RustDedicated -batchmode +server.port 28015 +server.level "Procedural Map" +server.seed 1234 +server.worldsize 4000 +server.maxplayers 10 +server.hostname "My Rust server" +server.identity "server1" +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "change-this" +rcon.web 1
  1. Wait. Facepunch says it takes several minutes to fully start. It is ready at Server startup complete.
  2. Open the ports. The game port (default 28015) and the query port are UDP, and RCON is TCP. The query port is what puts the server in the in-game browser, and it must not be the same number as the game port.
  3. Make yourself admin from the server console or RCON: ownerid <your SteamID64> "<name>", then reconnect.

Settings you want to keep go in server/<identity>/cfg/server.cfg. The server reads it at start.

Get players in

Players can search for your server name in the in-game server browser, or press F1 and connect by address. The steps, and the line the panel gives you, are in how to connect to a Rust server.

If it does not work

  • The server stays on Installing. It is still downloading. Wait for the state to change before you press Start.
  • It starts but never prints Server startup complete. Making the map takes a while, longer on a big map, because a bigger map needs more memory. Facepunch lists 12 GB of RAM for a server. Try a smaller Map size, and check the console for an error line.
  • It does not show in the browser. The query port must be reachable from the internet. On a machine at home, forward it on your router. This does not apply to a Loafhosts server.
  • Players cannot connect from outside your home network. The game port is UDP and must be forwarded on your router. This does not apply to a Loafhosts server.
  • A setting does not stick. On the panel, name, size, seed and player limit come from the Startup tab, not from server.cfg.

More on the game: Rust servers.

Sources: wiki.facepunch.com: Creating a server, wiki.facepunch.com: Server browser tags, rust.facepunch.com: Livestock

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