Become invisible as a Rust admin with the Vanish plugin

Vanish (by Whispers88) lets a staff member become invisible to other players. Install it from the Plugins page, give the staff member the vanish.allow permission, and they type /vanish in game chat to switch it on and off. Your server needs Oxide or Carbon first (see install Oxide or Carbon).

It is for admins and moderators who need to watch for cheating or griefing without being seen. The plugin’s uMod page says it “allows players with permission to become truly invisible”.

In the ArthOS panel

Open your server and choose Plugins. Under Find plugins, type vanish in Search uMod (1). Find the Vanish card (2) by Whispers88 and choose Install (3). The panel offered version 2.1.5 on 11 October 2026.

The Plugins tab with vanish typed in Search uMod, the Vanish card and its Install button — Search uMod
Vanish card
Install

Look at its row under Installed. It should say LOADED. If it says NOT LOADED, read the Console for the reason.
Open the Console tab and give the permission to a staff member. Type with no slash:

Framework	Command
Oxide	`oxide.grant user YourName vanish.allow`
Carbon	`c.grant user YourName vanish.allow`

For a whole staff group, use group and the group name instead of user and the player: oxide.grant group moderator vanish.allow. Carbon’s built in groups are default, admin and moderator. More about permissions is in grant plugin permissions.

Not checked on Carbon as of 11 October 2026: Vanish and the c.grant command above. The commands, permissions and defaults in this guide come from the plugin’s uMod page and its source file, not from a game test.

How to vanish

These are typed in game chat, with the slash. The player needs vanish.allow.

Command	What it does
`/vanish`	Switches vanish on, or off if it is on.
`/vanish true`	Switches it on. Useful for a key bind.
`/vanish false`	Switches it off.

The old commands invis and debug.invis still work, but the plugin answers “This command has been replaced with /vanish” and runs /vanish. While you are vanished, a small icon shows on your screen, and the plugin sends you a chat message each time you vanish or reappear.

By default the plugin also puts you in noclip, so you fly through walls. It also stops hunger, thirst and temperature from hurting you, and turns off fly hack checks for you.

The other permissions

Permission	What it gives
`vanish.allow`	Use `/vanish`.
`vanish.permanent`	Always vanished. The player is hidden on connect, and `/vanish` only tells them “You are in a permanent vanish mode”.
`vanish.unlock`	Open locked doors and boxes while vanished.
`vanish.damage`	Deal damage while vanished. Only works when the setting `Use OnEntityTakeDamage hook` is `true`.
`vanish.invviewer`	Use `/inv` or `/invspy` to look at a player’s inventory.
`vanish.teleport`	Teleport to a map marker while vanished (press reload when you place it). Only works when `Enable teleport to marker when vanished` is `true`.

Settings

Press Config on the plugin row. It opens Vanish.json. Config appears once the plugin has loaded and written its file. Some of the settings, with their defaults:

Setting	Default
`NoClip on Vanish (runs noclip command)`	`true`
`Enable GUI`	`true`
`Enable vanishing and reappearing sound effects`	`true`
`Make sound effects public`	`false`
`Enable chat notifications`	`true`
`Keep a vanished player hidden on disconnect`	`true`
`Teleport a vanished player above the map on connect`	`true`
`Automatically vanish players (with the vanish.use perm) on player connect`	`false`
`Disable metabolism in vanish`	`true`

The setting name that says vanish.use is a leftover in the plugin. The permission that matters is vanish.allow. Keep the file valid JSON, save it, then press Reload on the plugin.

What other players can still notice

The plugin hides your character from other players’ game clients. Some things are still easy to notice.

Sound. The vanish and reappear sound plays only to you by default. If you turn on Make sound effects public, players nearby hear it.
Chat. The plugin does not touch chat, so anything you type shows your name.

Not checked in game as of 11 October 2026: whether the player count, the server list or other tools still count you while you are vanished. The plugin’s code does not change them. Test it with a second account before you rely on it.

What it costs your server

No listed source gives a figure for its cost. Not checked as of 11 October 2026: its effect on server speed.

By hand

Download Vanish.cs from its uMod page and upload it to oxide/plugins (Oxide) or carbon/plugins (Carbon). The settings file is Vanish.json in oxide/config or carbon/configs. After editing it, reload with oxide.reload Vanish or c.reload Vanish in the console.

If it does not work

“You do not have permission to do this.” The player does not hold vanish.allow. Check with oxide.show user YourName.
/vanish says you are in permanent vanish mode. You hold vanish.permanent. Revoke it to switch off.
You do not fly. NoClip on Vanish is false, or you are mounted. Dismount and try again.
Players may still see you. Check you are vanished: the chat says Vanish: Enabled and an icon shows. If neither appears, Enable chat notifications or Enable GUI may be off, so use a second account to check.
The plugin says NOT LOADED. See plugins not loading after a Rust update.

Hosting Rust? See the Rust page.

Sources: umod.org: Vanish, umod.org: Vanish.cs, umod.org: Permissions, umod.org: Configuration

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