How To Host A Rust Dedicated Server

A Rust dedicated server runs your own procedural world, with your own rules and wipe schedule. This guide follows Facepunch's own server documentation, checked on 4 October 2026, and a test install we ran ourselves the same day. Where a fact comes from our test rather than Facepunch, we say so.

What You Need

• A Windows or Linux machine that stays on while people play. Facepunch also lists macOS. The dedicated server is a free tool on Steam, so you do not need a second copy of the game.
• Memory: Facepunch asks for 12 GB of free RAM, and says a 6000-size map uses more. Our test server, on the smallest 1000-size map with nobody online, used about 2.5 GB, which shows how much the map size and players add.
• Disk space: Facepunch asks for 15 GB free, on an SSD or NVMe drive if you can. Our test install was 5.7 GB before any map or saves.
• A static local IP for the server machine, so your port forwarding keeps pointing at it.

Install The Server With SteamCMD

Rust's dedicated server is app 258550 and downloads with an anonymous login.

Linux:

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

Windows (from the folder where you unpacked SteamCMD):

steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\rust-server +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quit

Run the same command again whenever Rust updates. Facepunch also publishes test branches you can install with -beta staging or -beta aux01.

Ports And Firewall

A Rust server uses four ports. Facepunch says to forward all four to the server, and to pick the exact protocol for each rather than "both":

The query port defaults to one more than the higher of server.port and rcon.port, so 28017 with the ports above, and it cannot be the same as the game port. The Rust+ port is the one our test server opened with these settings; Facepunch's page does not give a default. Without the query port open, the server does not show in the server browser.

Configure The Server

Rust takes its settings as launch options, each starting with a plus sign:

Settings can also go in server/<identity>/cfg/server.cfg, one per line without the plus sign. The server reads that file at startup, and it takes priority over the command line.

Start The Server

Start RustDedicated.exe (Windows) or the Linux server in batch mode with your options:

RustDedicated.exe -batchmode +server.port 28015 +server.level "Procedural Map" +server.seed 1234 +server.worldsize 3500 +server.maxplayers 50 +server.hostname "My Server" +server.identity "myserver" +rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "change-this" +rcon.web 1

Facepunch suggests a batch file that runs SteamCMD and then the server in a loop, so it updates and restarts itself. Add -logfile to write the console to a file.

The server is ready when its console says Server startup complete. Facepunch says this can take several minutes; our 1000-size test map was ready in about 40 seconds on a fast PC, and bigger maps take longer.

On Linux the console does not take commands, so you manage the server through RCON. Facepunch suggests running it inside screen so you can come back to its output.

Join Your Server

• Server browser: players find it in Rust's server browser once the query port is reachable.
• Direct connect: press F1 for the console and type connect with the server's public IP and game port, for example connect 203.0.113.10:28015. On the same machine, connect localhost:28015 works.
• Wrong country in the browser? Facepunch says the country comes from MaxMind's GeoIP data, and you can ask MaxMind to correct it.

Admins, Wipes And Updates

Admins

While the server is running, type users in its console to list connected players with their Steam IDs, then:

• ownerid <steamid> "name" makes someone an owner.
• moderatorid <steamid> "name" makes someone a moderator.

These save automatically, and the player needs to reconnect. With the server stopped, you can add the same lines to server/<identity>/cfg/users.cfg instead.

Wipes

Facepunch releases Rust's monthly update on the first Thursday of the month (the most recent was on 1 October 2026), and its own update posts describe servers being wiped with it. Plan your wipes around that date: after the update, servers start a new map.

A server keeps its world and players in its identity folder. In our test, server/<identity>/ held the map file (named after its size and seed) and databases such as player.blueprints.*.db, which is where learned blueprints live.

Updates and mods

Run the SteamCMD command again after each Rust update. Mod frameworks such as Oxide are installed over the server files; Facepunch warns that SteamCMD in an auto-update loop puts the files back to vanilla, so mods need reinstalling after each update.

Common Problems

The server is not in the server browser

Check that the query port (28017 by default) is forwarded as UDP and allowed through the firewall. Facepunch says the server only appears in the browser once the query port is reachable.

Players cannot connect

Check that the game port, 28015 UDP by default, is forwarded to the server's local IP, and that the local IP has not changed. Facepunch recommends a static IP for the server.

My settings keep changing back

server.cfg takes priority over the command line. If a setting will not change, look for it in server/<identity>/cfg/server.cfg.

My mods disappeared after an update

SteamCMD restores the vanilla files, which removes Oxide. Reinstall it after each Rust update.

SteamCMD says "Missing configuration"

In our tests SteamCMD sometimes failed this way on the first run, then installed the server when we ran the same command again.

Or Rent A Server Instead

A Rust server needs a lot of memory, four forwarded ports, and a monthly wipe and update routine. A rented server runs on the host's hardware, and you set the same options in its control panel. Compare memory, locations and what each host includes before you buy.

Compare Rust server hosts on price, locations, memory and support. When your server is running, players can find it on our Rust server list, and you can claim it there for free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Checked on 4 October 2026 against:

• Facepunch, Creating a server (Rust wiki)
• Facepunch's Rust update announcements, for the monthly update dates and wipes
• Valve, SteamCMD
• Our own test install of the Rust dedicated server (app 258550) on Windows, on 4 October 2026