How to Install Plugins on Your Rust Server

Plugins are what make a Rust server yours: kits, teleports, shops, raidable bases, anti-cheat. The panel has a browser that installs them from uMod straight onto your server, so you never download a file or touch FTP.

1Install a Framework First

• Plugins need Oxide or Carbon. On a vanilla server the Rust Plugins page tells you so and nothing will install.
• If you have not done it yet, see how to install Oxide or Carbon. It takes one click and a restart.

2Open the Plugins Page

• Log in to your game panel and click your Rust server.
• Click Rust Plugins in the left menu under GAME SERVER.
• Each plugin shows its author and how many times it has been downloaded. That download count is the most useful signal on the page: a plugin with hundreds of thousands of downloads is maintained and tested far more than one with a few hundred.

3Find and Install

• Search by name, or browse the pages.
• Press Install on the ones you want. Install everything you plan to use before restarting rather than restarting between each.
• The Installed tab lists what is already on the server, which is where you go to check or remove something later.

4Restart the Server

• Go to Console and press Restart. Plugins are loaded at startup, so nothing changes in game until you do.
• Watch the console as it boots. Each plugin announces itself as it loads, and anything broken complains here first.

5Configure Them

• Most plugins write a config file the first time they load, under the framework's config folder.
• Open Files and edit the JSON file named after the plugin. Be careful with commas and brackets: a malformed config stops the plugin loading.
• Many plugins also need permissions before players can use them, granted with oxide.grant in the console. The plugin's own page on uMod lists what it needs.

Good to Know

• Permissions are the usual reason a plugin "does nothing". It installed and loaded fine, but no one has been granted the permission to use it. Check the plugin's uMod page for its permission names.
• Add a few at a time. If the server misbehaves after installing fifteen plugins, you have fifteen suspects. A handful at a time makes the culprit obvious.
• Plugins break on Rust update day. A monthly force wipe ships a new Rust build, and plugins often need updating before they load again. Reinstalling the plugin from this page usually picks up the new version.
• Take a backup once it works. A manual backup of a server that boots cleanly is worth having before the next round of changes.

Finished

Your plugins are installed and running. When it is time to start a new cycle, see how to wipe your Rust server.