Why Your Rust Server Is Not in the Server Browser

Your Rust server is running, but you cannot find it in the in game browser. This is one of the most common Rust questions and the server is usually fine. Here is how to prove that, and what actually keeps a healthy server out of the list.

1Prove It Works First

• Log in to your game panel and check the Console page reads RUNNING.
• Copy the ADDRESS and connect straight to it with client.connect in the F1 console, as described in how to connect to your Rust server.
• If direct connect works, nothing is broken. Everything below is about visibility, not a fault.

2Give It Time

• Rust has thousands of servers and the browser is slow to pick up new ones. After a first boot or a wipe, several minutes is normal.
• Restarting repeatedly makes this worse, because each restart puts you back at the start of that wait.

3Check Your Framework Is Up to Date

This is the big one on modded servers.

• Facepunch updates Rust, and Oxide or Carbon need a matching update before the server runs properly. Until they line up, the server can start but stay invisible.
• Restart the server, which pulls the current framework build. See how to install Oxide or Carbon.
• This is why servers vanish from the browser every force wipe, on the first Thursday of the month.

4Check the Branch

• Open Startup and look at Rust Branch (RUST_BRANCH).
• It should be release. On staging your server runs Facepunch's test build, which normal players are not on, so it will not show for them and they cannot join.
• This is rare but total: everything looks healthy and nobody can see you.

5Make It Findable

• A server called A Rust Server is unfindable among thousands with the same name. Set a distinctive one in Rust settings, which previews how it will look while you type.
• Set your tags so the browser's filters can place you. Players filter by rate and wipe cycle far more than they scroll.
• Check your own filters in game. The browser keeps them between sessions, and a leftover filter hides plenty of servers that are really there.

Good to Know

• The query port is separate from the game port. The browser talks to Query Port (QUERY_PORT) on the Startup page, not the port players connect on. We assign it, so it is not something you need to change, but it is why a server can accept direct connections while staying invisible.
• Share your address. The browser is discovery, not the way your regulars get in every night. Put your ip:port in your Discord.
• Modded and vanilla are different lists. If you run Oxide or Carbon, players filtering for vanilla will not see you, and that is correct behaviour rather than a fault.

Finished

If direct connect works, your server is healthy and the steps above are about being found. Still stuck with players who cannot join at all? Open a ticket with your server address and what the console prints on boot.