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. The Installed tab has a config editor per plugin, so you can edit it there and save and reload in one step, without going near the file manager.
• Be careful with commas and brackets. A malformed config stops the plugin loading, and the console will say so on the next reload.
• Many plugins also need permissions before players can use them. See how Oxide and Carbon permissions work.

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. The Installed tab checks for updates when you open it and offers Update all, which is the fastest way through a force wipe morning.
• Auto update is a per-plugin toggle. Turn it on for plugins you trust to update themselves, and leave it off for anything you have configured heavily. The wipe page can also update everything right after a wipe.
• 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.