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Tutorial · Rust PC

Create a vanilla Rust server with a hosting provider

Set up your hosted Rust server, join it and make your first backup. The screenshots use MineStrator; the steps apply to equivalent hosting panels.

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Contents · 6 steps

Reserve enough RAM and CPU

Facepunch lists 12 GB of free RAM and 15 GB of free disk space, preferably SSD/NVMe. Count the resources available to this Rust server, not a total shared between several servers on your account.

As a concrete hosting example, MineStrator’s creation guide specifies 3 dedicated cores / 12 GB as its minimum and recommends 4 cores / 16 GB. Those figures describe its offers, not every provider’s CPU allocation. Compare your host’s Rust recommendation and watch memory use as buildings accumulate; a larger map and more players need more resources.

Important: A slot count alone does not describe performance. These sizing guidelines do not guarantee server FPS; an 8 GB allocation is below Facepunch’s stated RAM requirement.

Expected resultYour chosen offer leaves at least Facepunch’s stated RAM and disk capacity available to Rust.

Install Rust from your hosting control panel

Open your provider’s control panel. Some offers already have Rust installed; in that case, go directly to its management page. In the illustrated MineBoard example, the French buttons are Créer un serveur, then Créer le serveur, then Gérer le serveur.

  • Select your hosting offer and open its server creation or installation action. On MineStrator, select your MyBox.
  • Choose Rust if the offer supports several games.
  • Choose a location close to your players if the offer provides a region choice, then review the summary.
  • Confirm the installation and wait for it to finish.
  • Open the Rust server’s management page. Keep its console and connection address available for the next steps.
MineBoard’s Créer un serveur action and MyBox selection in the official French interface
Example: MineBoard, from MineStrator’s official guide. Its French labels differ from other panels; do not copy demonstration values.

Expected resultThe Rust server has its own management page and a connection address.

If it does not work
  • Installation failed? Save the installation error and contact your host’s support. Do not click reinstall on a server containing an existing world.

Select vanilla and prepare the first world

Open the panel’s server or startup settings. The labels vary; the Rust setting names below help identify them. Use these values for a small first connection test, not as a production-capacity recommendation.

  • If the panel has a framework selector, choose vanilla or no framework. MineBoard uses Paramètres → Framework de modding. Otherwise, confirm that your offer uses unmodded Rust.
  • Enter your server name. Set server.level to Procedural Map.
  • Set server.seed to a fixed value such as 12345, and server.worldsize to 3000.
  • Set server.maxplayers to 10. Keep the game/query ports assigned by your host.
  • Save the settings before the first start.

Important: Changing seed or world size on an established server selects a different world. Do not do it to fix a connection problem.

Expected resultThe server uses unmodded Rust, and the new world’s startup settings are saved.

If it does not work
  • A setting is missing from the panel? Check your host’s Rust settings guide or ask support where its startup values are set. Do not reinstall the server to expose a field.

Start and join using the assigned address

Map generation can take several minutes. Let it finish rather than repeatedly restarting the server.

  • Start the server from its management page and watch the console until Server startup complete.
  • Copy the public IP and game port displayed by your host. Do not use 127.0.0.1 for this hosted server.
  • In the Rust client, press F1. Replace both placeholders in the command below with that address and press Enter.
Rust client F1 — replace the assigned address
connect <SERVER_IP>:<GAME_PORT>

Expected resultYou load into the intended world, and the server console reports your connection.

If it does not work
  • Connection times out? Check that startup completed, then compare the copied address with the assigned game port. Use neither the query port nor the RCON port.
  • Direct connection works but the browser listing is missing? Check the query-port setting with the host; game and query are different UDP ports.

Give one trusted person native administrator access

Use the server console in your host’s panel, not the client F1 console. Replace <STEAM64_ID> with the intended owner’s 17-digit Steam ID. Run the owner command once and check the player’s native access in game. If the client still shows an old role, reconnect that player.

Use moderatorid instead of ownerid for staff who only need the native moderator level. Native Rust roles do not install plugins or grant every Oxide permission.

Important: Owner access is powerful. Verify the Steam64 ID before granting it, and never share the host account or an RCON password.

Hosting panel server console — owner access
ownerid <STEAM64_ID> "Server owner"

Expected resultThe selected person has native owner access; an ordinary player does not. Current Rust saves role changes automatically.

Create a backup before maintenance

Backup tools and retention depend on the offer. Use the panel’s backup feature when available, or its file access to keep your own copy.

Before a Rust update, announce downtime and check the official update/wipe notice. An update and a voluntary wipe are different actions: do not delete all .db files or change seed as part of routine updating.

  • Run server.save in the server console, wait for confirmation, then stop Rust cleanly.
  • Create a dated backup and download it to your own storage. In MineBoard, open Sauvegardes.
  • Without downloadable backups, copy the complete server/<identity> folder through the file manager or SFTP while Rust is stopped. Find <identity> in the startup setting server.identity or ask your host. Keep all world and configuration files, not just the latest map save.
  • Restart normally, reconnect and check that you have the same world.
  • To restore deliberately, select the required backup and follow the host’s restore procedure; MineBoard’s button is Restaurer. Restoring loses later progress. Test it on a separate server when available, not on the active world just to check the backup.
Hosting panel server console — save before stopping
server.save

Expected resultYou have a dated downloadable backup, know which restore point it represents and can reconnect after a normal restart without changing the world.