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How to install oxide

Updated June 12, 2026
Rust
Installing Oxide / uMod on Your Rust Server | GameServerKings KB

Installing Oxide / uMod on Your Rust Server

Oxide (now branded as uMod for Rust) is the modding framework that almost every Rust plugin depends on. Without Oxide, you cannot load any of the kits, teleport, anti-cheat, or economy plugins from umod.org or Codefling.

This guide installs Oxide cleanly on the GSK panel, then verifies it loaded correctly.

What Oxide Actually Does

Oxide injects itself into the Rust dedicated server at startup and exposes hooks that plugins listen to. When a player connects, places a building block, dies, or chats, Oxide fires an event, and any subscribed plugin can react.

It also creates two folders inside your server root:

  • oxide/plugins/ is where you drop .cs plugin files.
  • oxide/config/ holds the per-plugin JSON config files.

Step 1: Stop the Server

Always stop the server before swapping framework files. From the panel Console tab, click the red Stop button. Wait until the status shows "Offline."

Step 2: Change the Modding Framework in the Startup Tab

GSK Rust servers ship with a Startup variable that controls which modding framework is loaded. Go to the Startup tab and find the field labeled Modding Framework (sometimes shown as FRAMEWORK or MODDING).

Set the value to:

Code
oxide

Other valid values you may see:

  • vanilla (no framework, pure Rust)
  • carbon (Carbon, a faster Oxide alternative, see Installing Carbon)

Save the Startup change.

Step 3: Start the Server

Hit Start. On boot, the egg will:

  1. Download the latest Oxide build from the uMod GitHub release.
  2. Extract it on top of your Rust install (replacing RustDedicated_Data/Managed/*.dll files where Oxide overrides them).
  3. Boot Rust as normal.

In the console you should see a line near the top similar to:

Code
[Oxide] Loaded extension Rust v2.0.xxxx by Oxide and Contributors

If you see that, Oxide is installed and ready.

Step 4: Confirm With a Console Command

From the panel Console, run:

Console
oxide.version

The server should reply with the loaded Oxide version. If you instead see "Unknown command," Oxide did not load. Common reasons:

  • The Startup variable is still set to vanilla or empty
  • The server failed to download Oxide due to a temporary network issue (restart again)
  • Rust just pushed a forced wipe update and Oxide has not yet released a compatible build (this happens roughly on the first Thursday of each month, see Wipe Management)

Step 5: Install Your First Plugin

The easiest test plugin is AdminRadar or RemoverTool. For now, let's use a tiny one called BetterChat:

  1. Download BetterChat.cs from umod.org/plugins/better-chat.
  2. Open the File Manager in the panel, navigate to oxide/plugins/.
  3. Click Upload at the top and drag in BetterChat.cs.

Within a few seconds, the Console will print:

Code
[Oxide] Loaded plugin Better Chat v5.x.x by LaserHydra

Plugins hot-load. You do not need to restart.

Step 6: Editing Plugin Configs

Almost every plugin generates a config file on first load. For BetterChat, look in oxide/config/BetterChat.json. Edit it through the File Manager (right-click, Edit), make your changes, then reload the plugin from console:

Console
oxide.reload BetterChat

oxide.reload re-applies the new config without restarting the server.

Common Oxide Console Commands

CommandWhat it does
oxide.versionShow the Oxide version
oxide.pluginsList every loaded plugin
oxide.load PluginNameLoad a plugin file
oxide.unload PluginNameUnload a plugin
oxide.reload PluginNameReload a plugin (re-reads config)
oxide.grant <user|group> <name|id> <perm>Grant a permission
oxide.revoke <user|group> <name|id> <perm>Revoke a permission
oxide.usergroup add <user> <group>Add a user to a group

See Permission Management for the full breakdown.

Updating Oxide

When Facepunch pushes a forced wipe (first Thursday of the month), Oxide gets recompiled by the uMod team, usually within a few hours. The GSK Rust egg pulls the latest Oxide build on every startup, so a simple restart after the new Oxide release updates you automatically.

If you want to force the update sooner, restart the server. Do not manually download Oxide and upload it through SFTP unless you specifically need a pre-release build.

Switching Away From Oxide

If you decide to try Carbon (which is faster and largely plugin-compatible), see Installing Carbon. Switching frameworks does not delete your plugins or configs; they live in different folders.

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