How to: Install Custom Maps For Rust Servers

Preparing & Hosting Your Map File

Once you've downloaded your new custom map, it will usually come in a .zip file. To start, you will need to extract the contents of this file to your desktop.

The files inside may be different depending on where you download the map, but you'll want to locate a .map file. The map I'm using as an example in this guide was in a conveniently labeled folder.

We now need a way to host this file online so the server is able to send that downloadable file to everyone who tries to connect to your server. For this, we'll be using a service called Dropbox. The service is free for up to 2GB of files, which is much more than enough to host your map file.

Head over to Dropbox and sign up for the basic (free) plan. Here is a direct link. After creating your account you'll be taken to your Dropbox panel where you can upload files. It will look something like the image below.

Upload the .map file that we found earlier here. Once uploaded, click the icon that looks like three dots to the right side of the file. Hover over the Share option and then click Share with Dropbox.

Now click the Create button to create a sharable link to your file that is automatically copied to your clipboard. Save this link, we will need it shortly. If you somehow lose the link, you can go back to the same menu and click Copy link instead of Create.

Choosing Your Modding Framework

Custom maps made in Rust Edit need a modding framework loaded to work correctly. On our panel this is a single dropdown – there is nothing to install by hand.

Open your server in the GameServerKings panel, go to the Startup tab, and find Modding Framework. Set it to oxide, or carbon if your plugins target Carbon. Leave it on vanilla only if you are running no plugins at all.

Two things to know when changing this setting:

• Switching back to vanilla after Oxide or Carbon was installed requires a restart with Validate Steam Files turned on.
• Switching from Oxide to Carbon requires deleting all Oxide files in RustDedicated_Data/Managed first.

Adding Your Map

Stay on the Startup tab and find the Custom Map field. Paste your direct .map link into it. That is the whole step – there is no config file to edit and no commandline to build.

If you are hosting on Dropbox, change the dl=0 at the end of your link to dl=1 before pasting it. Without that, Dropbox serves an HTML preview page instead of the file and the server cannot read it.

Save the field, then Restart the server. On the next boot it downloads your map and loads it – watch the Console tab for the download line.

Common Problems

If your server does not boot up properly (or at all) after installing your custom map, you may have made a mistake somewhere or received a broken/outdated custom map file. The best way to check for these problems is to open the Console tab in your panel. Restart the server to try to load it again, and then be on the lookout for some of the following console errors.

Clearing Your Map Files

When fixing any of these issues, it's a good idea to clear out any map files from your file system. If the file name is not changed, the server will continually try to load an existing map file, even if you've fixed the problem with the file. To do so, first stop the server and then open the Files tab. Navigate to the /server/rust directory and delete any existing .map files.

Note that deleting .map files is completely safe! Your map's actual saves are saved in the .sav files. As long as you only delete the files with the correct extension, you will not lose any save data on any existing maps.

Version Mismatch/World File Outdated

Despite the name of the error log, for the most part this does not actually indicate an issue with the map itself. Generally this problem occurs when there is a problem with your map link.

In the example above, someone forgot to change the dl=0 part of the link. First, stop the server and clear your map files. This is required, because if the incorrect file still exists in the system, your server will continue to try to load that file instead of replacing it with the new, correct version.

After fixing the link in the Custom Map field on the Startup tab, turn the server back on and it should now boot as expected.

ArgumentException: Invalid path

The following error is a problem with the map itself. It will look something like this:

This means that the map file was not generated on the same version as the latest game patch. If you made the map yourself, load it back up in the Rust Edit editor and re-export it with a new file name. Then upload the new file to Dropbox and insert the new download link into the commandline. If this is a purchased map, you will need to contact the author to get the new files.