--- title: "Rust Plugins: The Best Oxide & Carbon Plugins for Your Server" description: "A curated stack of Rust plugins for Oxide and Carbon: quality-of-life, admin, anti-grief and economy, plus install commands and how to source them safely." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/rust/popular-plugins/" category: "Rust" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/rust/" published: "2026-06-14T19:24:47.430Z" updated: "2026-09-12T05:38:37.899Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # Rust Plugins: The Best Oxide & Carbon Plugins for Your Server Everything you need to run plugins on a Rust server: which framework to install, a curated stack of the plugins almost every server owner ends up using, the console commands to manage them, and how to source them without backdooring your own box. Each plugin entry lists what it does, where to get it, the permission node, and a config tip or two. > [!NOTE] Every plugin here works on both frameworks > All plugins below work on **Oxide** and **Carbon**. Drop the `.cs` file in `oxide/plugins/` or `carbon/plugins/` depending on your framework. ## Oxide vs Carbon: Which Framework? A vanilla Rust server cannot load plugins at all. First you install a modding framework — you run **one**, never both: | | Oxide / uMod | Carbon | |---|---|---| | **What it is** | The long-established framework, maintained under the uMod project | A newer framework built for speed, designed to run most Oxide plugins unchanged | | **Plugin library** | Largest — umod.org hosts thousands | Runs most Oxide/uMod plugins as-is | | **Console prefix** | `oxide.` (shorthand `o.`) | `c.` | | **Plugins folder** | `oxide/plugins/` | `carbon/plugins/` | | **Best for** | Almost everyone; matches nearly every guide online | Larger servers wanting faster compile and reload times | If you are unsure, pick Oxide — every plugin page, config example and support thread assumes it. Setup steps are in [How to install Oxide for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-install-oxide/) and [How to install Carbon for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-install-carbon/). Either framework needs a server you can put files on: on a [Rust server hosting plan](/games/rust-server-hosting/) that is the control panel's file manager or SFTP, and neither framework is restricted. ## Quality of Life ### Kits Lets players claim predefined item kits from chat (`/kit`). Essentials. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/kits](https://umod.org/plugins/kits) - Permission: `kits.admin` (manage kits), kit-specific permissions - Tip: Create a `starter` kit available to everyone with `oxide.grant group default kits.kit.starter` so new players are not naked on spawn. ### NTeleportation Adds `/home`, `/sethome`, `/tpr`, `/tpa` chat commands. By default these are PvE-friendly; restrict during raid hours via the config's blockable conditions. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/nteleportation](https://umod.org/plugins/nteleportation) - Permission: `nteleportation.home` for `/sethome` and `/home`, `nteleportation.tpr` and `nteleportation.tpa` for player-to-player requests, `nteleportation.admin` for staff. Do **not** grant `nteleportation.tp` to players — that is the instant admin teleport. - Tip: Every teleport type has its own `Cooldown`, `Countdown` and `Daily Limit` block in `oxide/config/NTeleportation.json`. A countdown of 10-15 seconds is what stops players teleporting out of a losing fight. Full walkthrough: [How to setup NTeleportation](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-setup-player-teleporting/). ### Remover Tool Allows players to remove their own building blocks and deployables for a partial refund. Reduces frustration with misplaced walls. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/remover-tool](https://umod.org/plugins/remover-tool) - Permission: `removertool.normal`, `removertool.target` (for admins) - Tip: Lower `Default Remove Time` to 30 seconds. Long timers feel sluggish. ### Sign Artist Lets players paste images onto signs and frames via URL. Bring your server alive with player-made art. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/sign-artist](https://umod.org/plugins/sign-artist) - Permission: `signartist.url`, `signartist.text` - Tip: Restrict to trusted groups (VIP) to avoid NSFW sign spam. ### Quick Smelt Speeds up furnace smelting without breaking balance. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/quick-smelt](https://umod.org/plugins/quick-smelt) - Permission: `quicksmelt.use` - Tip: A multiplier of 2.0 to 3.0 is the sweet spot. Above 5.0 it feels like creative mode. ### Furnace Splitter Splits ore evenly across every slot in a furnace instead of dumping it all into one. Small, but players notice it the first time they smelt. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/furnace-splitter](https://umod.org/plugins/furnace-splitter) - Permission: `furnacesplitter.use` - Tip: `/fs` toggles it per player. Grant it to `default` — it saves clicks, it does not give anyone an advantage. ## Server Management ### Server Rewards An in-game economy with points players earn from playtime, kills, or events. Pairs with shops, ranks, and lotteries. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/server-rewards](https://umod.org/plugins/server-rewards) - Permission: `serverrewards.admin` for managers - Tip: Use `/srshop` to spawn the rewards shop. Stock it with rare items so points have value. ### Backpacks Adds a personal backpack accessible from chat. Players can store extra gear without making it a free-for-all. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/backpacks](https://umod.org/plugins/backpacks) (free) - Permission: `backpacks.use`, plus tiered `backpacks.size.6`, `backpacks.size.12`, `backpacks.size.48` - Tip: Disable on PvP servers if it trivializes raid loot loss. ### Better Chat Custom chat formatting, prefixes, colors, and group tags. Essential for any server with VIP tiers. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/better-chat](https://umod.org/plugins/better-chat) - Permission: per-group through the config - Tip: Use HTML-style color tags in the config: `VIP`. ### Admin Radar The standard admin tool for spotting cheaters. Shows entity ESP and player health, and tracks unusual behavior. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/admin-radar](https://umod.org/plugins/admin-radar) - Permission: `adminradar.allowed` - Tip: Bind a key for fast toggle: `bind r adminradar.toggle` in your own client config. ### Vanish Lets staff with permission become genuinely invisible, so you can watch a suspected cheater without them seeing an admin arrive. The standard companion to Admin Radar and one of the most-downloaded plugins on uMod. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/vanish](https://umod.org/plugins/vanish) - Permission: `vanish.allow` to toggle. `vanish.damage`, `vanish.teleport`, `vanish.invviewer`, `vanish.unlock` and `vanish.permanent` are separate opt-in nodes - Tip: Grant it to a `staff` group and never to `default`. `/vanish` toggles it. ### Player Administration An in-game moderation panel. Open it and kick, ban, mute, freeze, heal, teleport to or spectate a player from a GUI instead of typing console commands — much faster when something is happening live. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/player-administration](https://umod.org/plugins/player-administration) - Permission: `playeradministration.access.show` opens the panel, then one node per action: `playeradministration.access.kick`, `.ban`, `.mute`, `.spectate`, `.teleport` and so on - Tip: The `playeradministration.protect.*` nodes stop a junior moderator banning or killing senior staff. Grant those to your admin group. `/padmin` opens the panel. ### Copy Paste Saves a building to a file and pastes it back anywhere. This is how event arenas, shop stalls and staff builds survive a wipe instead of being rebuilt by hand every month. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/copy-paste](https://umod.org/plugins/copy-paste) - Permission: `copypaste.copy`, `copypaste.paste`, `copypaste.pasteback`, `copypaste.undo`, `copypaste.list` - Tip: Staff only. `/copy ` while looking at the build, `/paste ` where you want it. Saved structures live in `oxide/data/copypaste/`, so back that folder up before wipe day. ### Discord Core + Discord Messages Pipes server events (joins, leaves, deaths, chat, RCON commands) to a Discord channel. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/discord-core](https://umod.org/plugins/discord-core), [umod.org/plugins/discord-messages](https://umod.org/plugins/discord-messages) - Permission: handled via the Discord side - Tip: You need a Discord bot token. Create one at `discord.com/developers/applications`, paste the token into the plugin config, then invite the bot to your server with channel permissions. ## Anti-Cheat and Anti-Grief ### NoEscape Blocks teleport, recycler use, and other escape-style abuse during raid and combat windows. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/no-escape](https://umod.org/plugins/no-escape) - Permission: `noescape.bypass` for staff - Tip: 60-second combat block and 5-minute raid block are standard. ### Anti Offline Raid Reduces or blocks damage dealt to bases when the owner is offline. Polarizing; only use if your community asks for it. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/anti-offline-raid](https://umod.org/plugins/anti-offline-raid) (free) - Permission: `antiofflineraid.protect` marks whose bases get the protection, `antiofflineraid.check` allows `/ao ` to look up someone's offline status - Tip: Reduced damage rather than a hard block keeps PvP alive without punishing solos. ### True PVE Rule-based PVE. Instead of one blunt on/off switch you write rulesets that decide exactly what may damage what, with exceptions per zone and per entity. This is how an actual PVE server gets built. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/true-pve](https://umod.org/plugins/true-pve) - Permission: `truepve.canmap` for the `map` / `unmap` sub-command. Everything else is admin-gated and configured through rulesets, not permissions - Tip: Rules read as plain English in the config, e.g. `players cannot hurt players`. `tpve pvp` flips that one rule from the console when you want a PvP night. ### Zone Manager Draws spherical or rectangular zones with their own flags — `nobuild`, `nopve`, `nodecay`, `notp`, `undestr`, `safezone`, `eject`. The backbone of safe zones, event arenas and PvP pockets inside a PVE map. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/zone-manager](https://umod.org/plugins/zone-manager) - Permission: `zonemanager.zone` to create and edit zones; `zonemanager.ignoreflag.` exempts a group from one specific flag - Tip: `/zone_add` where you stand, then `/zone_edit` and `/zone_flags` to set behaviour, and `/zone_list` to see everything you have made. Pairs directly with True PVE. ### Server Armour A widely used third-party reputation database. Flags accounts with known cheat patterns or VAC ban history across the Rust network. - Source: [serverarmour.com](https://serverarmour.com) - Permission: configured through their dashboard - Tip: Pairs well with BattleMetrics flags. ## Economy and Events ### Economics Generic balance plugin. Many other plugins integrate with it (Server Rewards has its own, but Economics is more widely supported). - Source: [umod.org/plugins/economics](https://umod.org/plugins/economics) - Tip: Selling that balance for real money is allowed — "your own Server currency" is one of the five monetisation methods Facepunch names. See [Rust Server Monetisation](/knowledge-base/rust/server-monetisation/) for the rest of what the guidelines permit. ### Raidable Bases Generates AI-defended bases full of loot for players to raid. Massive endgame content driver on modded servers. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/raidable-bases](https://umod.org/plugins/raidable-bases) (free) - Permission: `raidablebases.allow.commands` for the chat and console commands, `raidablebases.canbypass` for staff, `raidablebases.banned` to lock a player out - Tip: Configure tier difficulty carefully. Players will burn through Easy bases in minutes; Hard bases should be a real challenge. ### Convoy / Cargo Train Event / Sputnik Plugin-driven events that spawn loaded vehicles or convoys players can ambush. - Source: Codefling (most are paid) - Tip: Stagger event timing. Three events firing at once kill server FPS. ## Performance ### Image Library A dependency for many plugins (Sign Artist, Server Rewards shops with icons). Install once, forget about it. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/image-library](https://umod.org/plugins/image-library) ### Gather Manager Adjusts resource gather rates server-wide. The classic "2x" or "5x" modded preset comes from here. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/gather-manager](https://umod.org/plugins/gather-manager) - Tip: Carbon ships a built-in Gather Manager module, so you do not need this plugin if you run Carbon. Full walkthrough: [How to setup GatherManager for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/modify-gather-rate/). ### Stack Size Controller Sets the maximum stack size of every item. Gather rates and stack limits are two halves of the same decision — raise the rate without raising the stacks and players spend the extra resources walking to a box, so this is the plugin that almost always goes in beside Gather Manager. - Source: [umod.org/plugins/stack-size-controller](https://umod.org/plugins/stack-size-controller) - Permission: one node per command, e.g. `stacksizecontroller.setstack` for a single item, `stacksizecontroller.setstackcat` for a whole category and `stacksizecontroller.setallstacks` for everything at once - Tip: `stacksizecontroller.setallstacks 20000` then walk back the handful of items that should stay scarce, rather than setting hundreds of items individually. [How to configure the StackSizeController plugin](/knowledge-base/rust/add-stacksizecontroller/) covers the commands, the permission nodes and what to watch out for. ## Installing the Whole Stack A typical "first time modded server" plugin stack looks like: 1. Image Library 2. Better Chat 3. Kits 4. NTeleportation 5. Remover Tool 6. Server Rewards 7. Quick Smelt 8. Gather Manager (or Carbon's module) 9. NoEscape 10. Discord Core + Discord Messages 11. Admin Radar Drop them in the plugins folder. Within 30 seconds the console will show each one loading. Open the configs in `oxide/config/` (or `carbon/configs/`) and tune them. After your first round of config edits, reload them all at once: ``` > oxide.reload * ``` Or under Carbon: ``` > c.reload * ``` ## Managing Plugins from the Console Beyond dropping files in a folder, everything is done from the server console or over [RCON](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-use-external-rcon-tools/). These are the commands you will actually use (Carbon equivalents swap the `oxide.` prefix for `c.`): | Command | What it does | |---|---| | `oxide.plugins` | List every loaded plugin and its version | | `oxide.reload ` | Reload one plugin after editing its config | | `oxide.reload *` | Reload everything at once | | `oxide.load ` | Load a plugin that is not currently running | | `oxide.unload ` | Unload a running plugin — the fastest way to test whether it is causing lag | | `oxide.grant user ` | Grant a permission to one player | | `oxide.grant group ` | Grant a permission to a whole group | | `oxide.revoke user ` | Take a permission back | | `oxide.group add ` | Create a group, e.g. `vip` | | `oxide.usergroup add ` | Put a player in a group | | `oxide.version` | Confirm the framework loaded | ``` title="Setting Up a VIP Group" oxide.group add vip oxide.grant group vip kits.kit.vip oxide.usergroup add 76561197960287930 vip ``` > [!TIP] Grant to groups, not to players > Granting permissions per player becomes unmanageable the moment you have more than a handful. Create `vip`/`staff` groups once and move players in and out of them instead. [Oxide Permissions 101](/knowledge-base/rust/oxide-permissions-101/) covers this properly. > [!WARNING] A plugin that will not load is telling you why > If a plugin fails to compile, Oxide prints the error in the console and writes it to `oxide/logs/`. Nine times out of ten it is a version mismatch after a Rust update, or a missing dependency such as Image Library. Read the error before reinstalling. ## Where to Get Plugins Safely Plugins are C# source files that compile and run **inside your server process**. A malicious one has the full run of the machine — it can silently grant itself admin, wipe your save, exfiltrate data, or quietly mine crypto on your CPU. Treat plugin sourcing as a security decision, not a convenience one. - **[umod.org](https://umod.org)** — the official uMod repository, and the right default. Free, open source, with version compatibility, permissions and dependencies listed on every plugin page. - **The developer's own store** for paid plugins, so you get updates and support. - **Established community developers** with a visible history and active support threads. > [!CAUTION] Never run "leaked" or cracked paid plugins > Pirated copies of premium plugins are one of the most common ways Rust servers get backdoored. The file is modified before it is shared — that is the entire point of the upload. There is no way to audit it at a glance, and the "free" copy routinely costs people their server. Download from umod.org or the developer, or do without. > [!IMPORTANT] Expect breakage on force wipe day > Rust's monthly forced update frequently breaks plugins until their authors publish an update. After the first-Thursday patch, budget time to pull fresh versions — an out-of-date plugin is by far the most common cause of console compile errors. ## FAQ ### How do I install Rust plugins? Install a framework first — extract Oxide/uMod or Carbon into your server root and restart. After that a plugin is just a `.cs` file: drop it into `oxide/plugins/` (or `carbon/plugins/`) and it compiles and loads within seconds, no restart needed. ### What is the difference between Oxide and Carbon? Both are modding frameworks that let a Rust server load community plugins. Oxide/uMod is the established standard with the largest library; Carbon is newer, compiles faster, and runs most Oxide plugins unchanged using `c.` commands instead of `oxide.`. Run one or the other, never both. ### Are Rust plugins free? Most plugins on umod.org are free and open source. Some larger plugins are sold by their developers. Only download from umod.org or the developer directly — pirated copies of paid plugins are a well-known source of server backdoors. ### How do I give players access to a plugin? Use the permission system: `oxide.grant group ` for a group, or `oxide.grant user ` for one player. Each plugin lists its permission nodes on its umod.org page — you cannot guess them. ### Why is my plugin not loading? Check the console and `oxide/logs/`. The usual causes are a version mismatch after a Rust update, a missing dependency such as Image Library, or an edited file that no longer compiles. ### Do plugins slow down a Rust server? They can. A single badly written plugin can dominate the server tick on its own. If your server is lagging, unload plugins one at a time while watching `server.fps` — see [Rust Server Lag & Performance](/knowledge-base/rust/server-performance/). ### How many plugins is too many? There is no hard number; what matters is what each one costs per tick. Servers run 20+ plugins comfortably when they are well written. Prefer fewer, well-maintained plugins over a large pile of abandoned ones. ## What to Read Next **Framework setup** - [How to install Oxide for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-install-oxide/) — the standard framework, step by step. - [How to install Carbon for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-install-carbon/) — the faster alternative. - [Oxide Permissions 101](/knowledge-base/rust/oxide-permissions-101/) — groups and permissions done properly. **Per-plugin setup guides** - [How to setup Rust kits](/knowledge-base/rust/rust-kits-guide/) - [How to setup Nteleportation Plugin for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-setup-player-teleporting/) - [How to setup Remover Tool for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-setup-remover-tool/) - [How to setup GatherManager for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/modify-gather-rate/) - [How to configure the StackSizeController plugin for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/add-stacksizecontroller/) - [How to setup BetterChat for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-setup-betterchat/) **Running the server** - [Rust Admin Commands](/knowledge-base/rust/admin-commands/) — the built-in commands that need no plugin at all. - [How to Use External RCON Tools](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-use-external-rcon-tools/) — manage all of this from outside the panel. - [Rust Server Lag & Performance](/knowledge-base/rust/server-performance/) — when a plugin is costing you frames. - [Magic Loot: custom loot tables for Rust](/knowledge-base/rust/magic-loot-rust-plugin-guide/) — when the default loot tables are the thing you actually want to change --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings