Rust Mods & Plugins: How Modding Works and the Best Plugins

Rust mods are not something players download. There is no Workshop for gameplay mods and nothing to install on your game client: every Rust mod runs on the server, and players get it just by joining. In practice, "Rust mods" and "Rust plugins" mean the same thing: small C# files that a modding framework (Oxide/uMod or Carbon) loads into the dedicated server to add kits, teleports, custom loot, PvE rules, admin tools and much more.

This page is the map of the whole ecosystem. It explains how modding works on a Rust server, how to choose between Oxide and Carbon, the categories of plugin most servers end up running, and where GSK's step-by-step guides pick up for the popular ones. For the click-by-click framework install, see How to install Oxide for Rust or How to install Carbon for Rust.

What "modded" actually means on a Rust server

Facepunch ships a modding layer inside the dedicated server itself. Its May 2024 update notes put it plainly: "Harmony is Rust's built-in modding platform shipped with the server. It powers modding frameworks like Oxide & Carbon, as well as standalone mods." So there are three layers:

Two consequences matter for you as an owner:

• Players install nothing. Plugins change server behaviour and send UI to the normal game client. That is why a "modded" server needs a framework on the host, not on anyone's PC.
• Mods change how your server is listed. The Rust server browser has separate Community and Modded tabs, and Facepunch's tag list includes modded, oxide and carbon. Both frameworks list you as Modded by default ("Modded": true in Oxide's oxide.config.json, "IsModded": true in Carbon's carbon/config.json). If you switch that off, Oxide prints this warning at startup: "Facepunch only allows admin tools (that do not affect gameplay) under the Community section." Gather rates, kits and teleports affect gameplay, so leave the flag on.

Oxide vs Carbon: pick one framework

A vanilla Rust server cannot load plugins. You install exactly one framework. Carbon's own migration guide says "Oxide and Carbon can NOT coexist in the same server install."

On a GSK Rust server, you don't upload either framework yourself. Open Startup, set Modding Framework to oxide or carbon, and restart. The value is vanilla by default.

Switching later is supported, with one clean-up step

Going from Oxide to Carbon means deleting Oxide's files from RustDedicated_Data/Managed/ first. Going back to vanilla means a restart with Validate Steam Files on. Both are covered in the Oxide guide and the Carbon guide.

The categories of Rust plugin

There are thousands of plugins, but nearly all of them fit into seven categories. Below are the ones we see most often on customer servers, with each plugin's real permission node taken from its current source code. Every link goes to the plugin's uMod page.

1. Player quality of life

The first plugins most servers add, because they remove tedium without changing the balance much.

2. Rates and rules: gather, stacks, loot

These plugins are what make a server "2x" or "5x". They are also where new owners do the most damage, so change them together and in small steps.

Raise gather and stacks together

If you raise gather rates without raising stack sizes, players spend the extra resources walking back and forth to boxes. Plan the two numbers together. If you run Carbon, its Gather Manager and Stack Manager modules can replace both plugins. Neither module is enabled by default.

Check each plugin's latest release date on uMod before you rely on it. At the time of writing, Gather Manager's last release was August 2022 and Quick Smelt's was October 2022.

3. Chat and community

• Better Chat: chat groups, colours and titles such as a VIP tag. Admin permission betterchat.admin. Full setup: BetterChat guide.
• Sign Artist: lets players put images from a URL on signs (signartist.url). Give it to a trusted group only, because you are letting players publish any image on your map.
• Discord Core: links a player's game account to Discord, the starting point for connecting your server to a Discord community.

4. Admin and moderation

• Admin Radar: ESP-style radar for staff, command /radar, permission adminradar.allowed.
• Vanish: invisible spectating for staff with /vanish, permission vanish.allow. Never grant it to default.
• Player Administration: an in-game moderation GUI (/padmin). playeradministration.access.show opens it, and each action (kick, ban, mute, spectate, teleport) has its own playeradministration.access.* node.
• Copy Paste: saves builds to oxide/data/copypaste/ and pastes them back. This is how arenas and shop builds survive a wipe. Staff only (copypaste.copy, copypaste.paste).
• Server Armour: a plugin that connects to an external ban and alt-account intelligence service.

Many admin jobs need no plugin at all. ownerid, kick, ban, teleport and spawn are built into Rust; see Rust Admin Commands. For moderating from outside the game, see Rust RCON.

5. Anti-grief and raid rules

• NoEscape: raid and combat blocks that stop players teleporting or using commands mid-fight. Each blocked command gets its own permission (noescape.raid.<command>block, noescape.combat.<command>block). noescape.disable exempts someone entirely.
• Anti Offline Raid: reduces raid damage while the owner is offline (antiofflineraid.protect, /ao to check someone).

6. PvE and zones

• TruePVE: rule-based damage control written as readable rules such as players cannot hurt players, with a tpve console command. This is the usual base for a PvE server.
• Zone Manager: areas with their own flags (no build, no decay, no teleport, safe zone, eject). Create them with /zone_add and tune them with /zone_edit and /zone_flags (zonemanager.zone).

Building a full PvE server? See How to Make a Rust PvE Server.

7. Economy and events

• Economics: a basic balance/currency API that shops and reward plugins build on. Selling your own server currency is one of the methods Facepunch explicitly permits; see Rust Server Monetisation.
• Server Rewards: a points store opened with /s by default (serverrewards.admin for managers).
• Raidable Bases: NPC-defended loot bases, a major endgame driver on PvE and modded servers (raidablebases.allow.commands).
• Image Library: not a feature itself, but a dependency ("Plugin API for downloading and managing images") that many UI and shop plugins require.

A sensible first stack

For a first modded server, start small and add one plugin at a time so you always know which one broke:

1. Framework: set Modding Framework to oxide and restart (how)
2. Permissions: read Oxide Permissions 101 before anything else
3. Quality of life: Kits, NTeleportation, Remover Tool
4. Rates: Gather Manager and Stack Size Controller, set together
5. Chat: Better Chat, with a vip and admin group
6. Moderation: Admin Radar and Vanish for staff only

Install a plugin by uploading its .cs file to oxide/plugins/ (or carbon/plugins/) in the File Manager. It compiles and loads within seconds with no restart. On first load it writes its config to oxide/config/<Name>.json (Carbon: carbon/configs/). Edit that file, then run oxide.reload <Name>.

oxide.group add vip
oxide.grant group vip kits.vip
oxide.usergroup add 76561197960287930 vip
oxide.reload *

Grant to groups, not individual players: when someone's VIP ends, you move them out of one group instead of revoking ten permissions. Under Carbon, the same commands start with c. (c.grant, c.reload).

Where to get plugins safely

A plugin is C# code compiled and run inside your server process. It can do anything the server can do: grant itself admin, delete saves, or run a miner on your CPU.

• umod.org: the default. Free, open source, with permissions and dependencies listed on every page.
• The developer's own store for paid plugins, so you get updates.
• Established developers with a visible history and active support threads.

Never run leaked or "cracked" paid plugins

A leaked premium plugin is modified before it is shared, and that is the whole point of leaking it. You cannot audit it at a glance. Buy it from the developer or do without it.

Monthly force wipe breaks plugins

Facepunch's monthly forced update often breaks plugins until their authors ship fixes. Plan time after each force wipe to update plugins, and read the console error before reinstalling anything.

FAQ

Can you mod Rust?

Yes, on the server side. Rust's dedicated server includes Harmony, and the Oxide and Carbon frameworks use it to load community plugins. Players don't install mods. They join a modded server with the normal game.

What are the best Rust mods?

That depends on your server type, but the plugins above appear on most modded servers: Kits, NTeleportation, Remover Tool, Gather Manager, Stack Size Controller, Better Chat, and Admin Radar plus Vanish for staff. PvE servers add TruePVE and Zone Manager.

Do Rust plugins work on Carbon?

Most Oxide plugins run unchanged on Carbon, which is what it was designed for. Use carbon/plugins/ and c. commands instead.

Are Rust plugins free?

Most plugins on umod.org are free and open source. Some larger plugins are sold by their developers.

Do plugins slow down a Rust server?

They can. One badly written plugin can dominate the server tick. Unload plugins one at a time with oxide.unload <Name> while you watch server FPS. See Rust Server Lag & Performance.

Why is my plugin not loading?

Read the console, or oxide/logs/. The usual causes: the file was renamed (the filename must match the plugin's class name, otherwise Oxide reports "Unable to find main plugin class"), it was uploaded as .cs.txt, a dependency such as Image Library is missing, or the plugin is out of date after a Rust update.

What to read next

Framework setup: How to install Oxide for Rust · How to install Carbon for Rust · Oxide Permissions 101

Plugin guides: Kits · NTeleportation · Remover Tool · GatherManager · StackSizeController · MagicLoot · BetterChat

Running the server: Rust Admin Commands · Rust RCON · Custom maps · Rust Server Lag & Performance

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