---
title: "How to setup Rust kits"
description: "Build redeemable /kit claims, configure admin and VIP rewards, set claim cooldowns, and prevent format errors that break kit items."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/rust/rust-kits-guide/"
category: "Rust"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/rust/"
published: "2026-03-15T21:30:20.459Z"
updated: "2026-08-10T07:47:07.357Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# How to setup Rust kits

Kits by k1lly0u is the standard Rust kits plugin. It lets players claim predefined sets of items from a clean in-game menu: starter gear for fresh spawns, VIP packages for supporters, and admin loadouts for staff. It is one of the first plugins almost every modded server installs.

## What is a kit in Rust?

A kit is a named, predefined set of items handed to a player in one go, instead of them gathering and crafting each piece — a starter loadout for fresh spawns, a VIP package for supporters, an admin loadout for staff. Kits are not part of Rust itself on PC: they come from a server-side plugin, which is why only modded servers have them, and on Rust Console Edition they are a built-in server feature that works nothing like the PC version.

This guide assumes Oxide is installed. If not, start with [How to Install Oxide](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-install-oxide/).

> [!IMPORTANT] This page is for Rust on PC (Steam)
> Kits is an Oxide/uMod plugin, and **Rust Console Edition cannot run plugins at all** — there is no Oxide, no uMod, and no `/kit` chat command on Xbox or PlayStation. Console servers have their own built-in kit system, covered in the console section further down this page.

## Step 1: Install the Rust Kits Plugin

1. Download `Kits.cs` from [umod.org/plugins/rust-kits](https://umod.org/plugins/rust-kits).

2. Upload it to `oxide/plugins/` using the File Manager on your [Rust game server plan](/games/rust-server-hosting/).

3. Watch the Console for the loaded confirmation.

> [!TIP] Icons need Image Library
> If you plan to use custom kit icons in the menu, also install Image Library from [umod.org/plugins/image-library](https://umod.org/plugins/image-library). The menu works without it, but icons make it look professional.

## Step 2: Grant Yourself Admin Access

The `kits.admin` permission unlocks kit creation and management:

```
> oxide.grant user YourName kits.admin
```

## Step 3: Create Your First Kit

Kit contents come from your own inventory, so the flow is:

1. **Clear your inventory completely.** Anything in it ends up in the kit.

2. Give yourself exactly the items the kit should contain (F1 console as admin).

3. Type `/kit new` in chat, or open `/kit` and press the **Create New** button.

4. In the kit editor, the options sit on the left and the item view on the right. Name the kit and set its rules.

The options you will use most:

| Option | What it does |
|--------|--------------|
| Cooldown | Seconds before the same player can claim again |
| Maximum uses | Total claims per player, 0 for unlimited |
| Required permission | Locks the kit behind a custom permission node |
| Cost | Charge for the kit via a supported economy plugin |
| Hidden | Hides the kit from the menu (useful for autokits) |

## Step 4: A Free Starter Kit for Everyone

The classic setup is a basic kit every new player can claim:

1. Create a kit named `starter` with a stone hatchet, a few bandages, and basic clothes.

2. Set a cooldown so it cannot be farmed; one hour is common.

3. If you set a required permission on it, grant that node to the default group:

```
> oxide.grant group default kits.starter
```

> [!NOTE] The node comes from the kit's permission field
> The exact node is whatever you typed in the kit's permission field, shown in the kit editor.

## Step 5: VIP Kits

VIP kits work the same way, just with a better item list and a permission only your VIP group has:

1. Create the kit with the permission field set, for example `kits.vip`.

2. Grant it to the VIP group:

```
> oxide.grant group vip kits.vip
```

This is the same group structure BetterChat and NTeleportation hang off, so one `oxide.usergroup add` puts a supporter into all their perks at once. See [Oxide Permissions 101](/knowledge-base/rust/oxide-permissions-101/).

## Autokits: Gear on Respawn

Kits can be granted automatically when a player spawns. In `oxide/config/Kits.json`, find the autokits list, ordered by priority, and add your kit names. Mark autokits as hidden so they do not clutter the claim menu. Players can toggle their own autokit with `/kit autokit` if you allow it.

After config edits, reload:

```
> oxide.reload Kits
```

## Rust Kits Command Reference

| Command | Who | What it does |
|---------|-----|--------------|
| `/kit` | Players | Open the kit menu |
| `/kit name` | Players | Claim a kit directly |
| `/kit new` | Admin | Create a new kit |
| `/kit edit name` | Admin | Edit an existing kit |
| `/kit delete name` | Admin | Delete a kit |
| `/kit list` | Admin | List all kits |
| `/kit give player name` | Admin | Hand a kit to a player |

## Common Issues

| Problem | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| Kit claims but gives nothing | The kit was created with an empty inventory. Edit it with the items in your inventory |
| Players cannot see a kit | It is hidden, or locked behind a permission their group lacks |
| Icons not loading | Install Image Library and check the image URLs in the kit setup |
| Kit items wrong after an update | Item shortnames occasionally change with Rust updates; re-edit the kit |

## Kits on Rust Console Edition

Rust Console Edition (Xbox and PlayStation) does not run Oxide, uMod, or plugins of any kind, so nothing above this section applies there. Kits are built into the game instead, and the server owner decides how players get them.

**There is no `/kit` command on console.** A player receives a kit in one of three ways:

| How a player gets a kit | Set up by the owner/admin as |
|---------|-----|
| Buys it from a **Kit Vending Machine** with in-game items | A kit placed in the vendor, with a price and a currency item |
| Spawns with it automatically, every respawn | A kit attached to an auth group |
| Is handed one directly | A one-time gift to a player, a group, or everyone |

> [!WARNING] Gifted kits do not survive death
> A kit given with `kit givetoplayer`, `kit givetogroup`, or `kit giveall` is a one-time grant and is lost when the player dies. For gear that comes back every respawn, attach the kit to an auth group instead.

### How players claim a kit on Rust Console Edition

If you are a player rather than the server owner, this is the whole answer: there is nothing to type. Console has no `/kit` chat command and no kit menu to open. A kit reaches you one of two ways, and the server owner decides which of them exists.

**Find a Kit Vending Machine.** Admins spawn these and place them anywhere on the map, and you use one exactly like an ordinary vending machine — walk up and interact. Each kit inside shows you one of three prompts:

| Prompt | What it means |
|---|---|
| **BUY** | The kit is available and you can afford it |
| **CAN'T AFFORD** | The kit is available, but you are short of the currency item |
| **AUTH TIER ONLY** | The kit is reserved for a higher auth level than yours |

The price is a quantity of a normal in-game item that the admin picked, so you pay in scrap, wood, cloth or whatever they chose. Admins can also cap how many times each player buys a kit and put a cooldown between purchases, so a machine showing nothing available to you may just be a limit you have already hit.

**Respawn.** If the owner attached a kit to your auth group — User, VIP, Moderator, Admin or Owner — you spawn with it, every time you die. There is nothing to claim; it is already in your inventory.

There is a third route you cannot ask for: an admin can hand a kit straight to you, to a group or to everyone online. That one is a one-off and is lost on death, which is why owners use auth groups for anything meant to be permanent.

If neither a vending machine nor a group kit is set up, there is nothing to claim on that server and no command that changes it. Ask in the server's Discord which method it uses.

#### How do I get a free kit on Rust Console Edition?

There is no game-wide free kit and no code to redeem — nothing on console gives you items outside of what the server you joined has set up. A kit that costs you nothing is one that server's owner chose to give away, and in practice that means a kit attached to the default **User** auth group, arriving automatically on respawn. Kits in a Kit Vending Machine are priced in items by that server's admins.

### Building console kits

Owners and admins create kits from the in-game **Control Panel → Kit Manager**, or from the Nitrado/GPORTAL server console:

| Command | What it does |
|---------|--------------|
| `kit add "Name" "item" "amount" "condition" "container"` | Create a kit, and add one item per run |
| `kit info "Name"` | Print the kit's contents and item IDs to the log |
| `kit list` | List every kit on the server |
| `kit edit "Name" changename "NewName"` | Rename a kit |
| `kit edit "Name" addgroup "Group"` | Make a group spawn with the kit |
| `kit edit "Name" removegroup "Group"` | Stop a group spawning with it |
| `kit givetoplayer "Name" "Player"` | Hand a kit to one player |
| `kit giveall "Name"` | Hand a kit to everyone online |
| `kit remove "Name" "ID"` | Remove a single item from the kit |
| `kit delete "Name"` | Delete the kit |

`condition` runs from `0` to `1`, and `container` is `Main`, `Belt`, or `Wear`. The valid groups are User, VIP, Moderator, Admin, and Owner. Servers are capped at **128 kits**.

### The Kit Vending Machine

The Kit Vending Machine is the console equivalent of the `/kit` menu. Admins spawn one from the Item Spawn menu and place it anywhere on the map, then add up to **7 kits** to it with **Put Kit in Vendor**. Per kit you set the price and which item counts as currency, how many are stocked, the restock amount and interval, and a per-player purchase limit and cooldown. Players walk up and interact with it exactly like a normal vending machine.

Double Eleven document the whole system in the [official Rust Console Edition community server wiki](https://rust-console-edition.gitbook.io/community-servers/feature-guides/kit-management).

## What to Read Next

- [How to Set Up BetterChat](/knowledge-base/rust/how-to-setup-betterchat/) to give those VIP groups visible titles
- [Oxide Permissions 101](/knowledge-base/rust/oxide-permissions-101/) for the group structure behind kit tiers

---

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