Oxide vs Carbon: Which Rust Modding Framework to Use

Oxide (uMod) and Carbon both load C# plugins on a Rust server, and you can only run one of them. Oxide has the longer history and its own plugin library. Carbon is a drop-in replacement that keeps the same folder layout and runs most Oxide plugins. Pick one, and test your plugin list before a wipe.

What are Oxide and Carbon?

A vanilla Rust server has no plugin support. A modding framework adds it: you drop a plugin file into a folder and the framework compiles and loads it. Plugins add kits, teleports, clans, shops, admin tools and more.

• Oxide (also called uMod) is the long-running framework. Its docs live at docs.oxidemod.com and its releases are on GitHub.
• Carbon is a newer framework. Its site, carbonmod.gg, calls it "a drop-in replacement for Oxide modding framework for Rust game servers".

Both use plugins written in C#, saved as .cs files.

Oxide vs Carbon side by side

This table uses what each project says in its own documentation:

How updates work after a Rust update

This is the difference you notice most, because Rust updates every month.

Oxide

Oxide's install guide says that for every server update from Facepunch there is an Oxide update, and that the versions must not be mismatched. GitHub shows it in practice: the release 2.0.7888 was published on November 5 for the November 5 Rust update, and 2.0.7894 followed on November 6 for a hotfix (as of November 2026). After each Rust update you download the matching release and extract it over your server files.

Carbon

Carbon's docs say they release the production build one hour before the monthly Rust update drops. With the SelfUpdating option on, which is the default, Carbon downloads its own patch on boot when the Rust version has changed, then loads your plugins. You still update Rust itself first. The docs say Carbon only self-updates if you update to the latest Rust version.

Either way, the monthly update is the moment plugins break, so plan for it. How to wipe a Rust server covers what to do on update day.

Plugin compatibility

Carbon's getting-started page says it exists to let "most Oxide-dedicated plugins" work in its environment, and the homepage says it keeps "the folder/plugin structure the same". Note the word most. Carbon does not promise every plugin.

What that means for you:

• Check each plugin you depend on. Read its page and its comments for notes about Carbon.
• Test before a wipe. Take a backup, switch frameworks on a quiet day and watch the console for plugin errors. If something breaks, restore the backup.
• Expect command differences. Oxide o. commands do not work on Carbon. Carbon uses c. instead. Carbon also supports aliases, so you can map an old command to a new one in its config.

We do not publish benchmarks for either framework, and you should be careful with anyone who does without showing how they measured. If speed is your worry, test both with your real plugin list. Rust server lag: how to fix low server FPS shows how to measure.

The commands you will use most

Most plugins ask you to grant a permission to a player or a group. The two frameworks use the same idea with different prefixes. Type these in the server console. Carbon's own help for c.grant says to run the bare command for syntax info.

Oxide's oxide.plugins list also shows plugins that failed to load, with the reason, and a hook time for each plugin. That makes it the first command to run when a server starts to lag after you add something.

Which one should you pick?

1. You want the framework with the longest track record: Oxide. It came first, and Carbon was built to replace it.
2. You want the framework to follow Rust updates on its own: Carbon. It patches itself on boot once Rust is updated.
3. You already run Oxide and it works: stay on it until you have a reason to move.
4. You run a short list of well-known plugins: either works. Check that each plugin supports your choice, and start there.
5. You are not sure: start on Oxide. Later, try Carbon with a fresh backup in hand.

Never install both. Carbon's docs are blunt about it: "Oxide and Carbon can NOT coexist in the same server install", and running both "will break your server".

How to switch from Oxide to Carbon

Carbon's Oxide porting guide describes the steps. In short:

1. Make a backup of the whole server in the panel.
2. Stop the server.
3. Restore the vanilla Rust files. Oxide patches Facepunch's files. Carbon's docs use the same SteamCMD command as a normal update: +app_update 258550 -beta public validate.
4. Disable anything that reinstalls Oxide on its own.
5. Extract Carbon into the server's root folder, next to RustDedicated, so a carbon folder appears.
6. Start the server. On first start, Carbon copies your Oxide config, data and lang files and the user and group data. The guide's manual route is to copy everything except config from the oxide folder into carbon, and the contents of config into carbon/configs. That includes your plugin files, which end up in carbon/plugins.
7. Check the console for plugin errors, then test the plugins in the game.

If something fails, restore the backup. For a first-time install, see how to install Oxide or Carbon on a Rust server.

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