Rust server.cfg: Settings Every Server Owner Should Know

Rust's server.cfg is a plain text file in server/<your identity>/cfg/. The server reads it at startup and it takes priority over start options. Write one setting per line, without the + sign, such as server.maxplayers 50, then restart the server so it loads.

Where is the Rust server.cfg file?

Facepunch's Creating a server guide puts it here:

server/<your identity>/cfg/server.cfg

<your identity> is the name you gave +server.identity in your start options. Three rules from the same guide:

• The server reads the file at startup, and what it says wins over anything set on the command line.
• Facepunch says the server does not touch this file, so you change it by hand.
• You leave out the + or - that start options use. In the file you write server.maxplayers 10, not +server.maxplayers 10.

If you do not see the file, create it. Our File Manager has a button for new files. The same cfg folder holds your admin list (users.cfg) and your ban list, so never delete the folder. For admins, see how to become admin on a Rust server.

How to edit server.cfg in the panel

1. Back up the server from the Backups page.
2. Open Files, then go to server, your identity folder and cfg.
3. Open server.cfg in the editor, or create it with the new file button.
4. Change or add lines. One setting per line.
5. Save the file and restart the server. The server only reads the file when it starts.

A starter server.cfg

This example uses the settings Facepunch documents. Change the values to fit your server.

server.hostname "My Rust Server | Weekly | Vanilla"
server.description "Fair rules, active admins. Be kind to new players."
server.url "https://example.com"
server.maxplayers 50
server.tags weekly,vanilla
decay.scale 1

Text with spaces goes inside double quotes. Tags do not.

The settings that matter

All of these come from Facepunch's wiki pages: Creating a server, useful commands and server browser tags.

Map size and seed (server.worldsize, server.seed) are usually start options, since they decide the map before it loads. How to wipe a Rust server shows how to change them for a new map.

Start options or server.cfg: which one?

Most variables work in either place, and the file wins when both set the same thing. A sensible split:

The first group is the example line from Facepunch's guide. It decides where the server lives and what map it builds, so it rarely changes. The second group is what you tune over a wipe. Keeping the two apart makes it easier to see what changed when something breaks.

The Rust+ app port

The Rust+ companion app talks to the server on its own TCP port, set with app.port. By default it is the game port plus 67, or the RCON port plus 67, whichever is larger. That gives 28082 with the default ports. If you set it yourself it has to be 10000 or higher, and app.info in the console shows what the server is using. How to make a Rust server lists all four ports.

Server browser tags

Tags tell players what kind of server you run. Set them with a comma-separated list:

server.tags weekly,vanilla,NA

Facepunch's list of values:

• Wipe schedule: monthly, biweekly, weekly.
• Difficulty: vanilla, hardcore, softcore.
• Mode and type: pve, roleplay, creative, minigame, training, battlefield, broyale, builds, tut, premium.
• Region: NA, SA, EU, WA, EA, OC, AF.

Two rules matter. The browser displays up to four tags. And using several tags from the same group on one server, such as both weekly and monthly, "will not work properly with search" and can make the server vanish from some tag searches. Pick one per group. If your server does not show up, read Rust server not showing in the server list.

Change a setting while the server is running

Type a setting in the server console and it applies at once. It may not survive a restart, though. Facepunch describes server.writecfg as the command that "writes server convars/settings to the cfg files". The wiki gives that one-line description and does not say exactly which lines it saves, so the dependable method is to edit server.cfg yourself. That file is what loads on the next start.

Two more notes from Facepunch:

• Some variables only work after the server is running, such as the weather chance settings. They are ignored in the file.
• Not sure of a setting's name? Type find followed by a word in the console, for example find decay.

find decay

Why my server.cfg changes are ignored

• You did not restart. The file is read at startup.
• The file is in the wrong folder. It must be inside cfg under your identity folder, and the identity name must match your start options.
• You kept the + sign. The file does not use it.
• A typo in the setting name. Use find to check the exact name.
• The setting needs a running server. The weather chance variables are one example.

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