How to Change Your Rust Server Name and Description

Your Rust server name is the server.hostname setting, and the text players read before they join is server.description. Put both in server.cfg, restart, and the new name shows in the community server list. This guide also covers the header image, website link and browser tags, so the whole listing looks the way you want.

Every setting here comes from Facepunch's own server documentation. They work the same on a vanilla server and on one running Oxide or Carbon.

The settings behind your Rust server listing

Facepunch splits what players see into a few separate settings. Only the name is required. The rest are optional, but a server with an empty description and no picture looks abandoned next to the ones that fill them in.

Values with spaces go inside double quotes. Tags are the exception: they are one comma-separated list with no spaces.

How to change your Rust server name and description

There are two places these settings can live: the startup command line (with a + in front) and server.cfg (without the +). Facepunch says the server reads server.cfg at startup and that it overrides the command line. It also never edits the file itself. That makes server.cfg the one place to keep your listing text. If you are new to the file, our Rust server.cfg guide explains the rest of what goes in it.

1. Stop the server. On TheGameHosting, open your server in the panel and press Stop in Console, so nothing is written while you edit.
2. Open Files and go to server/<identity>/cfg/. The identity is the folder name set by +server.identity; you can see it in the Startup tab or as the only folder inside server/.
3. Open server.cfg, or create it with New File if it does not exist yet.
4. Add a server.hostname line with the new name in double quotes, and a server.description line under it.
5. Add server.headerimage, server.url and server.tags if you want them, then press Save.
6. Start the server again and watch the console until it finishes loading. Then search for your new name in the community tab of the Rust server browser.

server.hostname "[EU] Friday Wipe | Vanilla | Solo/Duo"
server.description "Weekly wipe every Friday. Max group size 2. Be nice in chat, no cheats, no racism."
server.headerimage "https://example.com/images/rust-header.jpg"
server.url "https://example.com/discord"
server.tags weekly,vanilla,EU

The example uses example.com as a placeholder. Swap in your own image and link, or leave those two lines out.

Setting the name on the command line instead

Facepunch's examples also show the same settings as launch options. On your own PC that means adding them to the start script. On a hosted server the launch line is built from the Startup tab, so if you prefer this route, check which fields it exposes there or ask support to help you add one.

+server.hostname "[EU] Friday Wipe | Vanilla | Solo/Duo" +server.description "Weekly wipe every Friday."

Most owners end up using server.cfg anyway, because it is easier to read and keeps all your listing text together with the rest of your settings.

Writing a Rust server name people click

The name is the first thing a player compares, so it pays to pack the useful facts into it. Look at the servers near yours in the list and you will see the same pattern:

• Region first. A tag like [EU], [NA] or [LATAM] tells people the ping before they join.
• Wipe day. Players plan around wipes, so "Friday Wipe" or "Monthly" answers their first question. Our guide on how to wipe a Rust server covers the schedule itself.
• Style and group limit. "Vanilla", "2x", "Solo/Duo" or "PvE" filter in the right players and filter out the wrong ones.
• Keep it honest. If the name promises "No lag" or a group limit you do not enforce, players leave and do not come back.

The description is where the details go: wipe time, group size, rules, and where to report cheaters. Keep the first sentence the most important one, because many players do not read past it.

Rust server browser tags: how players filter you

Tags are how players filter the browser, and Facepunch documents a fixed list of them. Set them with server.tags as a comma-separated list. Only four are displayed at a time.

Do not combine two tags from the same group, like weekly,monthly. Facepunch warns that this can stop your server from showing up in tag searches. Some tags are also set for you: server.pve adds the PvE tag on its own.

The name did not change: what to check

1. You edited the wrong file. The file must be in the cfg folder of the identity your server actually runs. An old identity folder can sit next to the current one after a reinstall.
2. The quotes are broken. A name with spaces needs straight double quotes at both ends. Curly quotes pasted from a chat app do not count.
3. You did not restart. server.cfg is read at startup, so a saved file changes nothing until the next start.
4. The server is not listed at all. That is a different problem, usually the query port or the tags. See Rust server not showing in the server list.

Rename your Rust server in two minutes on TheGameHosting

On a Rust server from TheGameHosting the whole job happens in the browser: Files to edit server.cfg, Console to restart and watch it load, and Backups if you want a copy before you change things. The server is online about 60 seconds after payment, runs 24/7 on AMD Ryzen 9950X and 7950X3D CPUs with DDR5 and NVMe, includes DDoS protection, and you choose Dallas or Amsterdam, which is also what you put in your region tag. There are no ports to open: the panel gives you the IP and port.

Rust needs at least 8 GB of RAM with us. See every plan on the pricing page and use the code FULL2026 for 15% off for life.

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