How to Set Up and Use Rust Server RCON

Rust server RCON (remote console) lets you send admin commands to your server from outside the game: from a web console, a desktop tool or a Discord bot. You turn it on with three launch options, +rcon.port, +rcon.password and +rcon.web 1, then connect with the server IP, that port and the password.

The settings and warnings below come from Facepunch's own guide to creating a server. Read the security section before you share anything with your admin team.

What RCON on a Rust server is for

Facepunch describes an RCON client as separate software that connects to your server directly, so you can monitor it and send commands. It matters most in three cases:

• Linux servers. Facepunch notes that the Linux console is not interactive like the Windows one, so on a self-hosted Linux box an RCON client is how you type commands at all.
• Admins without panel access. A moderator can kick a cheater from an RCON tool without ever seeing your files or billing.
• Tools and bots. Facepunch's wiki has a guide for a Discord bot that shows your player count, and it talks to the server over RCON.

On a hosted server you may not need RCON for daily work. On TheGameHosting the Console page in the panel already sends commands straight to your server, as our guide on how to become admin on a Rust server shows. RCON is for everything that runs outside the panel.

The three RCON settings

RCON is TCP, while the game port and the query port are UDP. Rust+ uses yet another TCP port (app.port). Each of them needs to be a different number, and each has to be a port your server is allowed to use.

How to set up Rust server RCON, step by step

1. Pick a strong password: long, random and used nowhere else. A password manager can generate one.
2. Check your ports. On TheGameHosting, the Network tab lists the ports assigned to your server. RCON needs one that is not the game, query or Rust+ port. If you do not have a spare one, ask support on live chat.
3. Open the Startup tab and look for RCON fields (port and password). If they are there, fill them in. If not, ask support to add +rcon.port, +rcon.password and +rcon.web 1 to your launch line with you.
4. Restart the server from Console and wait until it has finished loading.
5. Open your RCON client and enter the server IP, the RCON port and the password.
6. Run status. If you get the player list back, RCON works.

+rcon.port 28016 +rcon.password "a-long-unique-password" +rcon.web 1

Which RCON client to use

Facepunch says there are a few software options, including web-based ones you can use from anywhere. Facepunch itself publishes a web console at facepunch.github.io/webrcon. Its own guide warns that this page is not HTTPS, so the password travels unencrypted. Use it from your home network, not from public Wi-Fi.

Desktop RCON tools and Discord bots work the same way: they ask for an address, a port and the password. Before you install a third-party tool, check who makes it and give it a password you can change later, because the tool can do everything you can.

Useful Rust RCON commands

Over RCON you are the server, so commands run without the sv prefix that admins type in the F1 console. These come from Facepunch's useful commands page:

status
say Server restart in 10 minutes
kick PlayerName "Reason"
banid 76561198123456789 "PlayerName" "Cheating"
server.writecfg

If you change settings live over RCON and want to keep them, server.writecfg writes them to the cfg files. For the settings that belong in server.cfg from the start, see Rust server.cfg settings.

RCON will not connect: what to check

1. Wrong port. The client needs the RCON port, not the game port you use to join.
2. Port not assigned to the server. A port that is not in your Network tab is not reachable from outside.
3. Password typo or quotes. Copy it from where you set it. If it has spaces, it needs quotes in the launch line.
4. Old settings. RCON settings are read when the server starts, so a change needs a restart.
5. Web tool mismatch. Web clients expect rcon.web 1, which is also what Facepunch suggests.

If RCON works but commands like status show lag, our Rust server lag guide explains how to read fps and the profiler.

RCON and a panel console on TheGameHosting

With a Rust server from TheGameHosting you get both: the Console in the panel for you, and RCON for tools and trusted admins. If an admin also needs files or restarts, give them their own panel login from the Users tab with only the permissions they need, instead of sharing your password. The server runs 24/7 on AMD Ryzen 9950X and 7950X3D CPUs with DDR5 and NVMe, DDoS protection is included, and you pick Dallas or Amsterdam. Support on live chat and tickets helps you set up the RCON port at any hour.

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