How to install Oxide/uMod on a Rust server

1. Prepare the server

Open your game host panel: you need its file manager and server console. If it provides a supported Oxide installer, use that and continue with the version check. The manual steps below are for a server with file access.

• Confirm that the unmodified Rust server starts and accepts a connection.
• Check the server OS. A Windows desktop does not mean your rented server runs Windows.
• Schedule a short maintenance window and notify players.
• Record the starting state: server address, identity and any existing console errors.

2. Save your data and stop the server

Save the world before shutting down, then stop the server through its panel. Back up the active identity directory inside server/, the startup file and settings. If Oxide is already installed, also retain its configuration, data and plugin directories.

server.save

3. Choose an Oxide build

Open the official Oxide.Rust release list. Select a stable build appropriate for your Rust update and server OS. Windows and Linux have separate archives. Read the release notes instead of choosing a build solely by its version number.

Official Oxide.Rust releases ↗

Extract the archive into a temporary directory and inspect its layout before uploading.

4. Upload to the correct directory

With the server stopped, merge the archive contents into the Rust installation root while retaining their directory structure. Find RustDedicated_Data beside the server executable. Matching archive and server directories should merge.

RustServer/
  RustDedicated.exe       (Windows)
  RustDedicated           (Linux)
  RustDedicated_Data/
    Managed/
  server/

Start the server normally after the upload. Let startup finish before checking Oxide.

5. Verify that Oxide loaded

oxide.version

The response should identify the Oxide version. If the command is unknown, use the troubleshooting table below. Get this check working before installing a large collection of plugins.

6. Test one plugin with Server Info

Sign in to RustMods ID and download the release from the RustMods Server Info page. Extract the ZIP and find RustModsServerInfo.cs. Keep the README and example JSON for reference; the .cs file goes into the plugin directory.

Open RustMods Server Info ↗

oxide/plugins/RustModsServerInfo.cs

Check the console after uploading. Confirm that compilation did not fail, then enter the following command in game chat. You should receive a server information message.

/serverinfo

7. Edit the config and check the result

Configurable plugins usually create settings in oxide/config after their first successful load. Keep a JSON backup, change one setting at a time and preserve value types. The fragment below illustrates syntax only; it is not a Server Info config.

{
  "Enabled": true,
  "Message": "RustMods test"
}

Use the following command for a normal reload of this plugin. If it saves settings when unloaded, run oxide.unload RustModsServerInfo, edit the file, then run oxide.load RustModsServerInfo.

oxide.reload RustModsServerInfo

8. Troubleshoot the first failure

9. After a Rust update

Updating or validating game files through SteamCMD can replace modified files. Use this order: backup → Rust update → compatible Oxide build → startup → oxide.version → plugin check. Check whether the startup script updates the game again after Oxide has been installed.

If an update breaks a previously working server, retain the log and compare versions. Do not delete world saves to investigate a single plugin.

10. Final checks

• The server starts without a critical error.
• oxide.version returns a version.
• The test plugin loads and responds to its command.
• An edited setting applies and persists after a restart.
• A backup and a clear update sequence are available.

Add further plugins one at a time. Record each change and how you checked it, so the next failure is easier to trace.