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How to create a Rust server, step by step

A Rust server of your own lets you decide who plays, when the wipe happens and what the map looks like. This guide covers what to decide before you start and what happens the first time it boots.

  • 3 min read
  • 7 sections
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Rust
Rust

In short

  • Rust keeps the whole map in memory, so it needs a server with dedicated memory and room to spare.
  • The first start takes a few minutes and wipes should be planned ahead.
  • A service with DDoS protection keeps your home IP out of the attacks.

1. Decide how many players will join

Slots are the players who can be connected at the same time. A small clan and its friends do fine with a few; an open community needs quite a lot more. Think about peak hour, not the average: that is when the server works hardest.

If you are unsure, start small and grow. It is cheaper to add slots when people fill the server than to pay for empty ones.

2. Memory and disk: Rust is demanding

Rust keeps everything on the map in memory: buildings, items, animals and players. The further a wipe goes and the more players build, the more memory it needs. That is why you want dedicated memory with headroom, not just enough to boot.

Map size matters too: a large map has more terrain and more entities than a small one.

8 GBRAM
15 GBSSD
10–300Players

Included in every Rust server on LIZARION, whatever number of slots you pick.

3. Create the server and wait for the first start

With a rental service like LIZARION the server is created and installed on its own once you pay. You do not download the game or open ports on your router.

The first start takes a few minutes because Rust generates the map from scratch. That is normal: later starts are faster.

4. Tweak the settings

From the panel you can change the server description, the seed and the map size and other settings without editing files by hand. Map changes only apply when a new map is generated, so decide them before people start building.

5. Plan your wipes

A wipe erases the map and everything built on it so everyone starts over. Servers usually do it every few weeks or once a month, and the game forces a wipe on the first Thursday of each month with its update. Warn your community of the dates ahead of time and take a backup before any big change.

6. Make your account an admin and share the address

To administer the server you need your SteamID64 and to add yourself as owner with the ownerid command from the server console.

To play, open the in-game console with F1 and type the server address with the connect command. Send the address to your friends and jump in.

7. Protect it from attacks

Rust servers get attacked often. If you host at home, your connection's IP is exposed. A service with DDoS protection filters malicious traffic before it reaches the game machine.