How to Install Oxide (uMod) and Carbon Plugins on a Rust Server

Oxide vs Carbon: what is actually different

Both frameworks sit between the Rust server and your plugins. They hook into game events, give plugins a permission system, and handle compiling and loading. Facepunch's wiki lists both under server modding. Oxide is the long-established framework distributed through uMod. Carbon is a newer loader that, in its own words, aims to be fully compatible with plugins written for Oxide and uses Harmony so existing Oxide plugins can run without extra patches.

How to install the framework

Pick one. Running Oxide and Carbon together is not supported; a clean switch means replacing one with the other and keeping a backup of the oxide folder so you can roll back.

• Oxide: stop the server, run the Oxide installer (or extract the Oxide release archive over the server files), and start the server again. Facepunch's wiki describes exactly this order.
• Carbon: stop the server, download the archive for your OS and release channel from Carbon's GitHub releases page, extract it into the folder that contains the Rust server executable (keep the internal folder structure), then start the server. Carbon's install page tells you to verify your server files and update the game first.
• On a managed host: look for a mod framework selector or one-click installer in your control panel instead of doing the above by hand.

Hosting with ChicagoServers? The Rust server hosting page lists what is included, such as a one-click Oxide/uMod and Carbon installer, free server backups and SFTP file access.

To confirm the framework is running, list loaded plugins from the server console: c.plugins on Carbon, or oxide.plugins on Oxide.

How to install a plugin

1. Download the plugin file

   Get the .cs file from the plugin's page. Check the plugin description for required dependencies, which are other plugins that must also be installed.

2. Upload it to the plugins folder

   Use SFTP (or your host's file manager) and place the file directly in oxide/plugins or carbon/plugins. Do not leave it inside a zip.

3. Let it load

   Both frameworks watch the plugins folder and compile new files without a restart. Carbon's script watcher can be set to watch only the top-level plugins folder or all subfolders, so keep plugin files at the top level unless you have changed that setting.

4. Check the console

   A compile error or a missing dependency is printed when the plugin loads. Read it before touching anything else.

5. Edit the generated config

   Most plugins create a config file on first load. Edit it, then reload that one plugin.

Config, data and language files are stored in sibling folders (config, data, lang) under oxide/ or carbon/.

Reloading, loading and unloading

# Oxide
oxide.reload PluginName
oxide.load PluginName
oxide.unload PluginName

# Carbon
c.reload PluginName
c.load PluginName
c.unload PluginName
c.reload *

In Carbon, c.reload * reloads everything, and c.unload marks a plugin as ignored by moving its file to a backups folder until you c.load it again. Reload a plugin after editing its config; do not assume it re-reads the file on its own.

Permissions: oxide.grant and the Carbon equivalents

Plugins register permission strings such as pluginname.use. Nothing happens for a player until that permission is granted to them or to a group they belong to. Rust admin status from ownerid and moderatorid is a separate system from plugin permissions, so grant plugin permissions explicitly instead of assuming admins have them.

oxide.grant group admin coolplugin.use
oxide.grant user <name or STEAM64_ID> coolplugin.use
oxide.revoke user <name or STEAM64_ID> coolplugin.use
oxide.usergroup add <name or STEAM64_ID> vip
oxide.group add vip
oxide.show perms vip
oxide.show perm coolplugin.use

Oxide ships with the groups default, moderator and admin. On Carbon the same tasks use the c. prefix: c.grant, c.revoke, c.show, c.usergroup and c.group. Carbon's docs say to run c.grant on its own to print the exact syntax for your build, which is the safest way to confirm argument order.

Where to get plugins safely

Facepunch's wiki points server owners to the uMod site for Oxide plugins and notes that other community sites also distribute them. Prefer plugins with an active author, recent updates and a visible changelog. A plugin runs inside your server process, so treat an unfamiliar file like an unfamiliar program.

• Read the plugin page for its required dependencies and permission names before installing.
• Check that the listed Rust version or last update date makes sense for your current game build.
• Install one new plugin at a time so a problem is easy to trace.

Common mistakes that break plugins

• Framework out of date after a Rust update. A game update can stop plugins loading until the framework build matches. Carbon publishes builds per Rust branch, so choose the one for the branch you run. Update first, then investigate plugins.
• Installing both frameworks. Pick one and remove the other's files.
• Wrong folder. A file in oxide/plugins does nothing on a Carbon-only server, and the reverse is also true.
• Skipping dependencies. Some plugins refuse to load until another plugin is present.
• Forgetting permissions. If a command seems to do nothing, run oxide.show perm pluginname.use and check who has it.
• Leaving plugin data across a wipe. Plugins that store player or base data may need their data files cleared when you wipe the map.
• Assuming "modded" is cosmetic. Running a modding framework generally flags the server as modded in the server list. Carbon has a c.whymodded command that explains why it considers the server modded.

Frequently asked questions