How to install and update plugins on your Rust server

Open the Modding tab, click Browse on the Plugins tab, pick uMod or Codefling under Source, search for a plugin and click Install. The Installed button shows what you have and lets you update or remove it. You need Oxide or Carbon chosen first: see How to add mods to your Rust server.

Install a plugin

1. Open your server in the panel and click the Modding tab.
2. On the Plugins tab, make sure Browse is selected.
3. Under Filter, choose the catalogue in Source: uMod (chosen when the page opens) or Codefling. The header says Searching uMod or Searching Codefling. On a phone, the Filters button next to the search box opens the same choice.

4. Type a name in Search plugins. Each result shows the plugin's name and where it comes from.
5. Click Install. The newest version is installed at once. Learn more opens the plugin's page on uMod or Codefling.

6. The panel says <name> is being installed. It will appear under Installed once the server has it. Click Installed to see it.

The panel downloads the file from uMod or Codefling, checks it, and writes it into oxide/plugins on Oxide or carbon/plugins on Carbon, named after the plugin. You need the permission to create files. On Vanilla the panel says Plugins need Oxide or Carbon. Choose a framework first. If a download fails, the panel gives you the link to download the file in your browser, and you can upload it by hand in Files.

Oxide and Carbon load a new plugin file by themselves while the server runs, so you do not normally need to restart.

Plugins from Codefling

Codefling is the second big Rust plugin site. The panel installs its free plugins that come as one .cs file, which is most of its free plugins.

• Paid plugins cannot be installed by the panel: Codefling gives the file only to the account that bought it. Their row says so, with the price when Codefling lists one, and the button reads Won’t run here. Buy it on Codefling, download the .cs file and upload it to your plugins folder in Files.
• Plugins that come as a .zip or another file show the panel cannot install for you. Download them from Codefling and follow the author's instructions.
• If a plugin with the same name is already installed from uMod or by upload, the panel leaves it alone and says so. Uninstall it first if you want the Codefling one.
• If Codefling cannot be reached, the panel says to download the plugin from its page and upload the .cs file to the plugins folder in Files.

A plugin installed from Codefling stays linked to Codefling: on the Installed list it gets Codefling's updates, never uMod's. The panel adds one comment line at the end of the file to remember where it came from.

See what is installed

Click Installed. The header says how many plugins are installed. Each row shows:

• The plugin's name and version, as Installed and the version number. Some plugins do not state a version.
• A warning badge such as 1.2.0, 1.3.0 available when uMod, or Codefling for a plugin installed from there, has a newer version, with an Update button.
• Not running if the plugin failed to start: How to fix a plugin that is not running on your Rust server.
• A warning if two plugins change the same rates: How to stop plugins stacking rates on your Rust server.

The Installed list reads the plugin files of the framework you chose. On Vanilla it is empty.

Update a plugin

1. On the Installed list, click Update next to the plugin. The window shows From the installed version to the new one.
2. Read the note: your configuration is left alone, only the plugin file is replaced, and the old file is removed once the new one is in place.
3. Click Update and restart.

When several plugins are out of date, a box says N of your plugins have a newer version. with Update all N.

Despite the button's name, the panel only replaces the plugin file; it does not restart the server. Oxide and Carbon reload the new file by themselves. If a plugin still behaves like the old version, restart the server.

Take a backup first if you might want to go back: How to back up and restore your Rust world.

Choose a version

Open the menu Options for the plugin on the Installed list and choose Choose a version. Pick a version in the window and click Install with the version number. Use it to go back to an older version that you know works. Codefling offers only its current version.

Uninstall a plugin

1. Open the menu Options for the plugin and choose Uninstall.
2. Click Uninstall in the window Uninstall with the plugin's name.

This removes the plugin file; the server is not restarted. Its settings and data stay in Files, in oxide/config and oxide/data (Carbon: carbon/configs and carbon/data), so a plugin you install again finds its settings. The box Also delete its configuration and data does not reach those folders on a Rust server, so delete the files there by hand if you want them gone.

Good to know

• After a Rust update, many plugins need a new version. Check Installed for update badges.
• Change a plugin's settings: How to change plugin settings and permissions on your Rust server.
• The Installed list shows the .cs files in the plugin folder, so a plugin you uploaded by hand appears too.
• Upload a plugin yourself, for example a paid Codefling one: How to upload a plugin to your Rust server.
• Remove a plugin and its settings: How to remove a plugin from your Rust server.
• If Install fails: A plugin will not install on your Rust server.