Rust server guide: join, mods, settings and fixes
Updated 31 October 2026 · 3 minute read · Rust (PC) · By Exclsv Support
Everything you need to run your Rust server in HQ, in one page.
Join
- Copy the address from your server’s Join page in HQ.
- In Rust, press F1 to open the console.
- Type client.connect, paste the address and press Enter.
Or find it by name under Play Game, then the Community tab. Rust Console Edition is a separate game and can’t join.
Mods
Choose Vanilla, Oxide or Carbon under Loader and version on the Mods page. Then plugins from uMod install from the same page; they load straight away, and HQ takes a backup before every install, update or removal.
Settings
Open Settings, then Game settings. Each setting has a plain label, one line of help and the game’s own default where HQ knows it. Most changes take effect at the next restart; HQ marks the ones that change straight away. Wipes are set on the Wipes page; Rust always runs the current build.
Backups and going back
HQ takes an hourly backup (Automatic backups) and keeps each for up to 48 hours, plus an off-site backup every 6 hours with 7 daily copies. To go back, open Backups, then Automatic backups, pick a time and choose Go back. Your world as it is now is kept, so you can undo it. The map, blueprints and plugin data go back together.
If it doesn’t work
Mods and plugins didn’t load after a wipe-day update
Oxide or Carbon can take a few hours to support a new Rust build. The server starts with plugins switched off, and they come back on by themselves.
The custom map didn’t load
The map link must give a map file directly. Check the link in Settings.
Rust ran out of memory
Big maps and many entities need a bigger size.
The server isn’t in the list
New servers can take a few minutes to appear after each start. Join with client.connect meanwhile.
Run this on Exclsv: Rust server hosting, from £17.99 a month