This guide covers common issues you may encounter when running a Rust dedicated server on Legion Hosting and how to resolve them. For general server configuration, see the Rust Server Configuration Guide.

Server Does Not Appear in the Server Browser

If your server is running but players cannot find it in the in-game browser:

• The server browser can take 10-20 minutes to index a newly started server. Use direct connect via the F1 console (client.connect IP:PORT) to verify the server is reachable while the browser catches up.
• Ensure the QUERY_PORT startup variable (in GPanel's Startup tab) matches the query port allocated in GPanel's Network tab. An incorrect query port is the most common reason a server does not appear in the browser.
• Confirm the server is fully started -- look for the line Server startup complete in the console before testing connections.
• Check that your server.hostname is set in server.cfg. Servers without a hostname may not display properly in the browser.

Cannot Connect to the Server

If you receive a connection error or timeout when trying to join:

• Verify the server is running and fully started in the GPanel Console tab.
• Double-check you are using the correct IP address and game port from GPanel's Network tab.
• If the server recently updated (especially during the first-Thursday forced wipe), ensure you have restarted the server after the update. Players on the new client version cannot connect to a server running an older version.
• Check that server.maxplayers has not been exceeded. If the server is full, new connections will be rejected.
• Ensure you have not been banned. Check with the server admin or review bans.cfg on the server.

Cannot Connect to RCON with an External Tool

If RustAdmin, RCON.IO, or another RCON client cannot connect:

• Verify rcon.web 1 is set in server.cfg. Most external tools require the WebSocket RCON interface.
• Confirm you are using the RCON port and not the game port. Check the GPanel Network tab for your assigned RCON port.
• Double-check the RCON password matches exactly what is set in server.cfg. Passwords are case-sensitive.
• The server must be fully started before RCON connections are accepted. Wait for Server startup complete in the console.

For full RCON setup instructions, see Rust RCON Access and Admin Commands.

Oxide Plugins Are Not Loading

• Confirm Oxide is installed and active. In GPanel's Startup tab, the FRAMEWORK variable must be set to oxide. The console log should show Loaded plugin Oxide.Core during startup.
• Plugin files must be placed directly in oxide/plugins/ with the exact .cs extension. Files in subdirectories or with wrong extensions are ignored.
• Check the console and oxide/logs/ for compilation errors. A plugin with a syntax error will fail to load and the error message will describe the issue.
• Some plugins have dependencies on other plugins (e.g. Economics). Install all required dependencies first.
• Ensure the plugin version is compatible with your current Oxide version. Outdated plugins may fail to compile against a newer Oxide release.

For full plugin installation instructions, see Rust Oxide/uMod Plugin Installation.

Server Is Using Excessive RAM or CPU

If your server is running slowly, lagging, or exceeding resource limits:

• Reduce map size. Lower server.worldsize in server.cfg. Larger maps require substantially more RAM and CPU to run and maintain. A map size of 3000 is a good balance for most servers.
• Audit installed plugins. Some poorly written or outdated plugins can cause high CPU usage or memory leaks. Use oxide.plugins to list active plugins and try disabling them one at a time to identify the culprit.
• Lower the player count. Reduce server.maxplayers if the server is underpowered for your current player count. Each connected player adds resource overhead.
• Check for entity buildup. On long-running servers, abandoned bases and decaying items can accumulate. A map wipe resets entity counts to zero.

World Changes Are Not Being Saved / Rollback After Restart

If player progress is being lost after server restarts:

• Verify server.saveinterval is set to a reasonable value in server.cfg (default is 60 seconds). Setting it to 0 or a very large number effectively disables auto-saves.
• Run server.save manually via the GPanel console or RCON before stopping the server to force an immediate save.
• Ensure the server is stopped gracefully from GPanel rather than being killed forcefully. An abrupt kill can cause the last save interval's changes to be lost.
• Check available disk space. If the server runs out of disk space, it cannot write save files.

Server Crashes on Startup

If the server starts but immediately crashes or enters a restart loop:

• Check the console output for error messages. Common causes include corrupted save files, incompatible plugins, or missing framework files.
• If the crash started after adding a plugin, remove the most recently added .cs file from oxide/plugins/ and restart.
• If the crash started after a game update, ensure the FRAMEWORK variable is set correctly. Framework files may need to be re-downloaded after a Rust update -- simply restart the server and the updated framework should be fetched automatically.
• Try deleting the save files (proceduralmap.*.sav and proceduralmap.*.map) and performing a fresh map wipe. Corrupted save files can prevent the server from starting.

Map Generation Takes a Very Long Time

After a wipe, the server must generate a new procedural map. This is normal and expected:

• A map size of 3000 typically takes 2-5 minutes to generate.
• Larger maps (4000-6000) can take 10+ minutes.
• Do not restart the server during map generation. Let it complete fully. The console will show Server startup complete when ready.

Need Help?

If your issue is not covered here, our support team is available to help. Submit a support ticket and include:

• Your server ID (shown in GPanel)
• A description of the issue and when it started
• Any relevant console output or error messages
• Steps you have already tried