This guide explains how to access RCON (Remote Console) on your Rust server and covers the most useful admin commands for player management, moderation, and server control. For general server configuration and startup variables, see the Rust Server Configuration Guide.
RCON Configuration
RCON is configured through three settings in server/rust/cfg/server.cfg. Stop your server before editing this file.
| Setting | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
rcon.password |
"strongpassword" |
Password required to authenticate over RCON. Set a strong, unique value. Anyone with this password has full admin control of the server. |
rcon.port |
(check GPanel) | The port RCON listens on. This is separate from the game port. Check the GPanel Network tab for your assigned RCON port. |
rcon.web |
1 |
Enables the WebSocket-based RCON interface. Required for tools like RustAdmin and RCON.IO. Set to 0 to use legacy source RCON only. |
Example RCON block for server.cfg:
rcon.password "your-strong-password-here"
rcon.web 1server.cfg.
Using the GPanel Console
The simplest way to run admin commands is directly from GPanel. No external tool or RCON configuration is needed.
- Log in to GPanel and select your Rust server.
- Click the Console tab. This connects directly to the running server output.
- Type commands into the input field at the bottom and press Enter. Commands are executed immediately and output appears in the console log.
Using an External RCON Tool
For persistent admin access or moderating while in-game, external RCON clients are the standard choice:
| Tool | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RustAdmin | Desktop application (Windows) | Feature-rich client with player management, banning, chat monitoring, and scheduled commands. The most commonly used tool for Rust RCON. |
| RCON.IO | Web-based | Browser-based RCON client. No installation required. Useful for quick access from any device. |
To connect with any external RCON tool, you need three values from GPanel:
- Server IP — shown on the GPanel Network tab
- RCON Port — shown on the GPanel Network tab (this is different from the game port)
- RCON Password — the value of
rcon.passwordin yourserver.cfg
Useful Admin Commands
These commands can be run from the GPanel console or any connected RCON client.
Player Management
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ownerid STEAMID64 "Name" "Reason" |
Grant owner-level admin to a player. Owners can run all commands in-game. |
moderatorid STEAMID64 "Name" "Reason" |
Grant moderator-level admin to a player. |
removeowner STEAMID64 |
Revoke owner-level admin from a player. |
removemoderator STEAMID64 |
Revoke moderator-level admin from a player. |
ban STEAMID64 "Reason" |
Ban a player by Steam ID. |
unban STEAMID64 |
Remove a ban for a player. |
kick "PlayerName" |
Kick a player from the server. |
players |
List all currently connected players and their Steam IDs. |
server.writecfg. Admin and moderator assignments made with ownerid or moderatorid are held in memory until you run server.writecfg. If the server restarts before you do this, the assignments will be lost.
Server Control
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
server.writecfg |
Write the current admin/moderator list and settings to disk so they persist across restarts. |
server.save |
Force an immediate world save. |
say "Message" |
Broadcast a message to all players in server chat. |
status |
Show server status including player count, memory usage, and FPS. |
server.fps |
Display the current server tick rate (FPS). |
Oxide Plugin Commands
If you have Oxide/uMod installed, these additional commands are available. For full details on plugin management, see the Rust Oxide/uMod Plugin Installation guide.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
oxide.reload PluginName |
Reload a specific Oxide plugin without restarting the server. |
oxide.plugins |
List all currently loaded plugins and their versions. |
Troubleshooting RCON Connections
If you cannot connect to RCON with an external tool, check the following:
- Verify
rcon.web 1is set inserver.cfg. Most external tools (RustAdmin, RCON.IO) 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. Look for
Server startup completein the console output.
For other common server issues, see Rust Server Troubleshooting.
Need Help?
If you run into an issue not covered in this guide, our support team is available to help. Submit a support ticket and include your server ID, a description of the issue, and any relevant console output.
