The short answer
Stop the server, open the Mod Manager tab in your control panel, click Install next to uMod, then start the server again. The whole thing takes about two minutes.
Key points
- uMod and Oxide are the same thing under two names.
- Stop the server first. Installing onto a running one risks corrupt files.
- Your server moves to the Modded tab afterwards, which surprises people.
- Rust updates often require you to reinstall the current uMod build.
- Installing does not wipe anything.
What uMod does
uMod, formerly known as Oxide, is the modding framework Rust servers use to run plugins. It does not change the game on its own. What it does is provide the layer that plugins hook into, which is what unlocks everything from teleport commands and kits to full economy systems.
On its own, an installed uMod with no plugins behaves almost identically to a vanilla server. The one visible difference is where your server appears in the browser, which is covered below.
Installing uMod
-
Log in to the control panel
Visit the control panel and enter your credentials.
Control panel navigation -
Open Game Services
Click Game Services from the main menu.
Game Services -
Select your Rust service
Click your Rust Service to open its management page.
Rust Service -
Stop your server
Click Stop and wait for it to shut down before continuing.
Stop Server -
Open the Mod Manager
Go to the Mod Manager tab.
Mod Manager -
Install uMod
Click Install next to uMod. It takes a few seconds.
Install uMod -
Start the server
Go back to your server and press Start to relaunch with uMod enabled.
Start Server
Updating uMod
Rust updates regularly, and uMod has to keep pace with it. After a game update your server may refuse to start, or start with every plugin failing, until uMod is brought up to date. The process is nearly the same as installing.
-
Stop your server
Click Stop in the control panel.
Stop Server -
Open the Updates tab
Go to Updates and find the latest version of uMod.
Updates tab -
Reinstall uMod
Click Install next to uMod. The update takes only a few seconds.
Reinstall uMod -
Start the server
Bring it back online to apply the change.
Restart Server
Updating uMod does not update your plugins. Those are maintained separately by their own authors, and a plugin that has not been updated for the current Rust version will still fail even on a current uMod. Check the plugin pages after a big game update.
What changes once it is running
- Your server lists as Modded
- It moves from the Community tab to the Modded tab in the Rust server browser. Players searching under Community will no longer find it, which is the single most common post-install confusion.
- New folders appear
oxide/plugins,oxide/configandoxide/data. Plugins go in the first, their settings in the second, their stored data in the third.- New console commands
- The
oxide.command family becomes available for loading, reloading and permissioning plugins. - Performance becomes something to watch
- uMod itself is light. The plugins you add to it are not necessarily, and a bad one can dominate every server tick.
Adding your first plugin
With uMod installed, plugins are .cs files that you upload to the
oxide/plugins folder. They load automatically, and their configuration files
appear in oxide/config once they have run for the first time.
Our uMod and Oxide basic usage guide covers uploading plugins, the commands for reloading and unloading them, and how to set up permission groups so your VIPs and admins get the right access.
Before you install a stack of them, it is worth reading our guide on improving Rust server performance. Plugins are the biggest single influence on how a Rust server runs, and it is easier to be selective from the start than to work out later which of your thirty plugins is the problem.