How to migrate a Rust server to a new host

What moves and what does not

Everything that makes your server yours lives in two places. The identity folder, server/<identity>/, holds the world and the players. The mod framework folder, oxide/ or carbon/ in the install root, holds the plugins, their configs and their data. The game files themselves (the RustDedicated binary and everything SteamCMD downloads) are identical on every host and the new panel installs them for you.

proceduralmap.*.sav and .map

The world: every base, box, sleeper and dropped item, and the cached terrain it sits on. The file name carries the world size, seed and protocol version.

player.blueprints.*.db

What every player has learned, keyed to SteamID64. Leave it behind and you have done a blueprint wipe.

player.tokens.db and companion.id

Rust+ pairings and the server's companion identity. Both are needed for the app to reconnect without re-pairing.

player.deaths.*.db, player.identities.*.db, sv.files.*.db

Death log, player names and server-side file storage (map markers, images). Small, and worth copying for completeness.

cfg/

users.cfg (owners and moderators), bans.cfg and server.cfg. Copy the first two whole; copy server.cfg selectively, see below.

oxide/ or carbon/

Plugins, configs, data and permissions. Carbon's folder is carbon/; Oxide's is oxide/. Only one of them can run.

Moving the server

1. Stop the old server

   In the old host's panel, click Stop and wait for the save to finish writing. Rust saves on shutdown; copying while that happens gives you a save that will not load.

2. Note the seed and world size

   Find server.seed and server.worldsize in the old server's startup settings or command line and write them down. If you cannot find them, read the save file name: proceduralmap.4500.1234567.265.sav is world size 4500, seed 1234567.

3. Download the identity folder

   Connect to the old host over SFTP with FileZilla or WinSCP and download server/<identity>/ in full. The identity is whatever the old host named it; on many panels it is the server's numeric id. Then download oxide/ or carbon/ from the install root if you run plugins.

4. Install the mod framework on the new server

   In the EUGameHost control panel open Game Services, select your Rust service, open Mod Manager and install the same framework you ran before: Oxide/uMod or Carbon. The install creates the folder structure your plugins expect; uploading plugins before it exists leaves them unloaded.

5. Set the seed and world size

   Open the new server's startup settings and enter the old seed and world size. Rust only loads a save on a map generated from the same pair; any other values and it quietly generates a new world.

6. Upload the files

   Over SFTP or in the panel File Manager, open the new server's identity folder (server/<identity>/, the identity the panel created) and upload the contents of the old one into it, overwriting what is there. Upload oxide/ or carbon/ into the install root the same way. Skip cfg/server.cfg for now.

7. Start the new server

   Click Start and watch the console. You want to see the save being loaded (a line naming your .sav with the entity count), your plugins loading, and Rust+ companion server connectivity test passing. The first start is slower because the terrain regenerates from the seed before the save is applied.

8. Move your players

   Start the old server one last time with its hostname and description changed to the new address, update your Discord, BattleMetrics listing and any connect domain, and leave it that way for a few days before you cancel it.

What not to copy from server.cfg

server.cfg is read every start and overrides the command line, which is why copying it whole from another host breaks things. The panel sets your ports, IP, identity and RCON password on the command line; a server.cfg that sets them again points the server at the old host's values.

Copy

server.hostname, server.description, server.url, server.headerimage, server.tags, server.maxplayers (match your new plan), decay and gather convars, and anything else that is a gameplay choice.

Leave out

server.port, server.queryport, server.ip, server.identity, rcon.port, rcon.password, rcon.ip, app.port, app.listenip and app.publicip. The panel owns these.

Moving your players

Players find servers by name, by history and by Rust+, and all three can carry them over. The hostname and description are the first thing they read in the browser, so change the old server's to say where you went. Rust+ reconnects on its own once player.tokens.db and companion.id are in place. If you use a connect domain, update its record to the new IP and the old link keeps working.

A wipe day is the natural moment to move. Announce the new address with the wipe, move during the downtime, and nobody loses progress they cared about.

What to check if it did not work

A fresh map generated

Seed or world size differ from the old server, or the .sav is in the wrong folder. Stop, fix the values, delete the new .sav and .map, re-upload and start.

Plugins did not load

The framework is not installed, or the plugins are in carbon/ on an Oxide server (or the reverse). Check Mod Manager and the folder name, then oxide.reload * in the console.

Blueprints are gone

player.blueprints.*.db did not come across. Upload it from your download and restart.

Rust+ will not pair

player.tokens.db or companion.id missing, or the console shows the connectivity test failing. The app port is the game port + 67; the panel opens it, so a failure usually means a copied app.port line in server.cfg.

Owners and moderators lost their rank

cfg/users.cfg was not copied. Upload it, or re-add them with ownerid and moderatorid followed by writecfg.

Server does not appear in the browser

Normal for the first few minutes after a start. If it persists, it is a listing problem rather than a migration problem: see the guide linked below.