The short answer
Type your description with normal line breaks, press Format, and paste the
whole output line, quotes included, into server.cfg. The \n markers
in the result are correct: they are what Rust turns into line breaks.
The formatter
Enter your server description in the box below exactly as you want it to appear, then press Format. The tool flattens it into the single line Rust expects and inserts the line break markers for you.
Formatted output
Paste the whole line, quotes included, into your server.cfg.
How the formatting works
Rust reads server.description as a single line of text, so a description typed
across several lines has to be flattened before the game will accept it.
The formatter trims each line and joins them with the literal two-character sequence
\n, which is what Rust converts into a line break when it renders your description
in the server browser. That is why the output is one long line, and why the \n
markers are visible in it: they are meant to be.
This is the part that catches people out. Pressing Enter inside the config editor does not give you a line break in the description. It breaks the config line, which usually stops the setting working at all. The markers do the job that the Enter key looks like it should.
Using the output
-
Copy the formatted line
Use the Copy button, or select it manually. Take the whole thing including the quotes.
-
Open server.cfg
Through the config file editor in your control panel. Stop the server first, so your edit is not overwritten when it shuts down.
-
Replace the existing description line
Paste it in on its own line. If there is already a
server.descriptionline, replace it rather than adding a second one. -
Save and restart
The new description appears in the browser once the server is back up.
Writing a description worth reading
The formatting is the easy part. What decides whether anyone joins is what you actually wrote, and a well-formatted description that says nothing is still a description that says nothing.
- Lead with the differentiator
- Most players read the first line and decide. If your best feature is in paragraph three, it does not exist.
- State the wipe schedule
- One of the first things experienced players filter on, and one of the most commonly omitted.
- Be specific about rates
- "Modded" tells nobody anything. "Loot x3, gather x2, no BP wipe" tells them whether this is their kind of server.
- Say what you do not allow
- Rules in the description filter out the people who would have caused a problem, before they arrive.
- Keep it current
- A description advertising a summer event in November suggests nobody is minding the server.
Once the description reads well, our guide on adding tags to your Rust server description covers getting into the filters players use to narrow the list, and Rust server advertising covers getting the listing seen in the first place.