How to install plugins on a Rust server
Install Oxide or Carbon, then put the plugin file, which ends in .cs, in its plugins folder. It loads on its own.
Or let Claude Code do it
Install Oxide on my Rust server. It runs on this Linux machine. 1. Find the Rust server folder and how the server is started and stopped. 2. Stop the server. 3. Download the latest Oxide build for Rust on Linux from its official releases on GitHub (OxideMod/Oxide.Rust) and copy its files over the server folder. 4. Start the server, and check that oxide.version answers in the server console. 5. Put this plugin file in oxide/plugins: YOUR_PLUGIN_FILE.cs It loads on its own. Show me the line in the server log that says it loaded.
Oxide or Carbon?
Both load the same kind of plugin. Oxide, also called uMod, is the older and most common. Carbon can take an Oxide server's plugins as they are.
How do I reload a plugin?
Plugins load on their own when you add or update the file. To reload one by hand:
oxide.reload PluginNamec.reload PluginNameDo plugins make my server modded?
Not if they only help you run it. Facepunch allows admin plugins on community servers as long as they do not change gameplay. A plugin that changes gameplay or adds its own screens to the game puts the server in the modded list.
Plugins stopped working after the update
After each game update, update Oxide or Carbon too. Plugins stop loading until the framework matches the new game.
Where do I find plugins?
uMod (umod.org) and Codefling (codefling.com) are the two big plugin sites.
I rent my server
On G-Portal, open Basic Settings, switch to Oxide Mods and restart, then copy plugins into oxide/plugins by FTP. On Shockbyte, open the Config tab, set the Modding API to Oxide or Carbon, save and start, then upload plugins to /oxide/plugins/.
Checked on 7 October 2026 against Rust's October update, on our own server.