Rust VPS Hosting

Rust server hosting means running Facepunch's Rust Dedicated Server on a VPS. It's for the Steam version only, because Rust Console Edition is a separate game that can't join a PC server. On GreenGeeks, that's a 16 GB plan with full root access and a dedicated IP. You pick any world size from 1000 to 6000, set your own wipe schedule between Facepunch's monthly forced wipes, and add Oxide or Carbon if you want plugins. Players connect by opening the F1 console and typing connect, then the server's IP and port 28015.

Facepunch asks for 12 GB of free RAM and 15 GB of free disk space, preferably SSD or NVMe, on Windows, Linux or macOS. A 6000 map needs more RAM than that. Facepunch doesn't give a core count, and it only says that more players need a faster CPU. Rust runs mostly on one main CPU thread, and the CPU stays busy even on an empty server. GreenGeeks VPS runs AlmaLinux 9, and the Linux server runs there once you install the 32-bit libraries SteamCMD needs. Admin commands go over RCON on TCP 28016.

Rust server hosting on GreenGeeks costs $179.95 a month, because the 16 GB plan is the only one above Facepunch's 12 GB minimum. That price stays the same whatever player cap or plugin list you run. The Rust server itself is free, since SteamCMD installs app 258550 with an anonymous login and no Steam account. Players bring their own copy of Rust, which is $39.99 on Steam. Game hosts usually price Rust by player slots instead, which says little about how much RAM your map will use.

Gameplay plugins will move it, and admin tools won't. Facepunch's rules put servers with plugins that change gameplay, such as gather rates, kits, smelting or item spawns, in the Modded tab, along with plugins that add or change UI. Admin plugins like Vanish or Admin Radar, skip-queue and chat plugins, custom maps and vanilla setting changes such as team size are all fine for Community. Community guides also report that Oxide sets "Modded": true in oxide/oxide.config.json by default, so check that file if a vanilla-style server shows up in Modded.

Rust autosaves every 600 seconds and keeps rolling copies of the .sav file, but they're stored on the same disk as the server. Nothing on a GreenGeeks VPS gets backed up unless you set it up. For a full backup, run server.save over RCON. Then use tar to archive the identity folder and the oxide or carbon folder, and schedule it with cron after the daily restart. Copy the archive off the server. If the Rust files are in a cPanel account, cPanel's daily backups can include them too. To restore, stop the server and copy both folders back.

Yes, the map has to wipe. The monthly update raises the protocol version in the save file's name, and the server then starts a new map. Force wipe is the first Thursday of each month, at 7 PM London time by default, which is 2 PM Eastern. The next one is Thursday, November 5, 2026. Blueprints only reset if you delete the blueprints file yourself. Renaming an old save to dodge the wipe is risky, and Facepunch advises against it. Between forced wipes, your wipe timer can run weekly, biweekly or on any cron schedule.

You need GreenGeeks' 16 GB plan, sized for a standard 4000 to 4500 map that often hosts 90 to 150 players. Map size affects RAM more than player count, because players mostly add CPU load, and you set the cap yourself with server.maxplayers. A map's area grows with the square of the world size, so a 4500 map has about 2.25 times the content of a 3000 map. Memory also climbs about 2 to 2.5 GB per day until a restart. A 6000 map or a heavy plugin list may need more than 16 GB, which GreenGeeks VPS doesn't offer.

Oxide installs by extracting its Linux build from umod.org/games/rust over the server files. Carbon installs by unzipping its Linux release into the server root and restarting. Either way, install it again after every server update, because each SteamCMD update puts the files back to vanilla. That happens often. In October 2026, Oxide released a patched build for each Rust hotfix, about eight in two weeks. Carbon runs most Oxide plugins and is built for better performance, and it publishes an Oxide-to-Carbon migration guide. Take a backup of your plugin data before you switch.

Copy two folders into a fresh install. Everything a Rust server needs is in its identity folder, rust/server//, plus the oxide or carbon folder. The identity folder contains the map save, blueprints, player data, Rust+ pairings and cfg/, with server.cfg, admins and bans inside. Stop the old server first so the SQLite -wal files get written out, then start the new one with the same +server.identity. Open the same four ports on the new server before players try to connect. The move only works if both servers are on the same wipe protocol.

GreenGeeks' 24/7 managed team looks after the VPS and keeps its AlmaLinux system patched. The Rust server, Oxide or Carbon and your plugins stay with you, since GreenGeeks doesn't support game server software. Force-wipe Thursday is the busiest day for that work, because the new Rust build comes out then. You stop the server, run SteamCMD, re-apply Oxide or Carbon, check your plugins and start the new map. Facepunch's wiki at wiki.facepunch.com/rust covers launch options, ports and wipes, and uMod's release history shows when each new Oxide build is out.