Setup and install Rust server on Windows server 2019 with SteamCMD

An easy to follow guide on installing and setting up a Rust server using SteamCMD.

Rust server install setup guideThis guide was made on a Windows Server 2019 VPS from Vultr with SteamCMD. It will also work on Windows 10, 8.1, Server 2016 and Server 2012 r2.

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vultr 100 credit freeInstall instructions:

SteamCMD

SteamCMD is the command-line version of Steam, using this is simpler than the normal Steam GUI program.

Download SteamCMD from here and move it into a folder in the C drive called SteamCMD.

rust server install guide steamcmd unpack location

Run steamcmd.exe, SteamCMD will unpack into C:\SteamCMD

rust server install guide downloading rust with steamcmd

Download Rust server

Here is the batch command to download the Rust server files, copy and past it into installserver.bat in the C drive. Upon running, It will download the files into C:\myrustserver.

@echo off
set "steamcmdpath=C:\SteamCMD"
set "serverpath=C:\myrustserver"
%steamcmdpath%\steamcmd +force_install_dir "%serverpath%" +app_update 258550 validate +quit

rust server install guide steamcmd install server rust server install guide installserver bat file rust server install guide server directory

Rust server start batch file

The Rust server start bat file:

@echo off

set serverName="My Rust server"

set serverLocation="C:\myrustserver"

set serverIp=0.0.0.0

set serverPort=28015

set serverIdentity="server_identity"

set serverTickrate=10

set serverSeed=793197

set serverMaxPlayers=50

set serverWorldSize=3000

set serverSaveInterval=600

set serverRconIp=0.0.0.0

set serverRconPort=28016

set serverRconPassword="RCON_PASSWORD"

set serverLogfile="logfilename.log"

cd "%serverLocation%"
echo (%time%) %serverName% started.
start "Rust Server" /min "RustDedicated.exe" -nographics -batchmode -silent-crashes +server.ip %serverIp% +server.port %serverPort% +server.tickrate %serverTickrate% +server.hostname %serverName% +server.identity %serverIdentity% +server.seed %serverSeed% +server.maxplayers %serverMaxPlayers% +server.worldsize %serverWorldSize% +server.saveinterval %serverSaveInterval% +rcon.ip %serverRconIp% +rcon.port %serverRconPort% +rcon.password %serverRconPassword% -logfile

Edit these values as you wish for your server.

Rust server start parameters

More information on the server start parameters used in the start batch above:

+server.ip Servers IP address, leave at 0.0.0.0 unless you have multiple IPs.

+server.port The server port the server will use (default 28015 UDP).

+rcon.ip Server RCON IP address.

+rcon.port Port to listen to for RCON.

+rcon.web If set to true, use the websocket RCON. If set to false uses legacy, source engine RCON.

+server.tickrate The server refresh rate (Not recommended to go above 30).

+server.hostname The displayed name of your server.

+server.identity The server data path. Useful for running multiple instances.

+server.maxplayers The maximum amount of players allowed to connect to your server at a time.

+server.worldsize Defines the size of the map generated (min 1000, max 6000).

+server.seed The map generation seed.

+server.saveinterval Time in seconds for server save.

+rcon.password Sets the RCON password

-logfile The server logfile.

-silent-crashes Won’t display a crash dialogue and will restart automatically.

rust server install guide server running success

Configure the server

Creating server.cfg

The server.cfg can be found at C:\myrustserver\server\server_identity\cfg if it does not exist here then create it.

rust server install guide server cfg location

The spoiler below contains the full list of commands available to put into the server.cfg as taken from Valve:

These values will work once saved and the server has been restarted for the new values.

server.cfg values list
bradley.enabled If set to false (0) it will disable the APC. Default is (1)
ai.think If set to False, bears and wolfs are only hostile on attack (True)
ai.move If set to False, animals will stop moving (recommended for performance boost) (True)
ai.sensetime It's no use to change this value (1)
ai.frametime no description (5)
ai.tickrate Changes the tickrate of animals (5)
antihack.enabled Enables / disables antihack (True)
antihack.admincheat Are admins allowed to use their admin cheat (True)
antihack.objectplacement Use antihack to verify object placement by players (True)
antihack.modelstate Use antihack to verify model state sent by players (True)
antihack.userlevel 0 = users, 1 = admins, 2 = developers (2)
antihack.enforcementlevel What happens if player is above 'antihack.maxviolation' - 0 = no enforcement, 1 = kick, 2 = ban (1)
antihack.maxdesync Max allowed client desync, lower value = more false positives (1)
antihack.relaxationrate The rate at which violation values go back down (0.1)
antihack.relaxationpause The time before violation values go back down (10)
antihack.maxviolation Violation value above this results in enforcement (100)
antihack.noclip_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = ray, 2 = sphere, 3 = curve (3)
antihack.noclip_reject Whether or not to reject movement when noclip is detected (True)
antihack.noclip_penalty Violation penalty to hand out when noclip is detected (0)
antihack.noclip_stepsize Movement curve step size, lower value = less false positives (0.1)
antihack.noclip_maxsteps Movement curve max steps, lower value = more false positives (5)
antihack.speedhack_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled (1)
antihack.speedhack_reject Whether or not to reject movement when speedhack is detected (False)
antihack.speedhack_penalty Violation penalty to hand out when speedhack is detected (50)
antihack.speedhack_forgiveness Speed threshold to assume speedhacking, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.speedhack_deltatime Time interval to calculate speed in, lower value = more false positives (0.2)
antihack.speedhack_tickets Required number of speeding tickets to trigger a violation (15)
antihack.speedhack_history Speeding ticket history length (20)
antihack.flyhack_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = simple, 2 = advanced (2)
antihack.flyhack_reject Whether or not to reject movement when flyhack is detected (False)
antihack.flyhack_penalty Violation penalty to hand out when flyhack is detected (50)
antihack.flyhack_forgiveness Distance threshold to assume flyhacking, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.projectile_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = speed, 2 = speed + entity, 3 = speed + entity + LOS (3)
antihack.projectile_penalty Violation penalty to hand out when projectile hack is detected (0)
antihack.projectile_forgiveness Projectile speed forgiveness in percent, lower value = more false positives (0.5)
antihack.projectile_padding Projectile hit distance padding in meters, lower value = more false positives (5)
antihack.projectile_serverframes Projectile server frames to include in delay, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.projectile_clientframes Projectile client frames to include in delay, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.projectile_tickets Required number of projectile line of sight tickets to trigger a violation (10)
antihack.melee_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = initiator, 2 = initiator + target, 3 = initiator + target + LOS (3)
antihack.melee_penalty Violation penalty to hand out when melee hack is detected (0)
antihack.melee_forgiveness Melee distance forgiveness in percent, lower value = more false positives (0.5)
antihack.melee_padding Melee hit distance padding in meters, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.melee_serverframes Melee server frames to include in delay, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.melee_clientframes Melee client frames to include in delay, lower value = more false positives (2)
antihack.melee_tickets Required number of melee line of sight tickets to trigger a violation (2)
antihack.eye_protection 0 = disabled, 1 = distance, 2 = distance + LOS (2)
antihack.eye_penalty violation penalty to hand out when eye hack is detected (0)
antihack.debuglevel 0 = silent, 1 = print max violation, 2 = print every violation (1)
batching.colliders *EXPERIMENTAL* Rust batches colliders to get around the maximum collider limit. To improve server performance you can unbatch (batching.colliders 0) colliders until they reach 250k. (True)
batching.collider_vertices no description (10000)
batching.collider_submeshes no description (1)
batching.verbose no description (0)
chat.enabled Enable or disable chat displaying (True)
chat.serverlog Enable or disable chat logging (True)
construct.frameminutes How many minutes before a placed frame gets destroyed (30)
craft.instant Enable or disable instant crafting (False)
debug.checktriggers Debug triggers (False)
decay.tick Larger amount increases the applied decay damage to entity. (600)
decay.scale 1 = normal decay, 0,5 = 50%, 0 = turn decay off (1)
decay.debug Debugmode (False)
env.time Shows in-game time. If value declared, will change the server time (values: 0 - 24)
env.day Displays the day of the month. Pointless to change this value (12)
env.month Displays the month. Pointless to change this value (6)
env.year Displays the year. Pointless to change this value (2024)
fps.limit The maximum number of frames to render per second (256)
gc.interval Changes the interval between garbage collects. (-1)
heli.lifetimeminutes The amount of time the helicopter is allowed to stay in minutes. (15)
heli.guns Enables / disables the helicopters minigun. If set to 0, the helicopter will shoot rockets only. (1)
heli.bulletdamagescale Changes the bullet damage of the helicopter. Higher value = more damage (1)
heli.bulletaccuracy Changes the accuracy of the bullets. Higher value = less accuracy (2)
net.visdebug Turns on debug display of network visibility (False)
physics.droppedmode The physics mode that dropped items and corpses should use. good, tempgood or fast. fast + tempgood might cause objects to fall through other objects. (good)
physics.sendeffects Send effects to clients when physics objects collide (True)
physics.bouncethreshold no description (2)
physics.sleepthreshold no description (0.005)
physics.solveriterationcount The default solver iteration count permitted for any rigid bodies (default 7). Must be positive (3)
physics.steps The amount of physics steps per second (16)
pool.skins no description (False)
sentry.targetall Target everyone regardless of authorization (False)
sentry.hostileduration How long until something is considered hostile after it attacked (120)
server.ip Sets the IP of the server. Should be stated in the startup parameters
server.port Sets the IP of the server. Should be stated in the startup parameters
server.maxplayers Changes the maximum amount of player slots.
server.hostname Sets the Servername. example: server.hostname "My Rust Server"
server.identity Changes path to your server data. (my_server_identity)
server.level Sets the map of the server (Procedural Map) values: Barren, Craggy Island, Hapis, Savas Island
server.seed Sets the the map generation seed.
server.salt Prints the server.salt
server.worldsize Changes the map size (3000). values: 1000 - 6000. 3000 equals 9km². (3000m^2)
server.saveinterval Interval between the server saves the map. (300)
server.secure Enables / disables Valve Anti Cheat security. (True)
server.tickrate Changes the server tickrate. Going higher than 30 is not recommended. (30)
server.entityrate Tickrate. Recommended to leave it at 16. (16)
server.cycletime no description (500)
server.official Only whitelisted server by Facepunch can use this command (False)
server.globalchat If set to false, only people within voice range can read each others messages. (True)
server.stability If set to false, building blocks will have 100% stability no matter how high you build. (True)
server.radiation Disables / enables server radioation (True)
server.itemdespawn Time until an item despawn (180)
server.pve Enables / disables PvE mode (False)
server.description Command used to write a server description. Make \n to make a new line
server.headerimage Sets the serverbanner - picture must be 500x256
server.url Sets the server 'Webpage'
server.branch no description ()
server.eac Enables / disables Easy Anti Cheat (1)
server.queriespersecond no description (2000)
server.ipqueriespermin no description (30)
server.meleedamage Changes the melee damage in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.arrowdamage Changes the arrow damage in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.bulletdamage Changes the bullet damage in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.bleedingdamage Changes the bleeding damage in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.meleearmor Changes the scale of protection against melee damage from clothing and armor in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.arrowarmor Changes the scale of protection against arrow damage from clothing and armor in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.bulletarmor Changes the scale of protection against bullet damage from clothing and armor in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.bleedingarmor Changes the scale of protection against bleeding damage from clothing and armor in percent - 1 = 100, 0.5 = 50%, 0 = 0% (1)
server.updatebatch How many entity updates should we send per loop. Setting this > 1000 might cause lag when a player first joins your server. (128)
server.planttick Plants tick every x seconds. This is how many seconds between ticks. (60)
server.planttickscale Setting this to 2 will make plants grow, fruit and die two times faster than normal. (1)
server.respawnresetrange Distance from sleeping bag to reset other sleeping bags/beds. (50)
server.maxunack Max amount of unacknowledged messages before we assume we're congested (4)
server.maxflood Max amount of ticks to receive per second before we assume a client is flooding us (1000)
server.netcache Use network caching (True)
server.netcachesize Informational, the size of the network cache (in bytes) (2214666)
server.savecachesize Informational, the size of the save cache (in bytes) (2264944)
server.combatlogsize The size of the combat log (100)
server.idlekick Number of minutes until idle players are kicked (30)
server.idlekickmode 0 = no idle kick, 1 = kick if server full, 2 = always kick (1)
server.idlekickadmins 1 = admins can get idle kicked (0)
server.maxreceivetime no description (20)
server.compression no description (False)
server.netlog no description (False)
spawn.min_rate no description (0,2)
spawn.max_rate no description (2)
spawn.min_density no description (0,2)
spawn.max_density no description (2)
stability.verbose no description (0)
stability.strikes no description (10)
stability.collapse no description (0.05)
stability.accuracy no description (0.001)
time.fixeddelta Fixed delta time in seconds (0.0625)
time.maxdelta The minimum amount of times to tick per frame (0.33)
vis.damage Turns on debug display of damages (False)
vis.attack Turns on debug display of attacks (False)
vis.protection Turns on debug display of protection (False)
vis.weakspots Turns on debug display of weakspots (False)
vis.triggers Show trigger entries (False)
vis.hitboxes Turns on debug display of hitboxes (False)
vis.lineofsight Turns on debug display of line of sight checks (False)
xmas.enabled no description (True)
xmas.spawnrange no description (50)
xmas.giftsperplayer no description (2)
rcon.print If true, rcon commands etc will be printed in the console (False)
find Search for a command
status Print out currently connected clients
stats Print out stats of currently connected clients
kick Kicks a player from the server. usage: kick {playername} {reason} example: kick Frank "stop crying"
kickall Kicks everyone from the server.
ban Permanently bans a player from the server. usage: ban {playername} {reason} example: ban Frank "stop crying"
moderatorid ( void ) no description
ownerid ( void ) no description
removemoderator ( void ) no description
removeowner ( void ) no description
banid ( void ) no description
unban ( void ) no description
players Print out currently connected clients etc
say Sends a message in chat
users Show user info for players on server.
banlist List of banned users (sourceds compat)
banlistex List of banned users - shows reasons and usernames
listid List of banned users, by ID (sourceds compat)
mutevoice no description
unmutevoice no description
mutechat no description
unmutechat no description
playerlist Get a list of players
bans List of banned users
serverinfo Get a list of information about the server
batching.refresh_colliders no description
batching.status no description
chat.tail Return the last x lines of the console. Default is 200
chat.search Search the console for a particular string
console.tail Return the last x lines of the console. Default is 200
console.search Search the console for a particular string
data.export no description
flushgroup Takes you in and out of your current network group, causing you to delete and then download all entities in your PVS again
breakheld Break the current held object
breakitem Break all the items in your inventory whose name match the passed string
hurt Damage yourself
entity.debug_toggle no description
entity.nudge no description
entity.create Create entities, you must be playing in the server, use F1 to open console. Example entity list: http://text-share.com/view/43244684
env.addtime Add (in hours) time to spawn choppers / airdrops without changing the server in-game time
gc.collect no description
gc.unload no description
global.restart Restart the server - with x seconds warning. If no seconds given, server restarts after 5 minutes. (300 seconds)
global.quit Stops the server and closes the command prompt.
global.report no description
global.objects no description
global.textures no description
global.colliders no description
global.error no description
global.queue no description
global.sleep no description
global.injure no description
global.spectate no description
global.teleport no description
global.teleport2me no description
global.teleportany no description
global.teleportpos no description
global.cleanup no description
global.version no description
global.sysinfo no description
global.breakitem no description
heli.drop Spawns a helicopter at a specific players posititon (heli.drop <steamid 64 bit, steam name>)
heli.calltome Forces a helicopter to spawn off map and fly to your position
heli.call Calls in a helicopter to roam the map like normal
heli.strafe Forces helicopter to target a specific player (heli.strafe <steamid 64 bit, steam name>)
hierarchy.ls no description
hierarchy.cd no description
hierarchy.del no description
inventory.give no description
inventory.giveall no description
inventory.giveto no description
inventory.giveid no description
inventory.givearm no description
pool.print_memory no description
pool.print_prefabs no description
pool.print_assets no description
pool.clear_memory no description
pool.clear_prefabs no description
pool.clear_assets no description
server.stop Stops the server
server.backup Backup server folder
server.writecfg Writes config files
server.fps Prints current server fps
server.save Force save the current game
server.readcfg no description
spawn.fill_populations no description
spawn.fill_groups no description
spawn.report Prints some information about entities already spawned on the server
weather.clouds no description
weather.fog no description
weather.wind no description
weather.rain Modify rain intensity, values between 0-100 (auto)
xmas.refill no description
global.dump no description

Note these values can also be submitted through RCON.

Set owner and moderators

Setting the owner and/or moderator in the server.cfg using their steam id.

ownerid 76561197960287930 "Gaben"
moderatorid 76561197960287930 "Gaben"

Set server description, image and URL

More common config values for your server are the description, header image and the URL. The URL can be your website or even discord link.

server.description "This is the rust servers descriptn\n this is now a new line"

server.headerimage: "https://domain.com/images/rustserverbanner.jpg"

server.url "https://website-or-discord-link.com"

Opening ports

For your server to be found with server browsers you will need to open network ports. Open  Windows Defender firewall with Advanced security. On the top left you will see Inbound Rules and Outbound Rules.

rust server install guide port open

Assuming that you are using the default server and RCON port values

UDP ports to be opened

  • 28015

TCP ports to be opened

  • 28016

You now have a basic functioning vanilla Rust server.