Carbon and Oxide (uMod) are the two main modding frameworks for Rust dedicated servers. Both allow you to run plugins that add features, manage players, and customize gameplay.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Carbon | Oxide (uMod) |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin compatibility | Oxide plugins + Carbon native | Oxide plugins |
| Performance | Generally faster | Established baseline |
| Installation | Replace managed DLLs | Replace managed DLLs |
| Hot reload | Yes | Yes |
| Active development | Very active | Maintained |
| Documentation | Growing | Extensive |
| Community size | Growing | Very large |
| Harmony patching | Built-in | Via separate plugin |
What Is Oxide?
Oxide (previously known as uMod) is the original Rust modding framework. It has been the standard since early Rust development. Thousands of plugins are available on umod.org. Most Rust servers run Oxide.
What Is Carbon?
Carbon is a newer modding framework designed as a drop-in replacement for Oxide. It runs existing Oxide plugins while adding its own improvements:
- Lower memory usage
- Faster plugin loading
- Built-in Harmony patching for advanced mods
- Better error handling and logging
- Dynamic hook management
Plugin Compatibility
Carbon can run most Oxide plugins without modification. This means you can switch from Oxide to Carbon without replacing your plugins. Some very old or unusual Oxide plugins may need updates.
Carbon also supports Carbon-native plugins that take advantage of its extended API.
Performance
Carbon generally uses less memory and has faster plugin compilation. For servers running 50+ plugins, the difference can be noticeable in startup time and runtime memory usage.
Which Should You Choose?
Oxide if:
- You want proven stability with the largest plugin ecosystem
- You are new to Rust server modding
- You want maximum community support
Carbon if:
- You want better performance
- You run many plugins and want lower overhead
- You need Harmony patching for advanced mods
- You are comfortable with a newer framework
FAQ
Can I switch from Oxide to Carbon? Yes. Carbon runs most Oxide plugins. Back up your server first and test plugins after switching.
Is Carbon compatible with all Oxide plugins? Most Oxide plugins work on Carbon. A few may need updates for compatibility.
Which is better for a new Rust server? Either works. Oxide has more documentation and community resources. Carbon has better performance.
Related: Rust dedicated server setup, Rust server performance, Rust map seeds guide