Every first Thursday of the month, Facepunch releases a Rust update with a forced wipe. This is the most important recurring event in Rust server administration.
Timeline
1 Week Before
- Check Rust's staging branch for upcoming changes
- Review community discussions about the upcoming update
- Note any deprecated features or changed mechanics
- Alert your moderator team
2-3 Days Before
- Back up everything: world, player data, Oxide, plugins, configs
- Review Oxide's development branch for pre-release compatibility
- Check umod.org forums for plugin developers' update notes
- Draft your community announcement
Update Day (First Thursday)
The update typically drops between 18:00-22:00 UTC. The exact time varies.
Phase 1: Wait for release
- Monitor @playrust on Twitter for update announcement
- Don't update prematurely based on rumors
Phase 2: Server update (10-30 minutes)
- Stop your server
- Update Rust Dedicated Server through SteamCMD or your hosting panel
- Update Oxide (usually available within 1-4 hours of Rust update)
- Clear map files for the forced wipe
- Apply any configuration changes for new features
Phase 3: Plugin updates (1-24 hours)
- Critical plugins first: anti-cheat, team limits, core gameplay
- Check each plugin for errors on startup
- Test functionality in-game
- Some plugins may need the developer to release an update
Phase 4: Go live
- Start the server
- Monitor console for errors
- Verify core functionality
- Announce in Discord that the server is live
Post-Update Week
- Monitor for issues that only appear under load
- Watch for new Rust features that need server configuration
- Address player questions about gameplay changes
- Update server description if features changed
Common Update Issues
Oxide not ready yet: If Oxide hasn't released an update when Rust drops, you have two choices:
- Wait (might be hours, rarely more than a day)
- Run vanilla temporarily
Most server owners wait. A few hours of downtime is better than losing all plugins.
Plugin breaks: After a major Rust update, some plugins break. Common causes:
- Rust API changes (function signatures changed)
- New entity types not handled
- Deprecated hooks removed
For critical plugins, have alternatives identified. If your economy plugin breaks, know which backup to use.
Performance regression: Occasionally, Rust updates introduce performance issues that Facepunch patches in the following days. If server FPS drops noticeably after an update with no other changes, monitor the Rust community for reports.
Community Communication
Before wipe: "Forced wipe Thursday at ~19:00 UTC. Server will be updating - ETA 1-2 hours for full update including plugins."
During update: "Server is updating. Rust is updated, waiting on Oxide. Will announce when ready."
After update: "Server is live! Seed: XXXX, Size: 4250. Known issue: [plugin X] is broken, developer is working on fix."
Transparency builds trust. Players understand updates take time.
Space-Node Update Process
On Space-Node's Rust hosting, the update process is streamlined:
- One-click Rust server update through the control panel
- Oxide auto-updater available
- File manager for plugin updates
- Automated backups before updates
The managed infrastructure means you focus on game configuration, not server administration.
