Rust RCON: The Complete Remote Admin Guide for 2026

RCON (Remote Console) is a TCP protocol that gives you direct access to your Rust server's command interface from anywhere in the world. It is how you kick players, check entity counts, run wipes, and diagnose performance issues without logging into the game itself.

Enabling WebRCON

In server.cfg:

rcon.web 1
rcon.port 28016
rcon.password "use_a_strong_password_here"
rcon.print 1

The rcon.print 1 flag echoes all RCON commands to the server console log — useful for audit trails.

Connecting via RustAdmin

RustAdmin is the most feature-rich desktop RCON client:

1. Enter your server IP, RCON port (default 28016), and password
2. Connect
3. Access full console, player list, chat, entity stats, ban management

All in a GUI, no command memorisation required.

Essential RCON Commands

# Player management
players                    # List all connected players
kick PlayerName "Reason"   # Kick a player
ban PlayerName "Reason" 0  # Permanent ban
banid SteamID64 "Reason"   # Ban by Steam ID
unban SteamID64

# Server information
status                     # Server FPS and player count
entity.stats               # Entity count breakdown
perf 1                     # Show performance metrics

# Server management
server.save                # Force save world
weather.rain 0             # Disable rain
time 12                    # Set time of day
env.time 12

# Economy/Admin
inventory.giveto PlayerName item_shortname amount

Automating RCON with Scripts

Use Python's websocket-client library or the rcon.py library for automation:

import rcon

with rcon.Client('your-server-ip', port=28016, passwd='your-password') as conn:
    response = conn.run('entity.stats')
    print(response)
    
    # Check entity count and warn if high
    if 'Total:' in response:
        total_line = [l for l in response.split('\n') if 'Total' in l][0]
        count = int(total_line.split(':')[1].strip())
        if count > 300000:
            conn.run('global.say "[WARNING] Server entity count high. Performance may be affected."')

WebRCON Direct from Browser

For quick commands without a client: ws://your-ip:28016/ accepts WebSocket RCON connections. Several browser-based RCON tools exist for on-the-go administration from mobile.

Space-Node's panel includes a built-in console tool that uses RCON behind the scenes — administered directly from the hosting dashboard.

Get full RCON access on your Space-Node Rust server