Absolute Rust Server

New to hosting? Start with the step-by-step install guide.

A production-ready Docker image for hosting Rust dedicated servers with optional Oxide/uMod modding support.

Features

Easy Setup: Run a Rust server with a single docker compose up -d
Automatic Updates: Server files update automatically on container start
Oxide/uMod Support: Built-in support for the Oxide modding framework
Automated Backups: Configurable backup system with retention policies
RCON Support: Remote console access via RCON and WebRCON
Highly Configurable: 40+ environment variables for customization
Health Monitoring: Built-in health checks for container orchestration
CI/CD Ready: Full E2E test suite with GitHub Actions

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

The image is published to Docker Hub, so there is nothing to clone or build.

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  rust-server:
    image: abspwgm/absolute-rust-server:latest
    container_name: rust-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "28015:28015/udp"             # Game port
      - "27015:27015/udp"             # Query port (server list)
      - "127.0.0.1:28016:28016/tcp"   # RCON (admin, keep private)
      - "127.0.0.1:28017:28017/tcp"   # WebRCON (admin, keep private)
    volumes:
      - rust-server:/opt/rust/server
      - rust-config:/config
    environment:
      - SERVER_NAME=My Rust Server
      - ENABLE_OXIDE=false

volumes:
  rust-server:
  rust-config:

Start the server:
```
docker compose up -d
```
View logs:
```
docker logs -f rust-server
```

The first start downloads the Rust server files (allow 10GB+ of disk), which can take 30-40 minutes. See Environment Variables for everything you can set, and Building from Source if you would rather build the image yourself.

Using Docker Run

docker run -d \
  --name rust-server \
  -p 28015:28015/udp \
  -p 27015:27015/udp \
  -p 127.0.0.1:28016:28016/tcp \
  -p 127.0.0.1:28017:28017/tcp \
  -v rust-server:/opt/rust/server \
  -v rust-config:/config \
  -e SERVER_NAME="My Rust Server" \
  -e ENABLE_OXIDE=true \
  abspwgm/absolute-rust-server:latest

Ports

Port	Protocol	Description
28015	UDP	Game port (player connections)
27015	UDP	Steam query port (server list)
28016	TCP	RCON port (admin, bound to localhost by default)
28017	TCP	WebRCON port (admin, bound to localhost by default)

Environment Variables

Server Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`SERVER_NAME`	`Rust Server`	Server name shown in browser
`SERVER_PORT`	`28015`	Game port
`SERVER_IDENTITY`	`rust_server`	Server identity (folder name for saves)
`SERVER_SEED`	Random	World seed (leave empty for random)
`SERVER_WORLDSIZE`	`4000`	World size (1000-6000)
`SERVER_MAXPLAYERS`	`50`	Maximum players
`SERVER_LEVEL`	`Procedural Map`	Map type
`SERVER_DESCRIPTION`	Empty	Server description
`SERVER_URL`	Empty	Server website URL
`SERVER_HEADERIMAGE`	Empty	Server header image URL
`SERVER_SAVEINTERVAL`	`600`	Auto-save interval in seconds

RCON Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`RCON_ENABLED`	`true`	Enable RCON
`RCON_PORT`	`28016`	RCON port
`RCON_PASSWORD`	Empty	RCON password (empty or a known default = one is generated, see RCON Access)
`RCON_WEB`	`true`	Enable WebRCON
`RCON_WEB_PORT`	`28017`	WebRCON port

Modding (Oxide/uMod)

Variable	Default	Description
`ENABLE_OXIDE`	`false`	Enable Oxide/uMod installation
`OXIDE_AUTO_UPDATE`	`true`	Install a newer pinned Oxide version on start
`OXIDE_VERSION`	`2.0.7723`	Oxide release to install
`OXIDE_SHA256`	(pinned)	Checksum the download must match

Update Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`UPDATE_ON_START`	`true`	Update server on container start
`UPDATE_IF_IDLE`	`true`	Only update when no players online
`UPDATE_CRON`	Empty	Cron schedule for updates
`UPDATE_TIMEOUT`	`1800`	Update timeout in seconds

Backup Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`BACKUPS_ENABLED`	`true`	Enable automatic backups
`BACKUPS_CRON`	`0 /6 * *`	Backup schedule (every 6 hours)
`BACKUPS_MAX_AGE`	`7`	Delete backups older than N days
`BACKUPS_MAX_COUNT`	`0`	Keep only N backups (0 = unlimited)
`BACKUPS_IF_IDLE`	`false`	Only backup when no players online
`BACKUPS_COMPRESSION`	`zip`	Compression type (zip or tar.gz)

System Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`PUID`	`1000`	User ID for file permissions
`PGID`	`1000`	Group ID for file permissions
`TZ`	`UTC`	Timezone
`CUSTOM_ARGS`	Empty	Additional server arguments

Volumes

Path	Description
`/opt/rust/server`	Server files (persisted for caching)
`/config`	Configuration, saves, and backups

Oxide/uMod Modding

Enabling Oxide

Set ENABLE_OXIDE=true in your environment:

environment:
  - ENABLE_OXIDE=true
  - OXIDE_AUTO_UPDATE=true

Oxide is a mod loader, so it runs arbitrary code next to your world. It is never baked into the image: the container downloads the exact release named by OXIDE_VERSION and refuses to install it unless the archive matches OXIDE_SHA256. Both are pinned in the image and bumped together in a PR, so an upstream release (or a tampered download) can never reach your server on its own. OXIDE_AUTO_UPDATE=true means "move to the pinned version if a different one is installed", not "fetch whatever is newest".

Installing Plugins

Plugins are stored in /config/oxide/plugins/ inside the container
Place .cs plugin files in this directory
Restart the server or use RCON to reload

With Docker Compose volumes:

# Copy a plugin to the server
docker cp MyPlugin.cs rust-server:/opt/rust/server/oxide/plugins/

Plugin Configuration

Plugin configurations are stored in /opt/rust/server/oxide/config/

Backup and Restore

Manual Backup

docker exec rust-server /opt/rust/scripts/rust-backup --force

Restore from Backup

Stop the server
Extract backup to the appropriate directories
Start the server

docker compose stop
# Extract backup...
docker compose start

Backup Location

Backups are stored in /config/backups/ with timestamps:

rust_20260130_120000.zip

RCON Access

RCON is a remote admin console: anyone who can reach it with the password controls the server. Two defaults keep it safe.

RCON Password

If RCON is enabled and RCON_PASSWORD is empty or a known default (changeme, password, your_secure_password, admin, rcon), the container generates a strong random password on start and saves it to /config/rcon_password (mode 600, owned by the server user). The value is never written to the logs. Read it with:

docker exec rust-server cat /config/rcon_password

The generated password is kept across restarts. To choose your own, set RCON_PASSWORD to anything not on the list above; it is used unchanged and no file is written. With the repository's docker-compose.yml you can do that without editing the file:

RCON_PASSWORD='something-long-and-unique' docker compose up -d

RCON Ports

docker-compose.yml binds RCON (28016/tcp) and WebRCON (28017/tcp) to 127.0.0.1, so they are only reachable from the Docker host. The game (28015/udp) and query (27015/udp) ports stay public. To administer the server from another machine, prefer an SSH tunnel over exposing the ports:

ssh -L 28016:127.0.0.1:28016 user@your-server

Only change the bindings to 28016:28016/tcp if you have set a strong password and restricted access with a firewall. Never forward these ports on your router.

Using RCON Client

Connect to localhost:28016 on the Docker host (or through the tunnel) with your RCON password.

WebRCON

WebRCON listens on port 28017 (if enabled); point a WebRCON client at localhost:28017.

Common RCON Commands

status              # Show server status
players             # List connected players
say "message"       # Broadcast message
save                # Force save
oxide.version       # Check Oxide version
oxide.reload *      # Reload all plugins

Troubleshooting

Server Won't Start

Check logs: docker logs rust-server
Verify ports are available
Ensure sufficient disk space (10GB+)
Check memory (4GB+ recommended)

Can't Connect to Server

Verify ports are forwarded: 28015/udp, 27015/udp (RCON ports should not be forwarded)
Check firewall rules
Verify server is fully started (check logs for "Server startup complete")

Oxide Not Loading

Verify ENABLE_OXIDE=true is set
Check logs for Oxide-related errors

Try forcing reinstall:

docker exec rust-server /opt/rust/scripts/oxide-installer --install --force

Performance Issues

Reduce world size: SERVER_WORLDSIZE=3000
Increase container memory limits
Use SSD storage for volumes

Building from Source

The repository's docker-compose.yml builds the image locally instead of pulling it:

git clone https://github.com/abspwgm/absolute-rust-server.git
cd absolute-rust-server
docker compose up -d --build

Or build the image on its own:

docker build -t absolute-rust-server:latest .

Running Tests

./tests/run_e2e.sh

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Acknowledgments

Facepunch Studios for Rust
uMod/Oxide for the modding framework
Valve for SteamCMD

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.absolute		.absolute
.github		.github
config		config
docs		docs
scripts		scripts
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
docker-compose.test.yml		docker-compose.test.yml
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml

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Absolute Rust Server

Features

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

Using Docker Run

Ports

Environment Variables

Server Settings

RCON Settings

Modding (Oxide/uMod)

Update Settings

Backup Settings

System Settings

Volumes

Oxide/uMod Modding

Enabling Oxide

Installing Plugins

Plugin Configuration

Backup and Restore

Manual Backup

Restore from Backup

Backup Location

RCON Access

RCON Password

RCON Ports

Using RCON Client

WebRCON

Common RCON Commands

Troubleshooting

Server Won't Start

Can't Connect to Server

Oxide Not Loading

Performance Issues

Building from Source

Running Tests

License

Contributing

Acknowledgments

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