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There are several ways to connect to your Rust server: the F1 console (fastest and most reliable), the in-game server browser, and favorites. This guide covers all of them, plus what to do when a connection fails.

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Find Your Server Address

Before you can connect, you need your server’s IP address and port.
1

Open the Game Panel

Log in to the Wasabi Hosting Game Panel and select your Rust server.
2

Copy the address

Your server’s address is shown at the top of the Console page in the format IP:PORT (for example 203.0.113.10:28015). The default Rust game port is 28015, but your assigned port may differ.
1

Launch Rust and open the console

From the main menu (or in-game), press F1 to open the console.
2

Run the connect command

Type the following, replacing the address with your own:
3

Wait for the load

Rust will download the map from the server and load you in. First joins after a wipe take longer because the map has to be downloaded fresh.
The F1 console method always works, even if your server hasn’t appeared in the server browser yet. Freshly started servers can take several minutes to show up in browser listings.

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Connect via the Server Browser

1

Open the server browser

From the Rust main menu, click Play Game.
2

Pick the right tab

Vanilla servers appear under Community. Servers running Oxide/uMod or Carbon appear under Modded. If you can’t find your server, you may be looking in the wrong tab.
3

Search for your hostname

Type your server name (the server.hostname value from your server configuration) into the search box and connect.

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Favorites

  • In-game: after connecting once, your server appears under the History tab. Click the heart icon on the server entry to add it to Favourited for quick access.
  • Steam client: open View → Game Servers → Favorites → Add a Server and enter your server’s IP:PORT. This works for most servers using the default query setup; if the server doesn’t respond there, use the in-game favorites instead.

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Is There a Server Password?

Vanilla Rust has no server password option. There is no convar to password-protect a Rust server.
If you want a private server, install Oxide and use a whitelist plugin (such as the Whitelist plugin from uMod) so only approved SteamIDs can join. See installing plugins. You can also restrict access at the network level with the Firewall Manager.

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Troubleshooting Connection Issues

New and recently restarted servers can take 5–15 minutes to be listed. Use client.connect IP:PORT in the F1 console instead, which connects directly and bypasses the browser entirely. Also double-check you’re on the correct tab (Community vs. Modded).
Your client and server are on different Rust versions. This is common right after a Facepunch update (especially forced wipe Thursdays). Update your Rust client through Steam, and make sure your server has been updated/restarted from the Game Panel.
Check the panel Console to confirm the server has finished booting. Map generation after a wipe can take several minutes, during which the server won’t accept players. If you’ve configured rules in the Firewall Manager, verify the game port isn’t blocked.
Restart Steam and Rust, and make sure Steam is online. This error is almost always client-side and resolves after a Steam restart.
This is normal after a fresh wipe: the client downloads and processes the new map. Larger server.worldsize values mean longer first loads. Let it finish; subsequent joins are much faster.
Share your server with friends as a one-liner they can paste into the F1 console: client.connect IP:PORT. It’s the fastest way to get a group onto a fresh server before it’s even listed in the browser.
Still stuck? Open a support ticket or ask in our Discord. We’re around 24/7.

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