Change the Game Mode on Your Rust Server

Rust can run your server in more than one game mode. Vanilla is the normal game, and softcore, hardcore and primitive change the rules on top of it. The mode is a launch setting, so you add one line to the Startup tab and restart.

Checked against Rust server build 2635, October 2026.

The modes you can set

Facepunch's server documentation lists these names:

Vanilla is the default and has no name to set. Facepunch's wiki says to leave the mode empty for default gameplay and not to type vanilla, because it causes a few issues. On a server that has never had a mode set, the Console prints Gamemode Convar : followed by No Gamemode. when it boots.

Softcore keeps 50% of a player's hotbar and 50% of their inventory on death (the game's own gamemodesoftcore.reclaim_fraction_belt and gamemodesoftcore.reclaim_fraction_main both default to 0.5). Facepunch's wiki adds that 100% is lost if the death is within the player's own tool cupboard range, and the game lists gamemodesoftcore.reclaim_building_auth, off by default, for that case. Hardcore removes the team system, the map, safe zones and global chat, and it turns Rust+ off. Primitive has its own page: Set up a primitive Rust server.

Set the mode on the Startup tab

1. Take a backup in the Backups tab.
2. Open the Startup tab and find Additional Arguments.
3. Type the mode as a launch argument, for example +server.gamemode softcore. Keep the leading +.
4. Press Save on that row. A Restart to apply notice appears at the top.
5. Press Restart now in that notice, or restart with the power controls.
6. Watch the Console while it boots. For softcore it prints Gamemode Convar :softcore in place of No Gamemode., and typing server.gamemode afterwards answers softcore.

To go back to vanilla, clear the Additional Arguments text, press Save and restart.

Switching a running server

Facepunch documents a runtime command, gamemode.set <name>, but it does not switch a server that already has a mode. On our test server, running gamemode.set hardcore while it was in softcore answered "This game mode is permanent, you must reset the server to switch game modes." and server.gamemode stayed softcore. Change the line in Additional Arguments and restart instead.

Tune softcore

Softcore has its own convars, which you can list by typing find gamemodesoftcore in the Console. Set them the same way as the mode: add them to Additional Arguments after the mode, each with a leading +, then Save and restart. A +convar typed there is applied at launch on our servers.

The team size limit is a separate convar, relationshipmanager.maxteamsize. It defaults to 8 on a vanilla server, and 0 turns teams off. A new server has no server.cfg yet. If you prefer a file, Rust server.cfg and admin commands shows how to create server/rust/cfg/server.cfg. On our test server, relationshipmanager.maxteamsize 4 in that file was still in force after a restart.

If Rust+ is part of your plan

Facepunch's hardcore notes list Rust+ among the features removed, so players cannot pair the phone app on a hardcore server. Pair the Rust+ app with your Rust server covers the setup.

Common problems

1. The mode did not apply. Check the line is in Additional Arguments, starts with +, and that you pressed Save and restarted. Check the spelling against the table above.
2. Players lost their inventory. The mode was changed mid-wipe. Restore the backup from before the change.
3. A mode listed on Facepunch's page does nothing. The deathmatch, team deathmatch, one death and king of the hill names are marked "not working currently" by Facepunch. Stick to the four above.