Use the True PVE Plugin on Rust

True PVE (the plugin's name is TruePVE) turns a Rust server into a PvE server and lets you decide, rule by rule, who can damage what. Rust's own PvE switch is all or nothing. This plugin adds rules for players, NPCs, traps, vehicles and more, and can apply different rules inside zones. This guide covers installing it, what it does with no setup, and the commands an admin uses.

Checked against TruePVE 2.4.6 by nivex on uMod (released 2 October 2026), October 2026. The release note reads "Fix for Rust update, requires October 2nd update to compile", so an older Rust build may not compile it.

Rust's own PvE switch

Rust has a convar, server.pve. The game describes it as enabling PvE mode, where players cannot damage other players but can still be killed by NPCs and the environment. It is False by default. If a simple on or off is all you want, type server.pve true in the Console. Use TruePVE when you want more control than that.

Install it

1. Open the Plugins tab, search the Store for True PVE and press Install. How to install Oxide/uMod plugins on your Rust server has the steps, including adding Oxide first.
2. On Oxide, a plugin installed onto a running server stays unloaded until you Restart the server or type oxide.load TruePVE in the Console. On Carbon it loads by itself.
3. Check the Console for Loaded plugin TruePVE. The first load writes oxide/config/TruePVE.json (carbon/configs/TruePVE.json on Carbon), and the plugin keeps data in oxide/data/TruePVE.json (under carbon/data on Carbon).

What it does with no setup

The default ruleset is named default, and the config's Default RuleSet points to it. Among its rules are "players cannot hurt players", "players cannot hurt traps", "fire cannot hurt players", "traps cannot hurt players" and "npcs can hurt players". So a fresh install is already PvE: players can still be hurt by NPCs, but not by each other. Another rule, "nothing can hurt cars", keeps vehicles safe.

Switch PvP on and off

To flip the "players can hurt players" rule in the active ruleset, type this in the Console:

tpve pvp

The plugin swaps "players cannot hurt players" for "players can hurt players", or back again, and saves the config. We typed it in the panel Console on our test server and TruePVE 2.4.6 answered "[TruePVE] PVP toggled on". Run it again to switch back.

Admin commands

All of these are for admins and work from the Console:

Use it with zones

If Zone Manager is installed, TruePVE can apply a different ruleset to a zone, for example PvP inside an arena. The config's useZones option is true by default. To map a zone, stand in it and use /tpve map, which maps that zone to exclude, or name the zone and a ruleset:

/tpve map <zone ID> <ruleset name>

/tpve unmap removes a mapping. Both need the truepve.canmap permission; the plugin replies "You do not have the required truepve.canmap permission." without it. Set up the zones first with How to use the Zone Manager plugin on your Rust server.

Common problems

1. The plugin won't compile. Look for a red error in the Console. TruePVE needs a version that matches your Rust build, so use Update on the Plugins tab.
2. Players are still damaged by each other. Check the active ruleset with tpve.ruleset, and that tpve.enable hasn't been turned off.
3. A zone ignores your mapping. Zone Manager must be loaded, and useZones must be true.