Black Friday: first month free on quarterly plans · until 30 Nov See the plans Conditions
New here? Try a Minecraft server or Discord bot free for 24 hours. Try free
ServerSparkServerSpark

Knowledge base

Rust server settings for a small group

No decay, PvE, a smaller map and time-saving plugins: make Rust fun for 2 to 10 players.

NVMe nodesNightly backupsOnline in minutes

Updated 3 November 2026

Playing Rust with a few friends is different from a full public server. With a small group you often want less grinding, no base decay while you're away, and maybe no PvP at all. Here are the settings and plugins that make Rust fun for 2 to 10 players.

How to change settings

Basic settings such as the server name, max players and map size are in SparkPanel under Settings. Other Rust settings are console commands. Type them in the console in SparkPanel, then save them with:

server.writecfg

Without server.writecfg, a setting is lost after the next restart.

Useful settings for a small group

  • No decay: decay.scale 0 stops buildings from decaying, so your base survives a week without playing. decay.scale 0.5 halves decay instead.
  • PvE (no player damage): server.pve true stops players from hurting each other. Animals, NPCs and the environment still can.
  • Fewer players, smaller map: under Settings, a World Size of 2000 to 3000 keeps everyone closer together. A new size gives a new map, so change it at a wipe.
  • Max players: set Max Players under Settings to your group size plus a few, so strangers can't fill your server.
Want only your friends on the server? Rust has no simple whitelist built in. Use a whitelist plugin (see below), or keep the server out of the public list and only share the address.

Plugins that save time

With Oxide or Carbon turned on, these popular uMod plugins help a small group (how to install: Rust server: plugins and wipes):

  • Gather Manager: more wood, stone and ore per hit, for example 2x or 3x.
  • Stack Size Controller: bigger stacks, less inventory juggling.
  • Quick Smelt: furnaces work faster.
  • Remover Tool: remove your own building parts and get resources back.
  • Whitelist: only players you add can join.

Every plugin has its own settings in oxide/config (Carbon: carbon/configs). Change the file, then reload the plugin from the console, for example oxide.reload GatherManager.

Wipes

Once a month Facepunch releases an update that forces a map wipe on every server, on the first Thursday of the month. With a small group you can choose to keep your blueprints: only delete the map files. Step by step: Rust server: plugins and wipes.

Which plan?

Rust needs a lot of memory, even with few players. 8 GB is fine for a small group with a few plugins and a map up to 3500. Make a backup via Backups before you change settings or add plugins. Questions? Email info@serverspark.nl.