Installing Rust plugins with Oxide or Carbon

How to install plugins on your Rust server using the Oxide or Carbon modding frameworks, plus what actually affects performance so you can keep the server running smoothly.

5 min read · Updated Oct 1, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Rust plugins let you add custom features, from kits and shops to raid protection and events. To run them you first need a modding framework installed. A modding framework is the base layer that loads plugins and gives them access to the game. You have two options: Oxide (also known as uMod) and Carbon. You pick one, switch it on, then add plugins from the Plugins page in your control panel or drop plugin files in yourself.

Oxide or Carbon: pick one

Both do the same core job of loading plugins. Oxide (uMod) is the older, very widely supported one, and most plugins are written for it. Carbon is newer, aims to be faster, and stays compatible with the large majority of Oxide plugins while adding some tools of its own, like a built in profiler.

You run one framework at a time, not both together. The framework is a startup setting on your server.

1. Sign in at customer.guavahost.com, open My servers and click Manage on your Rust server.
2. The quickest way to Oxide: in the server menu, under Rust tools, open Plugins. If your server is running vanilla Rust, it says so and offers Switch to Oxide. Click it, then restart the server once so Oxide installs.
3. For Carbon, or to switch back, open the Settings tab, find the modding framework field under Startup settings, set it to Carbon (or Oxide, or vanilla), click Save next to it and restart the server.
4. If the field is locked under Set by GuavaHost, or you cannot find it, contact support and we can switch it for you.

Installing a plugin

The Plugins page under Rust tools installs plugins from uMod for you:

1. Open Plugins in the server menu.
2. Under Browse, search for the plugin (the list shows uMod's most downloaded first) and click Add. The .cs file is downloaded straight into the right folder for your framework: oxide/plugins for Oxide, carbon/plugins for Carbon.
3. Restart the server, or reload the plugin from the Console, to load it. Watch the Console for a message saying the plugin loaded, or for any compile errors.
4. Everything installed appears under Installed plugins. To remove one, click the cross next to it and confirm with Remove plugin. Its config file is left alone, so reinstalling it later keeps your settings.

Adding a plugin file yourself

Plugins are single .cs files, so you can also install one that is not on uMod, such as a Carbon plugin or a paid plugin.

1. Download the plugin .cs file from a trusted source.
2. Stop the server with Stop at the top of the server page, or leave it running if you are comfortable hot loading. The framework can load plugins on the fly, but stopping is the safe choice while you learn.
3. Go to the Files tab and open the plugins folder: oxide/plugins for Oxide or carbon/plugins for Carbon.
4. Click Upload files and choose the .cs file, or drag it onto the list.
5. Start the server. If it is already running, the framework should detect and compile the new plugin automatically. Watch the Console for the loaded message or any compile errors.
6. Most plugins create a config file after their first load, under oxide/config for Oxide or carbon/configs for Carbon. Edit that file on the Files tab to change settings, then reload the plugin.

What actually affects performance

This is the part people get wrong. The raw number of plugins barely matters. You can run a lot of small, well written plugins with almost no impact.

What actually hurts is expensive hooks. A hook is a point where the game calls into a plugin, for example "a player took damage" or "the server ticked". A plugin that runs heavy code on a hook that fires constantly, like every server tick or every single damage event, does that work over and over, many times a second. Multiply one costly hook across several plugins and that is where your frame time goes.

So when your server starts stuttering, do not just count plugins. Find the ones doing expensive work on hot hooks.

1. If you are on Carbon, use its built in profiler. It can measure how much time each plugin and hook is actually eating.
2. Run the profiler while the server is under normal load, then look for the plugins with the highest time on frequently called hooks.
3. Remove, replace, or reconfigure the worst offenders. Sometimes a single setting in a plugin's config turns off the expensive behaviour.
4. Measure again to confirm the change helped.

If you are on Oxide instead of Carbon, you have fewer built in profiling tools, which is one practical reason people move to Carbon on busier servers.

Troubleshooting

• Plugin did not load: check the Console tab for a compile error. A red error usually means the plugin does not match your current Rust or framework version. Grab an updated version of the plugin.
• Plugin loaded but does nothing: open its config file, confirm it is enabled and set up how you expect, then reload the plugin.
• Server lags after adding plugins: do not assume it is the newest one. Run the Carbon profiler to find the plugin actually burning time on hot hooks.
• Switched frameworks and plugins vanished: Oxide and Carbon use different folders (oxide/plugins versus carbon/plugins). Move your .cs files across on the Files page: tick them in the old plugins folder, press Move in the bar that appears, pick the plugins folder of the framework you are now running and press Move here.
• Everything broke after a monthly Rust update: frameworks and plugins often need updating right after Facepunch's monthly build. Update the framework first, then any plugins that still error.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

• rust
• plugins
• oxide
• umod
• carbon
• performance

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