What is Carbon?
Carbon is a modern alternative to Oxide/uMod for Rust server modding. It's built from the ground up for performance — using C# Harmony patches instead of Oxide's hook system. Carbon loads plugins 2-4x faster than Oxide, uses less RAM, and supports both Carbon-exclusive and Oxide-compatible plugins. For new Rust servers, Carbon is the recommended framework. It's free, open-source, and actively maintained.
Installing Carbon on Your Rust Server
Download the latest Carbon release .zip from the official Carbon GitHub repository. Extract it into your Rust server's root directory — it contains the carbon directory and updated RustDedicated_Data files. Carbon replaces the standard Rust server's managed folder, adding its hook system. If migrating from Oxide: stop the server, back up your /oxide folder, install Carbon, then move your plugins to /carbon/plugins. Most Oxide plugins work without modification.
Configuring Carbon Settings
Carbon's configuration lives in /carbon/config.json. Key settings: 'AutoUpdate': true (keeps Carbon and plugins updated), 'ConsoleLogLevel': 'Info' (change to 'Debug' for troubleshooting), 'PluginLoadTimeout': 30 (seconds — increase if loading large plugins), 'ServerNameFriendly': false (keep off unless you want the modded flag hidden). Carbon includes a built-in web-based admin panel at http://yourserverip:28551 — use it to manage plugins, view performance stats, and monitor logs.
Migrating Plugins from Oxide to Carbon
Carbon is backward-compatible with Oxide plugins. Copy your .cs plugin files from /oxide/plugins to /carbon/plugins. Most plugins work immediately. Plugins that don't work typically use deprecated Oxide hooks — Carbon logs these as warnings. Check the Carbon Discord for compatibility reports on specific plugins. As of 2026, 95%+ of popular Oxide plugins work on Carbon without modification. The 5% that don't usually have Carbon-native alternatives.
Performance Tuning with Carbon
Carbon's built-in profiler shows per-plugin CPU time and memory usage: access it via the web panel or '/c.pluginprofiler' in console. Identify slow plugins and either optimize their configs or replace them with lighter alternatives. Carbon supports async hooks — plugins using async hooks do less work on the main thread, reducing TPS impact. Enable 'UseAsyncHarmonyPatches': true in config.json for additional performance gains on multi-core CPUs.
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