Rust Wipe-Day Checklist | Monolith Corp

Back up the instance and stop the server before changing configuration, mods or wipe scripts.

Before wipe day

Publish the wipe time in Discord and in-game. Freeze risky plugin experiments 24 hours prior. Confirm you know which map, seed and size you will launch. Confirm RCON access works while the server is healthy.

T-minus backup

Take a full backup of the instance directory (or at least server/<identity>/, Oxide/Carbon data, and custom configs). Download a copy off the machine if you can. A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a plan—see the backup guide.

Stop cleanly

Warn players, then stop the process from the panel or via a controlled shutdown. Do not delete files while the process is still writing.

Wipe the right data

Map wipes usually remove world/save data under the server identity while keeping Oxide/Carbon configs you intend to reuse. Blueprint or full wipes remove more—double-check your community rules before deleting player data folders. If unsure, rename folders instead of deleting so you can roll back.

Update stack

Update the Rust dedicated server build, then the plugin framework, then plugins. Start once on the new map and watch the console for framework load errors before opening the server publicly.