How to install Carbon

Updated June 14, 2026

Rust

How to Install Carbon | GameServerKings KB

How to Install Carbon

Carbon is a modern modding framework for Rust, designed as a drop-in replacement for Oxide. It is faster (significantly less GC overhead and better startup time), gets compatibility patches out within minutes of forced wipes, and runs the vast majority of Oxide plugins unchanged.

This guide installs Carbon on the GSK panel and migrates an existing Oxide server without losing plugins or configs.

Carbon vs Oxide at a Glance

Feature	Oxide / uMod	Carbon
Plugin compatibility	Native	Native + Oxide plugins
Performance	Baseline	Lower CPU, faster boots
Update speed after Rust patches	Hours	Often minutes
Plugin folder	`oxide/plugins/`	`carbon/plugins/`
Config folder	`oxide/config/`	`carbon/configs/`
Active development	Yes	Yes, very active

If your server runs more than 30 plugins or you constantly hit CPU walls, Carbon is worth trying. If you depend on a small handful of very obscure Oxide-only plugins, test before fully committing.

Step 1: Stop the Server

From the Console tab, hit Stop and wait for the status to read "Offline."

Step 2: Change the Framework in Startup

Open the Startup tab. Find the Modding Framework variable (sometimes shown as FRAMEWORK).

Set it to:

Code

carbon

Save the change.

Step 3: Start the Server

Click Start. The egg will:

Pull the latest Carbon release from the official Carbon GitHub.
Drop the Carbon files into the server root.
Boot Rust with Carbon loaded.

You should see a Carbon banner near the top of the console output, with a version number and a "Carbon is ready" line.

Step 4: Verify Carbon Loaded

From the panel Console:

Console

c.version

Carbon should reply with its current version. You can also try:

Console

c.plugins

This lists all loaded plugins (Carbon namespaces start with c. instead of oxide.).

Step 5: Migrating Plugins From Oxide

Carbon uses its own folder layout, but the files are the same .cs plugins:

Stop the server.
Open the File Manager and copy every .cs file from oxide/plugins/ to carbon/plugins/.
Copy oxide/config/*.json to carbon/configs/. (Carbon picks up most Oxide configs as-is.)
Copy oxide/data/ to carbon/data/ if you have plugin-specific data files (kits, player records, etc.).
Start the server.

After boot, run c.plugins to confirm everything loaded. Plugins that fail to compile will print an error in the console with the file name and line number.

Step 6: Carbon-Specific Console Commands

Carbon uses the c. prefix for its commands. The most common:

Command	What it does
`c.version`	Show Carbon version
`c.plugins`	List loaded plugins
`c.load PluginName`	Load a plugin
`c.unload PluginName`	Unload a plugin
`c.reload PluginName`	Reload a plugin (re-reads config)
`c.grant <user\|group> <name\|id> <perm>`	Grant a permission
`c.revoke <user\|group> <name\|id> <perm>`	Revoke a permission
`c.usergroup add <user> <group>`	Add a user to a group
`c.find <plugin>`	Search loaded plugins by partial name
`c.help`	Print all Carbon commands

The Oxide-style oxide. commands also work in Carbon as aliases, so existing scripts and admin tools that send oxide.grant ... will continue to function.

Step 7: Carbon Modules (Built-in Plugins)

Carbon ships with several built-in modules, configurable through carbon/config.json and the carbon/modules/ folder. Notable ones:

Gather Manager module (built in, no need for the third-party plugin)
Stacks module for adjusting stack sizes
Optimization module for various performance hooks

These can replace several common plugins you would otherwise download. Enable or disable them in carbon/config.json under the Modules block.

Step 8: Updating Carbon

Our egg pulls the latest Carbon release on every server start. After a forced wipe Thursday, restart the server once Facepunch's patch lands and Carbon will be on the new compatible build.

If you want to lock to a specific Carbon channel (Production, Preview, Edge), look in the Startup tab for a CARBON_CHANNEL variable. Production is recommended for live servers. Edge is bleeding-edge builds, useful only for testing.

Troubleshooting

Server boots but no plugins load: Confirm the framework variable is carbon, not oxide. Confirm plugins are in carbon/plugins/, not oxide/plugins/.
Plugins compile error after migration: A small number of Oxide plugins use APIs Carbon implements slightly differently. Update the plugin to its latest version or check if the author has a Carbon-flagged build.
Server uses more CPU than under Oxide: Disable the Optimization module temporarily; one of its hooks may conflict with a plugin you run.