How to Setup Automatic Rust Wipes

Updated June 14, 2026

Rust

Rust Wipe Management | GameServerKings KB

Rust Wipe Management

A "wipe" resets some or all server data: the procedural map, player blueprints, building privileges, or all of it. Most Rust communities run on a predictable wipe cycle so players know when to come back.

This guide covers what each type of wipe touches, when to run them, and how to automate them on the GSK panel.

Types of Wipes

Wipe Type	Map	Player Blueprints	Player Data	Plugins / Configs
Map wipe	Yes	No	No	No
Blueprint wipe	No	Yes	No	No
Map + BP wipe	Yes	Yes	No	No
Full wipe	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Nuclear wipe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (rare)

In practice, almost every server runs Map wipes weekly and Map + BP wipes monthly to match Facepunch's forced wipe Thursday.

Forced Wipe Thursday

On the first Thursday of every month, Facepunch pushes a Rust update that forces all servers to:

Wipe the map
Wipe blueprints
(Sometimes) reset additional state due to engine changes

You cannot opt out. Your server must be wiped within 24 hours of the Facepunch patch or it will fail to start.

After forced wipe, also expect:

Oxide / Carbon need a fresh compatible build (usually out within hours)
Some plugins break and need updates
Your map seed will produce a different layout because the map generator itself changed

Manual Wipes

A simple map wipe:

Stop the server.
Open the File Manager and delete the .map and .sav files in the server root. They look like:
- proceduralmap.4500.123456.220.map
- proceduralmap.4500.123456.220.sav.X
Optionally change the Seed in the Startup tab to get a new layout.
Start the server. A new map generates automatically.

To also wipe blueprints, delete the blueprints file. It is at the server root: player.blueprints.5.db (the number is the format version).

To wipe player data (deaths, inventory, sleepers), delete:

player.deaths.5.db
player.identities.5.db
player.states.5.db
player.tokens.db

Wiping From the Console

Cleaner than file deletion. After stopping the server, you can also use these in the console before stopping (they take effect at next boot):

Console

writecfg

Wait for the message, then stop. The file deletion approach is more reliable for full wipes.

Automated Weekly Wipes

The GSK panel Schedules tab can automate the entire weekly wipe. Here is a tested approach:

Step 1: Set Up a Wipe Schedule

Go to Schedules and create a new schedule:

Name: Weekly Wipe
Cron schedule: 0 14 4 (every Thursday at 2:00 PM server time)
Adjust the hour to your community's standard time. Many US servers wipe at 2:00 PM Eastern.

Step 2: Add Tasks to the Schedule

Add these tasks in order, with the offsets shown:

Send Power Action
Stop (offset 0)
Send Command
seed [random] (offset 60s)
Send Command
wipe map (offset 90s)
Send Power Action
Start (offset 120s)

Some plugins (like a Random Map Seed plugin) handle seed rotation for you. If you do not use one, edit the Startup tab manually each week or write a script that rotates the seed.

Step 3: Test

Run the schedule manually using the "Run Now" button at least once before relying on it. Watch the console for the full sequence.

Random Seed Plugins

A few plugins automate seed rotation:

RandomMap (Codefling)
MapRotation (umod)

These read a list of seeds from their config and pick the next one each wipe. Saves you the manual edit.

Communicating Wipes

Players will not show up if they do not know when you wipe. Standard practice:

Set the Description in the Startup tab to include your wipe schedule (e.g., "Weekly: Thursdays 2 PM EST | Forced Wipe: First Thursday Monthly").
Pin a Discord announcement.
Use a plugin like WipeInfoAPI to expose wipe info to BattleMetrics, so the BM listing shows accurate wipe dates.
Run the Server Description Updater plugin to put a live countdown in your description.

After-Wipe Checklist

Right after a wipe completes:

Open the Console and check for plugin compile errors.
Run oxide.plugins (or c.plugins) and confirm everything loaded.
Verify your default group still has its kits and perks (permissions persist across map wipes, but always confirm after forced wipes).
Update your BattleMetrics tags if you changed group size or content.
Announce the wipe is live in Discord.

Preserving VIP Across Wipes

Permissions are stored in oxide/data/oxide.users.data (or carbon/data/). These files are not wiped by map or BP wipes. Your VIP players keep VIP automatically.

If you accidentally delete this file or do a nuclear wipe, you will need to re-grant VIP from your store's payment records. Keep a backup of the data folder before any nuclear wipe.