Oxide vs Carbon: which Rust modding framework?

Oxide (uMod) and Carbon are the two modding frameworks of Rust: both load C# plugins on your server, both have groups and permissions, and Carbon also runs plugins written for Oxide. The differences that matter day to day are the commands (oxide. versus c.), the folder names, and a few behaviours around groups and admins. Pick the one your host supports and your plugins are tested on, then learn its commands.

What they have in common

Whichever you run, the basics are the same:

• Plugins are .cs files dropped in a plugins folder at the root of the server. The framework compiles and loads a new or changed file by itself, without a restart.
• Each plugin has a config, data and language files in their own folders, so you can update the plugin without losing its settings.
• Permissions work with groups: you grant a plugin permission to a group, then add players to the group.
• Both follow Rust's monthly update: each publishes a new release for the new Rust version, and the server should get it before plugins are expected to work again.

That is why the same plugin page on uMod or Codefling can serve both: a plugin written for Oxide loads on Carbon too.

The differences, side by side

Commands: same words, different prefix

The permission commands read the same once you swap the prefix:

oxide.grant group vip kits.vip          c.grant group vip kits.vip
oxide.revoke group vip kits.vip         c.revoke group vip kits.vip
oxide.usergroup add <steamid> vip       c.usergroup add <steamid> vip
oxide.group add vip                     c.group add vip
oxide.show group vip                    c.show group vip
oxide.show perms                        c.show perms

The trap is the other way round: Carbon does not run oxide. commands out of the box. Only a handful of aliases are on by default; oxide.usergroup and friends get no answer at all, as if they did not exist. If a plugin, a script or a tool sends oxide. commands to a Carbon server, either rewrite them with c. or enable the aliases in Carbon's config.

Admins and the admin group

Rust's own roles (ownerid, moderatorid) and the framework's admin group are two different things:

• Oxide puts owners in its admin group when they connect, and never takes them out. Removing someone's owner role does not remove their admin group: do it by hand with oxide.usergroup remove <steamid> admin.
• Carbon follows the role: it adds owners to admin and removes the group when the role goes.

If you have ever wondered why a former admin still had admin-only plugin features on an Oxide server, this is usually why.

Players who never joined

Both frameworks refuse to put a SteamID in a group if that player never connected to the server: Carbon answers "Couldn't find that player.", Oxide a "player not found" message. Give the group after the player's first connection, or use a tool that waits for it.

How to tell which one your server runs

Send these from the server console or RCON:

• c.version answers on Carbon;
• oxide.version answers on Oxide;
• neither answers on a vanilla server.

Rust stays silent on a command it does not know, so "no answer" is the answer here. The folders tell you too: an oxide folder or a carbon folder at the root of the server. Watch out for leftovers: a server that switched frameworks can keep the old folder.

Switching from Oxide to Carbon (or back)

• Plugins: the same .cs files work; move them from oxide/plugins to carbon/plugins and check each one loads.
• Configs and data: they live in each framework's own folders (oxide/config → carbon/configs, oxide/data → carbon/data). Move what you need and keep a backup of the old folders.
• Commands everywhere else: anything that sends oxide. commands (linking rewards, scheduled tasks, shop deliveries) has to switch to c. on Carbon, unless you enable the aliases.
• Groups and permissions: check them after the switch with c.show groups and c.show group <name>, and give back what is missing.

Make the switch on a wipe day: the server restarts anyway and players expect changes.

Which one should you choose?

There is no wrong answer, but a few questions decide it for you:

• What does your host offer? Most panels have a framework option; use the one it installs and keeps updated for you.
• What do your must-have plugins support? Read their pages. Carbon runs Oxide plugins, and some plugins are written for Carbon only.
• What do your tools and scripts send? Everything that talks to the server must use the right prefix.

Whatever you pick, keep it updated after every monthly Rust update.

With Servycore

Servycore detects which framework each server runs and uses the right prefix for every command it sends itself: groups, temporary VIP, staff roles and permissions. The Plugins page and the groups and permissions editor work the same on Oxide and Carbon, with the right folders for configs. Commands you write yourself, like account linking rewards, are sent exactly as you typed them: an oxide. command sent to a Carbon server shows up as failed, so you spot the wrong prefix right away. A group given to a player who never joined waits for their first connection instead of failing.