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Vanilla Rust has no server setting for changing the loading-screen text. To show your own messages, run the uMod/Oxide Loading Messages plugin: install it in /oxide/plugins, restart once to create its configuration, edit /oxide/config/LoadingMessages.json, then restart the server and clients as needed.
This guide covers the complete setup, message formats, queue and final-loading messages, JSON safety, hosting-panel differences, troubleshooting, and the effect on your server’s Community or Modded classification.
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What you need before changing the loading screen
The method applies to a Rust server that can run uMod/Oxide plugins. You need administrative access to the server’s files or a hosting control panel with an equivalent file manager, plus permission to stop and start the server. A plain, unmodded (vanilla) installation cannot load this plugin or expose a custom-message setting.
- uMod/Oxide installed: Confirm that the server starts with the framework enabled and that an
oxidedirectory exists. - Plugin access: Obtain the current Loading Messages plugin from its uMod distribution page. Check that the release supports your installed Rust and Oxide versions.
- File access: You must be able to upload to
/oxide/pluginsand edit files under/oxide/config. A host may present these as a web file manager rather than a literal shell path. - A maintenance window: Stop the server before uploading or editing files. Do not overwrite a configuration while the server is running.
- A rollback copy: Keep a copy of the generated configuration and the last known-good version so a malformed edit can be restored quickly.
Shockbyte’s October 27, 2024 setup guide describes this same sequence and notes that vanilla Rust itself offers no way to configure these messages.
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Install the Loading Messages plugin
- Verify the framework. Log in to the server console or control panel and confirm that uMod/Oxide is installed. If there is no
/oxidedirectory, install the framework using your host’s documented method before continuing. - Download the plugin. Get the Loading Messages plugin from uMod. Save the plugin file without changing its extension or internal name.
- Stop Rust. Use the panel’s Stop control and wait until the process is fully offline. Editing a live file can be lost when the process writes its own copy during shutdown.
- Upload the file. Open
/oxide/pluginsand upload the plugin there. Do not place it in the configuration directory; the plugin loader only scans the plugins directory for plugin files. - Start once to generate defaults. Start the server and wait for it to finish loading. The plugin should create its configuration under
/oxide/config. The first start is for generation and loading, not for editing. - Stop again. Stop the server after the configuration has appeared. This prevents the server or plugin from rewriting your changes while you work.
- Open the configuration. In the file manager, open
/oxide/config/LoadingMessages.json. If the file is not present, inspect the server console for a plugin-load error, confirm the spelling and capitalization of the plugin file, and repeat the generation start only after fixing that error. - Edit and save valid JSON. Change the message objects and options while preserving the generated key names. Save the file as UTF-8 text with the
.jsonextension. - Start and test. Start the server, connect with a test account, and watch the loading screen. If an old message remains, restart both the Rust client and the server; this is also the recovery step in the hosting guide’s troubleshooting advice.
Understand the configuration options
The plugin replaces the tip text on the left side of the Rust loading screen at a fixed interval. It can cycle through several messages, choose them randomly, display separate queue text, and show one final message while the client receives data immediately before spawning.
| Key or section | Purpose | Important details |
|---|---|---|
Cycle Messages Every ~N Seconds |
Sets the interval between ordinary loading messages. | The generated example uses 5.0 seconds. Keep the decimal format accepted by the generated file. |
Enable Messages Cyclicity |
Turns repeated message changes on or off. | Set to true to rotate through the list; set to false when one static message is preferred. |
Use Random Cyclicity (Instead of sequential) |
Selects random order instead of list order. | false preserves the order in the Messages array; true randomizes selection. |
Messages |
Contains ordinary loading-screen message objects. | Each object has an Icon name and a Message. Add or remove complete objects, including their braces and commas. |
Enable Queue Messages |
Enables text for players waiting to enter a full server queue. | Queue messages are optional. Leave the array empty if you do not want queue-specific text. |
Queue Messages |
Contains queue-state message objects. | Queue text can use {AHEAD} and {BEHIND} placeholders. |
Last Message (When entering game) |
Displays the final message while the client receives data before spawning. | It is a single object with an icon and message, not an array. |
Keep the exact key names generated by your installed plugin. Plugin revisions can change a configuration schema, and renaming a key may make that option silently ineffective.
A working configuration example
The following is a representative shape. It uses two ordinary messages, sequential cycling every five seconds, no queue messages, and a final entry message. Replace the wording and colors, but retain the structure and commas.
{
"Cycle Messages Every ~N Seconds": 5.0,
"Enable Messages Cyclicity": true,
"Use Random Cyclicity (Instead of sequential)": false,
"Messages": [
{
"Icon name": "Bolt",
"Message": "<color=#add8e6>{PLAYERNAME}, welcome to our server!"
},
{
"Icon name": "Bolt",
"Message": "<color=#add8e6>Enjoy your stay."
}
],
"Enable Queue Messages": false,
"Queue Messages": [],
"Last Message (When entering game)": {
"Icon name": "Bolt",
"Message": "<color=#008000>Entering game..."
}
}The HTML-like color tag is interpreted by the game UI. The plugin documentation recommends short hexadecimal colors such as #9cf; full six-digit values, as shown above, are also easy to read and maintain. Keep messages short enough to fit the left-side tip area, and test punctuation and spacing in the actual client rather than assuming the preview matches the game.
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Personalize ordinary loading messages
Use the player-name token
Insert {PLAYERNAME} in an ordinary message when you want the connecting player’s name substituted at display time. For example, <color=#9cf>{PLAYERNAME}, check the rules before spawning. keeps one configuration entry reusable for every player. Treat the token as literal configuration text; do not add quotes around it inside the message.
Choose sequential or random rotation
With cyclicity enabled and random mode disabled, the plugin presents the Messages array in order and repeats it. This is useful for a deliberate sequence such as welcome, rules, and wipe information. Random mode prevents players from seeing the same order on every connection, but it gives you less control over which tip appears first. If you need one unchanging line, disable cyclicity and leave a single object in the array.
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The sample interval is five seconds, measured by the plugin’s fixed-rate replacement behavior. Very short intervals can make longer sentences unreadable; very long intervals reduce variety. Change the value only after checking how quickly your server normally moves through loading and queue states.
Select an icon name
Every message object includes an Icon name. Keep a name supported by the plugin’s documented icon set and copy its capitalization exactly. If an icon is missing or renders unexpectedly, first revert to the icon name in the generated example to separate an icon problem from a text or JSON problem.
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Add queue-specific and final messages
Queue messages
Queue text is useful when the server is full and a player is waiting rather than loading into the world. Set Enable Queue Messages to true, then add objects to Queue Messages. The {AHEAD} and {BEHIND} tokens let the plugin insert the player’s current position relative to the queue. A message such as <color=#9cf>Players ahead: {AHEAD} | behind you: {BEHIND} gives useful progress information without maintaining separate entries for every position.
Queue placeholders are meaningful only in queue messages. Do not expect them to resolve in ordinary loading tips or the final entry message. If you do not need queue text, leave the feature disabled and the array empty, as in the representative configuration.
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The Last Message (When entering game) object is shown while the client receives data immediately before entering the game. Use it for a short status such as “Entering game…” or a final reminder. It is not a replacement for the ordinary rotating list; it appears at a different stage of the connection process.
Validate JSON before restarting
A single missing comma, extra comma, unmatched brace, or unescaped quote can prevent the plugin from loading its configuration. Before starting the server, check the file with a JSON-aware editor or validator. The top-level value must remain an object, arrays must use square brackets, and every property name must be in double quotes.
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- When adding a message before another message, put a comma after the closing brace of the earlier object.
- Do not put a comma after the final object in an array or object.
- Keep color tags and placeholders inside the quoted
Messagevalue. - Do not replace JSON booleans with quoted words: use
trueorfalse, not"true". - Save a backup before changing the file so you can restore the last working version.
If the plugin reports a parse error, stop the server, restore the backup or correct the indicated line, validate again, and restart. Avoid deleting the entire file unless the plugin documentation for your installed revision specifically instructs you to regenerate it; preserving generated keys protects you from schema changes.
Self-managed files versus a hosting control panel
The underlying plugin and configuration are the same, but the operational work differs by how you host Rust.
| Implementation choice | Framework support | Message control | Operational effort | Listing impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-managed uMod/Oxide server | You install and maintain uMod/Oxide and the plugin. | Full control of cycling, random order, queue entries, placeholders, colors, and final message. | Manual uploads, backups, JSON validation, restarts, and compatibility checks after Rust updates. | Plugins that alter in-game UI generally require Modded treatment under current Facepunch guidance. |
| Managed host with file manager | The host may provide uMod/Oxide installation; you still need a compatible plugin. | The same configuration options, usually edited through a browser panel. | Less command-line work, but you must follow the host’s exact stop, upload, and restart controls and its path mapping. | The UI-plugin policy still applies; hosting the files through a panel does not make the server vanilla. |
| Vanilla server without a plugin framework | No uMod/Oxide support. | No custom loading-message setting. | No plugin installation, but custom messages are unavailable. | Remains vanilla only because no UI plugin is running. |
If your host does not expose /oxide/plugins or /oxide/config, ask whether uMod/Oxide is supported and where its equivalent directories are located. Do not upload the plugin to an arbitrary Rust data directory and expect it to load.
Policy and Community-versus-Modded classification
Facepunch’s guidance, updated March 4, 2026, explicitly includes plugins that create or alter in-game UI. The Loading Messages plugin changes the existing loading-screen UI, so administrators should treat the server as Modded unless a current Community exception clearly applies. Check the current policy before advertising the server as Community; the label is a server-listing and policy question, not a setting that the plugin can override.
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Tell players what they will see and keep messages informational. A custom loading tip does not grant permission to bypass other server rules, and changing the listing category does not affect whether the plugin itself loads.
Troubleshooting by symptom
The configuration file was never created
- Confirm the server was restarted after the plugin was uploaded and allowed to finish starting.
- Check that the plugin file is directly in
/oxide/plugins, not in a nested upload folder. - Read the server console for a framework, dependency, filename, or compatibility error.
- Verify that uMod/Oxide is installed and active; a vanilla process will ignore the plugin.
The server starts but still shows default text
- Confirm you edited
/oxide/config/LoadingMessages.json, not a similarly named backup or local copy. - Validate the JSON and inspect the console for a configuration parse error.
- Check that cyclicity is enabled if you expect messages to rotate, and that the edited text is in the active
Messagesarray. - Restart the server after saving, then fully restart the Rust client. Cached client state can make an old tip appear until both sides reconnect.
Only some messages appear
- Inspect commas and braces around each object in the
Messagesarray. - Make sure the interval is long enough to observe every entry during a normal connection.
- If random mode is enabled, the plugin may choose a different entry and order on each connection.
- Check that a message was not accidentally placed in
Queue Messageswhile queue messages are disabled.
Queue placeholders remain visible
Use {AHEAD} and {BEHIND} only in objects under Queue Messages, enable queue messages, and test while the server actually has a queue. They are not ordinary player-name variables and will not be replaced in the normal loading list.
The icon or color looks wrong
Revert the affected object to the generated icon name, then test again. For colors, use a documented hexadecimal value such as #9cf or a six-digit equivalent and keep the tag inside the message string. If text appears with raw markup, check the tag spelling and whether an unsupported character was introduced by the editor.
Updating, backing up, and safely changing messages
- Before a Rust, uMod/Oxide, or plugin update, copy
LoadingMessages.jsonand note the plugin version that produced it. - Stop the server, update the framework or plugin according to its release instructions, and start once without immediately editing the file.
- Compare any newly generated keys with your backup. Merge your message text into the new schema rather than blindly replacing a configuration from a different plugin revision.
- Stop the server again, validate the merged JSON, and restart for the production test.
- Keep a short test checklist: ordinary loading message, player-name substitution, queue text when applicable, final entry message, color rendering, and behavior after a client restart.
This process limits downtime and gives you a known recovery path if a future update changes a key name or message format.
Practical message-writing checklist
- Lead with information a connecting player can use: rules location, wipe timing, Discord address if your server permits it, or a short welcome.
- Keep each line concise because the loading tip occupies a narrow area on the left side of the screen.
- Use one color convention for ordinary tips and a contrasting color only for a meaningful status such as queue position or entry.
- Do not rely on a message that requires the player to remain on one frame for a long time; cycling can replace it before it is read.
- Test with a real connection after every structural change. A file that validates as JSON can still contain an unsupported icon, placeholder, or UI tag.
- Record the active plugin and configuration versions so another administrator can reproduce or undo the change.
What the finished setup does—and does not do
Once the plugin is loaded and the configuration is valid, players can see your custom left-side loading tips, optional queue status, and final pre-spawn message. You can control timing, order, randomization, colors, icons, and the documented player and queue placeholders from one JSON file.
It does not add a vanilla Rust option, change the game’s loading artwork, or remove the need to run a plugin framework. Because it modifies in-game UI, review Facepunch’s March 4, 2026 guidance and classify the server appropriately before publishing its listing.
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