Connect to Rust RCONWebRCON with RustAdmin, the WebRcon console & BattleMetrics

Published on August 4, 2026 · last updated on November 8, 2026

What is WebRCON?

Rust relies on WebRCON - a variant of RCON over WebSocket. External tools use it to connect to your server and send console commands in real time. You need three details for this, which you will find in the web interface: the RCON IP, the RCON port and the RCON password.

RCON credentials

On the server side, these convars control RCON (already preconfigured with us):

rcon.web 1
rcon.port 28016
rcon.password "YourSecurePassword"

The specific values for your server are shown in the panel. Always set a strong RCON password - whoever knows it has full control over the server.

Connect with RustAdmin

RustAdmin is a free desktop tool for server administration:

1. Download RustAdmin (desktop) and open the connection settings.
2. Enter the RCON IP, RCON port and RCON password from the panel.
3. Connect - you will see the live console, player list, chat and ban management.

Alternatively, use Facepunch's official WebRcon console (rcon.facepunch.com) directly in your browser: enter IP:port and password, done.

RCON via BattleMetrics

BattleMetrics is a server monitoring and management platform. You can connect your server there via RCON to manage players, chat and bans comfortably in the browser and to use triggers and scheduled commands. Here, too, you enter the RCON IP, port and password. BattleMetrics is also useful for the visibility and statistics of your server.

Commands you need via RCON

The real value of RCON shows in everyday use: you get things done without starting the game. The most important commands:

One important point: changes to convars only apply until the next restart unless you save them with server.writecfg or transfer them to the server.cfg. This is exactly where most settings that "do not stick" fail.

Protect the RCON password

Whoever knows your RCON password has full access to the server - including the ability to shut it down or ban all players. Treat it like login credentials:

• A long password of its own that you do not use anywhere else - in particular not the same as a server password for joining.
• Not in streams, screenshots or shared configs. The WebRCON interface shows it in plain text when connecting.
• Change it after every change in the admin team.

If moderators are supposed to help manage the server, do not give them the RCON password, but rights in the game: moderatorid is completely sufficient for kicking and banning - see Set up admins. Via BattleMetrics, permissions can additionally be granted per person without anyone seeing the credentials themselves.

When WebRCON does not connect

Three causes cover practically all cases. Wrong port: the RCON port is not the game port players join through - take the value from the web interface. Server still starting: after a restart, Rust needs several minutes until the map is generated and RCON is reachable; with large maps, it takes correspondingly longer. No password set: without an RCON password, the interface is disabled and the connection attempt goes nowhere.

status is a good first test: if the player list comes back, the connection is up.

Frequently asked questions