How to Use the Wipe Manager on Your Rust Server

Keeping your Rust server fresh is one of the best ways to hold onto a healthy player base. Wipes reset the map, player progress, or blueprints, giving everyone a clean start. The RiverHosting panel includes a built-in Wipe Manager for Rust servers, so you can handle wipes quickly and cleanly without touching any files by hand.

Before you start

• You need an active Rust server on RiverHosting. If you do not have one yet, visit riverhosting.com to get started.
• Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com and open your Rust server.
• Make sure your server is stopped or that you are happy for it to restart during the wipe process. Wiping while players are online will disconnect them.

1. Understanding what the Wipe Manager does

The Wipe Manager gives you control over two main types of wipes on a Rust server.

• Map wipe: Removes all player-built structures and map progress. The world is regenerated. Players keep their blueprints unless you also run a blueprint wipe.
• Blueprint wipe: Resets all learned blueprints for every player on the server. This is a much larger reset and is usually done less often, such as at the start of a new Facepunch forced wipe month.

2. How to run a wipe from the Wipe Manager

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
2. Select your Rust server from the server list.
3. In the left-hand menu, click Wipe Manager.
4. You will see options for the type of wipe you want to perform. Choose either a map wipe, a blueprint wipe, or both together depending on what your community needs.
5. Review your selection carefully. If you only want to reset the map and leave blueprints intact, make sure only the map wipe option is selected.
6. Click the button to run the wipe. The panel will stop the server, clear the selected data, and restart it automatically.

3. How to schedule a recurring wipe using the Schedules page

If you want your server to wipe automatically on a regular cycle, such as every Thursday night, you can combine the Wipe Manager with the Schedules page to automate the process.

1. In the left-hand menu, click Schedules.
2. Click Create Schedule and give it a clear name, for example Weekly Map Wipe.
3. Set the frequency using the time and day fields. For example, set it to run every Thursday at midnight server time.
4. Add a task to the schedule. You can add a server restart task and pair it with any pre-wipe commands you need to send through the console, such as a broadcast warning to players before the wipe begins.
5. Save the schedule. The panel will run it automatically at the time you set.

4. Changing the map seed after a wipe

After a map wipe you may want your server to load a completely different map layout. You can do this from the Map page in the left-hand menu.

1. In the left-hand menu, click Map.
2. Choose a new map seed or map size to change how the world generates on the next startup.
3. Save your changes.
4. Start your server. The new map will generate automatically using the settings you chose.

Troubleshooting

• The server is not coming back online after a wipe: Wait a minute or two, as a fresh map generation can take longer than a normal restart. If the server stays offline, check the Console tab for any error messages.
• Players still have their blueprints after a blueprint wipe: Make sure the server fully restarted after the wipe. A partial restart may not have applied the reset. Stop the server completely from the panel and start it again.
• The scheduled wipe did not run: Go to the Schedules page and check that the schedule is enabled and that the time zone matches your expectations. Also confirm the server was online when the schedule was set to trigger.
• The map looks the same after a map wipe: If you did not change the seed, Rust will regenerate a map with the same seed, which produces an identical layout. Go to the Map page and enter a different seed before restarting if you want a different world.
• I accidentally ran a blueprint wipe: Restore from a backup immediately if you created one before the wipe. Go to the Backups tab, find the backup you made, and restore it. This is the only way to recover blueprint data.

Need help?

If you run into any issues with the Wipe Manager or your Rust server, the RiverHosting support team is happy to help.