How to Wipe Your Rust Server

Wiping is an essential part of running a Rust server. This guide explains the different types of wipes and how to perform them.

Types of Wipes

Map Wipe

• Removes all buildings, deployables, and terrain changes
• Player blueprints and learned items are kept
• Most servers do this weekly or bi-weekly

Blueprint (BP) Wipe

• Resets all learned blueprints for all players
• Usually done alongside a map wipe
• Common on monthly forced wipe day (first Thursday of each month)

Full Wipe

• Combines both map and blueprint wipe
• Complete fresh start for all players
• Typically done on forced wipe day

Performing a Map Wipe

1. Stop your server in the control panel
2. Connect to your server via SFTP
3. Navigate to the server/[identity]/ directory
4. Delete the following files:
   • *.sav — World save files
   • *.sav.* — World save backups
   • *.map — Procedural map file
5. Start your server — a new map will generate

Tip: You can change the World Seed in the Startup tab before starting to get a completely different map layout.

Performing a Blueprint Wipe

1. Stop your server
2. Connect via SFTP
3. Navigate to server/[identity]/
4. Delete the player.blueprints.*.db files
5. Start your server

Performing a Full Wipe

Combine both steps above:

1. Stop your server
2. Connect via SFTP
3. Navigate to server/[identity]/
4. Delete all save files (*.sav, *.sav.*, *.map)
5. Delete blueprint files (player.blueprints.*.db)
6. Optionally delete player data (player.deaths.*.db, player.identities.*.db, player.states.*.db, player.tokens.*.db)
7. Start your server

Forced Wipe (Facepunch)

On the first Thursday of every month, Facepunch releases a mandatory update that forces all servers to map wipe. Key points:

• All servers worldwide are affected
• Map wipe is mandatory — blueprints wipe is optional
• The update usually drops around 2-4 PM EST
• Your server will need to restart to apply the update

Preparing for Forced Wipe

1. Notify your players in advance
2. Decide whether to also BP wipe
3. Consider changing the map seed for variety
4. Have your server ready to restart when the update drops

Wipe Schedule Best Practices

Automated Wipe Schedule

You can set up a wipe schedule by:

1. Planning your wipe day and time
2. Stopping the server at the scheduled time
3. Performing the wipe steps
4. Restarting the server

Tip: Announce wipes to your players at least 24 hours in advance to maintain a healthy community.

After Wiping

After a wipe, consider:

• Verifying the new map generated correctly
• Checking that the server is joinable
• Updating your server description with the new wipe date
• Announcing the wipe to your community

Need help with server wipes? Contact our 24/7 support team.