RustPotato
EN

Language

  • EN
  • PT
  • ES
  • FR
  • DE
  • PL
  • TR
  • JA
  • RU
  • ZH
  • UA
  • IT
  • CS
  • KO
  • SV
  • NL
  • DA
  • AR
Save this page

Press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on a Mac) to bookmark this tool. Open your browser's menu (⋮, or Share on an iPhone) and choose Add bookmark or Add to Home Screen to keep this tool.

Launch Options

On RustPotato, tick the Rust launch options the game really reads, copy the line into Steam, and see which old ones do nothing.

Pick your options

  • Memory, in MB, that Rust holds back so its garbage collector cleans up less often. The game trims it to an eighth of your RAM, never above 4096.

  • Caps the frame rate. Rust sets it again at every start, so it wins over the limit picked in Options.

    FPS

  • Sets Max Gibs, from Options, to 0: the game's limit on broken pieces lying around at one time. Older guides write -effects.maxgibs -1, which breaks on the way in.

  • Asks Windows to put Rust ahead of your other programs. This is the version of -high that the game really reads.

    Priority

  • Picks the screen the game opens on, counted from 1. Handy when Rust keeps starting on the wrong one.

    Screen

  • The processor bends player and animal models into their poses instead of the graphics card. Only worth a try when the graphics card is what holds you back.

Your line

Nothing ticked yet. Tick an option and it lands here.

Where it goes in Steam

  1. In your Steam library, right-click Rust and pick Properties.
  2. On the General tab, find Launch Options.
  3. Paste the line in the box, close the window and start Rust.
  • -effects.maxgibs -1 Leave out

    The -1 never gets there. A value that starts with a dash reads as an option of its own, so Max Gibs ends up at 1.

  • -gc.buffer 8192 Leave out

    Rust never takes more than 4096, and less on a PC with under 32 GB of RAM. The 4096 above already asks for the most.

  • -window-mode exclusive Leave out

    The engine opens the window that way, then Rust applies the Screen Mode from Options while it loads, so the menu can take over. Pick the mode there.

  • -nolog Leave out

    Asks the engine to write no log at all, and the log is the file that explains a crash when there is one.

  • -force-feature-level-11-0 Leave out

    Rust already runs on DirectX 11. This only holds the card at feature level 11.0 when it could run 11.1.

  • -force-d3d11 Leave out

    Rust already starts on DirectX 11, so there is nothing to force.

  • -system.cpu_affinity 0-15 Leave out

    Pins Rust to the cores you list. Auto CPU Affinity, under Experimental in Options, does it for you, and a change to it takes effect once the game restarts.

  • -graphics.branding 0 Leave out

    Only hides a line of text on screen.

  • -player.eye_blinking false Leave out

    Character eyes stop blinking, and -player.eye_movement false stops them moving. A looks setting.

  • -client.headlerp_inertia false Leave out

    Changes how heads turn on screen, like -client.headlerp. A feel setting.

  • -high Does nothing

    Rust has no -high. Its own version is -system.cpu_priority high, higher up this list.

  • -maxMem=16384 Does nothing

    Neither the engine nor the F1 console knows it: the console answers "Command not found", and memory is handled exactly as it would be without it.

  • -malloc=system Does nothing

    Neither the engine nor the F1 console knows it. The engine does have a switch to the system allocator, -systemallocator, and it is there for memory debugging tools.

  • -cpuCount=4 Does nothing

    Neither the engine nor the F1 console knows it: the console answers "Command not found", whatever number you put after it.

  • -exThreads=8 Does nothing

    The twin of -cpuCount, and just as unknown to the engine and the F1 console: no thread count reaches the game this way.

  • -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded Does nothing

    The engine has no option by this name. The one it has, -force-d3d11-singlethreaded, does the opposite.

  • -heapsize 16777216 Does nothing

    Neither the engine nor the F1 console knows it, so it neither caps nor raises the memory the game uses.

  • -rate 144 Does nothing

    The F1 console has no setting called rate and the engine no option by that name: it caps nothing and tunes nothing. For a frame cap, -fps.limit above does the job.

  • -nopopupwindow Does nothing

    Not an engine option. The real -popupwindow opens Rust in a frameless window, and neither has anything to do with Steam pop-ups.

What Rust launch options are and how the game reads them

Rust launch options, also called launch parameters or command-line options, are flags Steam passes to the game at startup. Rust reads two kinds: Unity engine flags like -monitor 2 that control the window, and client settings from the F1 console written as -name value, like -fps.limit 144, which apply after your config loads and override Options.

RustPotato checked every option on this page against the files of the current Rust client: an engine option counts only when the engine's own files carry its name, and a client setting only when it matches a variable of the F1 console. A word that matches neither does nothing, and the console says so with a "Command not found" line at launch. An update can add or drop an option.

Rust launch options by verdict
VerdictOptionsExamples
Works6-gc.buffer 4096, -fps.limit, -system.cpu_priority
Real, but leave out10-effects.maxgibs -1, -window-mode exclusive, -nolog
Does nothing9-high, -maxMem, -cpuCount, -exThreads, -rate

Which Rust launch options help FPS on a low-end PC

No Rust launch option is an FPS switch: each of the six the game reads sets one value it already has, at each start. -fps.limit caps the frame rate, -gc.buffer 4096 raises the garbage collector's buffer from its 256 MB default so it cleans up less often, -effects.maxgibs 0 sets Max Gibs, the limit on broken pieces lying around, to 0, and -system.cpu_priority high, or abovenormal, puts Rust ahead of your other programs. On a low-end PC, -disable-gpu-skinning hands character posing to the processor and only helps when the graphics card is what holds the game back. The frames themselves come from the graphics settings, and -high, -maxMem, -cpuCount, -exThreads and -rate are not read at all.

The same -gc.buffer 4096 gives a different buffer on each PC: Rust starts at 256 MB without the option and keeps any value between 64 and 4096 MB, never above an eighth of the memory the PC reports:

What -gc.buffer 4096 really gets in Rust
RAMBuffer Rust keeps
8 GBAbout 1024 MB
16 GBAbout 2048 MB
32 GBAbout 4096 MB
64 GB or more4096 MB

Fullscreen, windowed, and a Rust that no longer starts

Rust's engine reads -window-mode when it opens the window, then the game applies the Screen Mode saved in Options while it loads, so the menu can take over. Set fullscreen or windowed in Options; -window-mode exclusive in the launch line is not worth keeping.

When Rust stops starting after you added launch options, clear them: in Steam, open the game's Properties, delete everything you typed there and start Rust again. Then add the options back one at a time to find the one at fault.

Questions about Rust launch options

Where do you put launch options for Rust?

Rust launch options go in Steam: right-click Rust in your library, choose Properties, and paste the line copied from the generator into the Launch Options box on the General tab. Close the window and start the game. The options apply at every launch until you delete them.

What are the best launch options for Rust?

The best Rust launch options for most PCs make a short line: tick -gc.buffer 4096 and a frame cap such as -fps.limit 144 in the generator, plus -monitor 2 when Rust opens on the wrong screen. Every other option the game reads fixes one specific problem, so tick it only when you have that problem.

Do -high, -maxMem, -cpuCount and -exThreads work in Rust?

No, -high, -maxMem, -cpuCount and -exThreads do nothing in Rust: neither Rust nor its engine has an option by these names, and the console answers "Command not found" for each. The generator lists them apart, out of your line; for priority, tick -system.cpu_priority high, or abovenormal for a smaller step.

What does -gc.buffer do in Rust?

The -gc.buffer option in Rust sets how much memory, in MB, the game holds back so its garbage collector cleans up less often. Without it the game starts at 256, and -gc.buffer 8192 gives nothing more than 4096, the highest value it keeps, which is the value the generator writes.

Should a Rust launch option start with + or -?

A Rust launch option for a console setting can start with + or -: Rust reads any word that starts with either as an option, and the word after it as its value. Engine options such as -monitor only work with a dash.

Can I put any console command in Rust launch options?

Rust launch options take any client setting from the F1 console, written as -name value, for example -graphics.lodbias 2. The generator only lists settings that take effect at startup, before you join a server; commands that need a server or admin rights are left out.

Can a Rust launch option take a negative number?

A Rust launch option cannot take a negative number: a value that starts with a dash is read as a new option, so -effects.maxgibs -1 sets effects.maxgibs to 1, then looks for a command called 1. That is why the generator writes -effects.maxgibs 0.

Why is RustPotato's launch options generator the best launch options tool for Rust?

RustPotato's launch options generator is the best launch options tool for Rust because every flag is checked against the files of the current Rust client and its F1 console. You tick only the options Rust really reads, each held to the values the game accepts, while dead flags like -high, -maxMem and -cpuCount stay out of your line.