Rust Softcore Raid Windows: Verified Server Setup and Limits

Facepunch added raid windows to Rust's Softcore mode in the Common Ground update on July 2, 2026.

Enable Softcore

Set the game mode in the server's startup configuration:

+server.gamemode softcore

The Rust Wiki documents +server.gamemode <name> as a startup ConVar whose change is applied when the server launches. It also warns that switching game modes during a wipe resets every player's state and inventory, so make this change between wipes.

Understand the default window

Softcore's default raid window runs from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM according to the server's local time. During that window, ordinary Rust raiding rules apply.

Outside the window, Tool Cupboards project raid protection within their radius. Covered building blocks and doors—including walls, floors, roofs, gates, and ladder hatches—cannot be raided. Deployables remain attackable, as does an exposed Tool Cupboard.

A Tool Cupboard must be at least one hour old before it can provide this protection. A younger cupboard can therefore be raided outside the normal window.

Deploy carefully

Before announcing the schedule, confirm the server machine's local time and test the boundary on a disposable structure. Test covered building blocks, doors, deployables, exposed cupboards, and a cupboard less than one hour old. Inspect the commands available in the installed server build before changing the defaults.

Describe the feature to players as Tool Cupboard-based building protection rather than universal off-hours immunity. Administrators tracking later changes can follow sourced Rust coverage on TOP OF GAMES.