Automatic restarts for a Rust server
Over a wipe, a Rust server's entity count only goes up — each foundation, each sleeping bag and each item on the ground is something it has to simulate. Late in a wipe the server measurably runs worse than it did on day one, and a restart each day wins back a worthwhile chunk of that.
When should it restart?
Put {{minutes}} wherever the number of minutes left should appear.
What happens, in order
- Job startsWarn
say "Server restarting in 15 min" - 10 min beforeWarn
say "Server restarting in 10 min" - 5 min beforeWarn
say "Server restarting in 5 min" - 1 min beforeWarn
say "Server restarting in 1 min" - Restart timeSave
server.save - Restart timeStop
quit
quit saves before exiting. Rust writes large save files, so allow the process a minute to finish rather than following up with a kill.
The crontab line
Moved 15 minutes ahead of the time you picked, so the restart happens at that time instead of 15 minutes later.
45 3 * * * /opt/restart-rust.sh
The script it runs
Save it as /opt/restart-rust.sh and mark it executable. It expects rcon-cli on the path and takes the password from an environment variable instead of storing it in the file.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
# Scheduled restart for Rust.
# Generated by spawnbench.com/restart-scheduler
# The password stays out of this file. Put it in the environment, or in a
# file only root can read, and export it before this script runs.
RCON_HOST="${RCON_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
RCON_PORT="${RCON_PORT:-28016}"
: "${RCON_PASSWORD:?set RCON_PASSWORD before running}"
send() {
rcon-cli --host "$RCON_HOST" --port "$RCON_PORT" --password "$RCON_PASSWORD" "$1"
}
# 15 minute warning
send 'say "Server restarting in 15 min"'
sleep 300
# 10 minute warning
send 'say "Server restarting in 10 min"'
sleep 300
# 5 minute warning
send 'say "Server restarting in 5 min"'
sleep 240
# 1 minute warning
send 'say "Server restarting in 1 min"'
sleep 60
# Flush the world to disk
send 'server.save'
sleep 10
# Shut down cleanly
send 'quit'
# Give the process time to finish writing before anything restarts it.
sleep 30
systemctl start rust 2>/dev/null || trueHeads up: cron follows the server clock, not your local time. Check with timedatectl first. A container set to UTC and an admin living in Europe differ by two hours in summer and by one in winter, so 04:00 may not be the 04:00 you had in mind.
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What is different about Rust
Rust's save file is big and writing it takes a while. Do not chase the quit with a kill or a container restart on a tight timer — allow the process a minute at the very least. Also think about when: restarting at peak time empties the server, and players dropped halfway through a raid tend not to come back, so pick the quietest hour your community has.
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