From the archive to the first Telegram message — about ten minutes if the ports are already forwarded.
Download rol-latest.zip and unzip it outside your server folders, e.g. D:\ROL\. Run RustOxyLauncher.exe.
The first-run wizard asks for the language and the servers folder and installs the Windows service — one UAC prompt. steamcmd downloads itself.
“Add server”: name, folder (empty — the game gets downloaded), identity, ports. Busy ports are highlighted, free ones suggested. The RCON password is generated and stored in secrets.json.
Hit “Check everything” (preflight): red items come with a “Fix” or “Copy command” button for the router and antivirus.
Forward the game and query UDP ports on your router (28015/28016 by default) and TCP RCON if you need it from outside. “Is the port visible?” checks from our server.
The Windows Firewall rule for RustDedicated.exe is added by the launcher when the service is installed.
Create a bot at @BotFather, paste the token into “Settings → Telegram”, press “Send test”. Your chat_id is detected from the first message to the bot.
Telegram unreachable — set a proxy or enable the relay (Max). The core switches to the mirror on timeout by itself.
“Schedule”: the patch-day window (04:00 by default), daily restart, wipe rule. Plugin updates happen only on a stopped server, with rollback if one fails to load.
