Keep a Rust Server Favorited After Its IP or Port Changes

Rust supports SRV DNS records, allowing players to connect through a domain name without specifying the game port. Rust can also store that domain name when a player favorites the server, so the favorite can survive later IP-address or port changes when the DNS records continue pointing to the server.

Required configuration

Facepunch documents two required DNS records:

1. Create an A record that points the server's domain name to its public IPv4 address.
2. Create an SRV record that points to the A-record hostname and uses the Rust game port configured by server.port.

The SRV record must use _rust as its service and _udp as its protocol. Facepunch also instructs administrators not to create multiple SRV entries for the same server.

For example, a DNS provider might represent the configuration as:

A record
play.example.com -> 203.0.113.10

SRV record
Service: _rust
Protocol: _udp
Name: play.example.com
Target: play.example.com
Port: 28015

The domain and address are documentation placeholders; substitute the server's actual domain, public IPv4 address, and server.port value.

Configure favorites

Set server.favoritesEndpoint to the domain name represented by the A record:

server.favoritesEndpoint play.example.com

Do not put _rust._udp in this value. Facepunch specifically says that server.favoritesEndpoint should be set to the A-record domain name.

Moving the server

When the public IPv4 address changes, update the A record. When the game port changes, update the SRV record's port. Keep the domain name and server.favoritesEndpoint unchanged.

With the DNS hostname and favorites endpoint configured, players who favorite the server use the domain name to find it again. Facepunch states that this permits IP and port changes without removing the server from those players' favorites lists.

For a separate player-facing discovery view, you can compare Rust servers on Rust You.