The official documentation covers each step in detail; this page is the path through it in order, with the decisions and pitfalls the docs leave to you. Follow it top to bottom and you will have a bot posting your server's status in Discord in under an hour. Links go to the synced documentation for exact commands and screenshots.

Before you start: how the pieces fit

rustplusplus is a program you run. It signs in to Discord as a bot you create, and it talks to Rust servers through the same companion API the Rust+ phone app uses. Three things have to exist:

1. A machine that stays on: your PC while you play, a spare computer, a small VPS, or a Raspberry Pi. If it sleeps, the bot goes offline.
2. A Discord application with a bot token, invited to your server.
3. Credentials for your Steam account so the bot receives your in-game pairings. That is what this site generates.

1. Install

You need Node.js 22.12 or newer and Git. Clone the repository and install dependencies exactly as in Installation. On Windows use Git Bash or PowerShell; on Linux any shell. If npm install fails with native-build errors, your Node is too old or too new for the bot's dependencies; match the version in the docs.

Optional: GraphicsMagick, only if you want the step-trace map images for Cargo Ship and Patrol Helicopter.

2. Create the Discord bot

In the Discord Developer Portal, create an application, add a bot, and copy two values into the bot's config: the Application ID and the Bot Token. Enable the privileged gateway intents the docs list; the bot cannot read messages or members without them. Then generate an invite URL with the bot and applications.commands scopes and the permissions the docs specify, open it, and add the bot to your Discord server. Discord Bot Setup has each screen.

Two mistakes here cause most "bot does nothing" reports: forgetting the intents, and inviting the bot without applications.commands, which leaves you with no slash commands.

3. Start the bot once

Run npm start (or the start command in the docs) and let it create its channels in your Discord server: information, servers, settings, commands, events, teamchat, switches, alarms, storagemonitors, activity, trackers and so on. If nothing appears, the token is wrong or the bot lacks permission to create channels. Fix that before going further.

4. Generate credentials

Click Log In at the top of this site (install the extension first if the button says Install Extension), sign in with the Steam account you play on, and copy the /credentials add … command from the page you land on. Run it in any channel the bot can read. Credentials (Web) shows the flow; credentials explained covers what you just did and why it expires in 14 days.

Every teammate who wants to pair things, or use the leader command, repeats this step with their own Steam account.

5. Pair a server

Join your Rust server. Press ESC → Rust+ → Pair with server. Within a few seconds the server appears in the bot's servers channel with a Connect button. Press it. The information channel fills with the map, server info, events and your team. Pair and Connect covers the buttons.

If the server never appears: the Rust+ menu in game may say Rust+ is disabled on that server (pair button missing), or your credentials are not registered for the account that pressed Pair.

6. Pair smart devices

Look at a Smart Switch, Smart Alarm or Storage Monitor with a wiring tool and choose pair. Each appears in its channel in Discord with controls. Storage Monitors on your Tool Cupboard give you the in-game upkeep command and TC alerts. Smart Devices lists what each device offers.

7. Try the commands

In team chat type !pop, !time, !wipe. In Discord try /map, /players, /craft. The full list is in Commands and the compact version in the in-game commands cheat sheet. The command prefix and most behaviour are adjustable in the settings channel.

The five mistakes that account for most failed setups

1. Credentials registered on the wrong Steam account. The account that presses Pair in game must be the one that generated the credentials.
2. Expired credentials. After 14 days pairings and alarms stop silently. Regenerate; the /credentials command shows the expiry.
3. Bot machine cannot reach the server's companion port. A home PC behind a strict router or a VPS that blocks non-standard outbound ports shows the server offline while your phone shows it online. Test from the bot's machine.
4. Missing intents or scopes on the Discord application. No slash commands, or the bot ignores messages.
5. Running two bot instances with the same token, for example an old one still running on another machine. Discord disconnects them in turn and the bot flickers.

Keeping it running

Run the bot under a process manager (pm2, systemd, a Docker container; the repository ships a Dockerfile) so it restarts after crashes and reboots. Update by pulling the repository and running npm install again; the bot's database is kept between updates. Watch the activity channel: it is the quickest indicator that the bot is alive and receiving pushes.