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How to Permanently Enable the Cargo Ship on a Rust Server

Set cargoship.event_enabled true, save it without a leading plus sign in the correct server.cfg, and restart. Learn why permanent enablement differs from an always-active ship and how custom maps affect Cargo Ship navigation.
Length11 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To permanently enable Rust’s normal Cargo Ship event, run cargoship.event_enabled true with administrator permissions, then save the same setting in rust/server/<server.identity>/cfg/server.cfg and restart the server. The line in server.cfg must not begin with +. This enables the event after every restart; it does not keep a ship continuously present. For immediate replacement whenever a ship leaves, use a plugin such as Endless Cargo.

What the Cargo Ship setting actually does

cargoship.event_enabled is the server convar that controls whether Rust’s regular Cargo Ship event is enabled. Setting it to true allows the game’s normal event system to spawn Cargo Ships according to its own scheduling. It is an enable switch, not a command that summons a ship instantly and not a command that keeps one permanently on the map.

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The distinction matters because “permanently enabled” and “always active” describe different outcomes:

  • Permanently enabled: the event remains enabled after the server restarts.
  • Always active: a replacement ship appears as soon as the previous ship leaves, with little or no gap.

Vanilla configuration solves the first requirement. A plugin is needed for the second.

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Run the command once to enable Cargo Ship immediately

You can apply the convar without restarting if you have server administration privileges. Use whichever administrative console your setup provides.

Access method Command Permission requirement
Dedicated-server console cargoship.event_enabled true Access to the server process or hosting console
RCON cargoship.event_enabled true Authenticated RCON access with permission to change server convars
In-game admin F1 console cargoship.event_enabled true Your Steam account must be an authenticated Rust administrator

Enter the command exactly as shown, with a space between the convar name and true. Ordinary players cannot use this server control. If the console accepts the command, the event is enabled for the current process. That current-process change is not, by itself, a permanent configuration, so complete the file step below before the next restart.

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Save the setting permanently in server.cfg

Facepunch documents server.cfg as a startup-read configuration file. The server reads it when starting and gives it priority over values supplied on the command line. Storing the convar there is therefore the clearest vanilla method for surviving restarts.

  1. Identify the active server identity. Rust can have more than one identity directory. Use the identity that the running server actually starts with; changing a different identity’s file will have no effect.
  2. Stop the server or open its files through your host panel. Editing while the server is writing configuration can result in an unsaved or overwritten change. If your panel has a built-in file editor, use that only for the active instance.
  3. Open the configuration file: rust/server/<server.identity>/cfg/server.cfg. Replace <server.identity> with the directory name assigned to your server.
  4. Add the setting on its own line:
cargoship.event_enabled true

Do not put a leading + in this file. The plus-prefixed form belongs to startup or command-line arguments; server.cfg uses the bare convar name.

  1. Save the file. Check that it is named exactly server.cfg, rather than a second extension such as server.cfg.txt.
  2. Restart the server. A restart causes Rust to read the file and apply the setting during startup.
  3. Verify after startup. From an administrator F1 console, RCON session, or server console, check the Cargo Ship convar before investigating plugins or map generation.

If the setting is present in the correct file and the server has been restarted, the event-enable state should return automatically on later restarts.

Startup arguments: when to use the plus-prefixed form

Some administrators manage all convars through a startup command or a hosting panel’s launch-parameter field instead of a configuration file. In that context, use the command-line form:

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+cargoship.event_enabled true

The + tells the startup parser that the following token is a convar assignment. Do not copy that plus sign into server.cfg. If both a startup argument and a file entry exist, Facepunch’s documentation states that the startup-read configuration file takes priority over command-line settings. Keeping one authoritative value avoids confusion when a panel has an old launch parameter left behind.

After changing a launch parameter, perform a full server restart rather than merely reconnecting your game client. A client reconnect does not reload the dedicated server’s startup configuration.

How to verify that the permanent setting worked

Verification should happen after the server has completed startup, not only immediately after you type the command. Use this sequence:

  1. Connect as an administrator or open an authenticated RCON/server-console session.
  2. Inspect the current value of cargoship.event_enabled using the console’s convar query behavior. If your interface requires a value to be returned, issue the convar name without changing it; if it displays the value after an assignment, re-enter cargoship.event_enabled true.
  3. Confirm that the value is true.
  4. Only then test the event in normal gameplay or investigate map-specific behavior.

A correct true value proves that the event is enabled. It does not guarantee that a ship will be visible immediately: the normal event scheduler may not be at the point where it launches one, and a custom map may not provide a usable ocean patrol path.

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Why a ship may not appear immediately

Enabling the event does not manually spawn a Cargo Ship on demand. Rust’s standard event system controls when the next ship is scheduled. A server can therefore report cargoship.event_enabled true while no ship is currently in the world.

There are three separate conditions to distinguish:

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  • Convar state: whether Cargo Ship events are allowed at all.
  • Event timing: whether the normal scheduler is ready to launch one.
  • Navigation data: whether the map has enough ocean and a generated patrol path for the ship to operate.

Check them in that order. Repeatedly entering the enable command will not fix a missing ocean path, and changing map-generation settings will not help if the convar is still disabled.

Permanent enablement versus an always-active ship

If your goal is simply to allow ordinary Cargo Ship events on every reboot, the vanilla server.cfg method is sufficient. If your goal is a ship that is continuously available, vanilla Rust does not provide a documented interval setting in the supplied official material for forcing a new ship immediately after the previous one leaves.

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That means a permanent convar cannot promise an uninterrupted ship presence. It only keeps the normal event feature switched on. Treat any gap between ships as expected unless you have installed and configured a system specifically intended to replace them.

Use a plugin for continuous Cargo Ships

What Endless Cargo changes

The uMod plugin Endless Cargo is designed for the always-active use case. Its description says it “Calls a new cargo ship as soon as the active ship leaves.” That replacement behavior is different from merely setting cargoship.event_enabled true.

The plugin also exposes controls for event duration, loot-round count and spacing, NPC spawning, and logging. It provides an administrator killcargo command for removing the active ship. These controls let an owner decide how long a ship remains, how its loot rounds are handled, whether NPCs are spawned, and how much diagnostic information is recorded.

Install and configure it through uMod

  1. Run a supported uMod installation for the Rust server and use its normal plugin installation workflow.
  2. Place the Endless Cargo plugin in the server’s uMod plugin directory according to that installation’s layout.
  3. Restart or reload the plugin using the uMod procedure for your server.
  4. Open the JSON configuration file created by the plugin. uMod plugins commonly generate JSON configuration files after their first load.
  5. Review every available setting rather than assuming a value from another plugin version. Event duration, loot-round behavior, spacing, NPC spawning and logging are configuration choices, not universal Rust defaults.
  6. Test replacement behavior with an administrator account. Keep the killcargo command restricted to trusted staff because it removes the active event.

Plugin commands may generally be used from the in-game console, the server process, or RCON, but the exact permission names and configuration keys belong to the installed plugin version. Check the plugin’s current documentation after Rust updates; a game update can require plugin maintenance even when the vanilla convar remains unchanged.

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When a plugin is the wrong choice

Do not add a continuous-event plugin merely because a single restart lost the setting. First correct the identity path, the file syntax, and the restart procedure. A plugin adds a separate configuration layer and maintenance obligation. It is justified when you specifically need immediate replacement, custom event timing, or controls that vanilla Rust does not expose.

Custom maps and the ocean-path requirement

Custom maps are the most common reason that a correctly enabled event still fails to produce a usable Cargo Ship. Facepunch explains that a map with little or no ocean can stall while Rust generates the ship’s ocean patrol path. The ship needs a navigable ocean area; an enable convar cannot create one where the map provides none.

Symptoms of an unusable map

  • Server startup appears to hang or spend excessive time generating an ocean patrol path.
  • The event is enabled, but no ship arrives on the custom map.
  • A ship spawns without a valid route and remains static or cannot navigate correctly.
  • Logs point to ocean-path generation rather than a disabled convar.

Preferred fix: provide enough surrounding ocean

If you control the map, add sufficient surrounding ocean so Rust can generate a valid patrol route. This preserves normal Cargo Ship navigation and is preferable when the map is intended to support the event.

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Disable the event on a no-ocean map

If the map intentionally has no usable ocean, Facepunch documents disabling both the event and path generation:

cargoship.event_enabled false
baseboat.generate_paths false

For the no-ocean case, Facepunch also lists:

ai.ocean_patrol_path_iterations 0

These are map-specific mitigation settings, not part of the normal permanent-enable recipe. Do not apply them to an ocean map just because a ship has not spawned yet; disabling path generation prevents the navigation data the event needs.

Do not force a ship without a path

Facepunch warns that spawning Cargo Ship without a generated path can leave it static or unable to navigate correctly. If a custom map lacks a route, a command or plugin that forces a ship into the world may produce an apparently present but broken event. Fix the map’s ocean coverage or deliberately disable the event instead.

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Troubleshooting a setting that resets after restart

The command works, then the value returns to its old state

  • Check that the line exists in the active identity’s cfg/server.cfg, not another server’s identity directory.
  • Remove any leading + from the line in server.cfg.
  • Make sure the file is saved before restarting.
  • Restart the dedicated server after editing; do not rely on a client reconnect.
  • Inspect the value again after startup.

If your hosting panel regenerates startup files, verify that it is not replacing the edited identity directory or mounting a different configuration path for the live instance.

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The file contains the setting, but the server ignores it

Confirm the exact path and filename, then check whether the server was launched with a different identity than the one represented by <server.identity>. A syntactically correct line in an unused identity is indistinguishable from a missing setting during gameplay.

The value is true, but there is still no ship

Separate scheduling from map support. The normal event may simply not be due yet. On a custom map, inspect ocean coverage and path-generation behavior. If the map has no viable ocean route, use the documented map fix or disable the event rather than repeatedly changing the convar.

A forced or plugin-managed ship is stuck

Check whether the map generated an ocean patrol path. Facepunch warns that a ship without one can remain static or fail to navigate. On a plugin-managed server, also inspect the plugin’s logs and configuration, then verify compatibility with the current Rust and uMod versions.

Administrators cannot run the command

Use an authenticated RCON account, the server process console, or an in-game F1 console account that has actually been granted Rust administrator status. The command is a server control, not a player chat command, so typing it as an ordinary player will not change the convar.

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Vanilla configuration and continuous-plugin behavior compared

Decision point Vanilla server.cfg Continuous plugin
Persistence method Plain-text convar in rust/server/<server.identity>/cfg/server.cfg; read at startup uMod plugin installation plus the plugin’s JSON configuration
Event behavior Allows Rust’s normal Cargo Ship scheduling Can call a replacement ship when the active ship leaves
Control surface cargoship.event_enabled true through console, RCON or F1 Plugin settings and plugin commands, including killcargo for Endless Cargo
Map requirement Needs a viable ocean patrol path for normal navigation Still depends on a map that can support the ship; a plugin cannot repair a missing ocean route
Maintenance Minimal; verify the file after server changes Review compatibility and configuration after Rust or uMod updates
Best fit Servers that want standard Cargo Ship events enabled after every restart Servers that require immediate replacement or custom event controls

A reliable deployment checklist

  • Decide whether you need normal scheduled events or a ship that is continuously replaced.
  • Grant yourself administrator, console, or RCON access before testing.
  • Run cargoship.event_enabled true once to confirm that the command is accepted.
  • Save cargoship.event_enabled true without a plus sign in the active identity’s cfg/server.cfg.
  • Restart the server and verify the convar after startup.
  • On a custom map, confirm that enough ocean exists for patrol-path generation.
  • Use a continuous plugin only when immediate replacement or additional controls are actually required.
  • After installing a plugin or updating Rust, review its JSON configuration and test with an administrator account.

Key command reference

Purpose Entry Where it belongs
Enable normal Cargo Ship events cargoship.event_enabled true Server console, RCON, F1 console, or server.cfg
Enable through startup parameters +cargoship.event_enabled true Dedicated-server launch arguments or a hosting panel’s startup field
Disable Cargo Ship events on a no-ocean map cargoship.event_enabled false Map-specific configuration or console
Disable boat path generation for a no-ocean map baseboat.generate_paths false Map-specific configuration or console
Skip ocean patrol path iterations in the no-ocean case ai.ocean_patrol_path_iterations 0 Map-specific configuration or console
Remove an active Endless Cargo ship killcargo Authorized plugin command through the plugin’s supported console surfaces

Bottom line for server owners

Use cargoship.event_enabled true for the immediate change, then place the same bare command in rust/server/<server.identity>/cfg/server.cfg and restart. That permanently enables Rust’s normal Cargo Ship event. It does not make a ship remain on the map without interruption. For ship-after-ship replacement, configure a maintained uMod plugin such as Endless Cargo, and make sure the map has a valid ocean patrol path before troubleshooting event behavior.

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