

Anti-cheat does not start and does not allow access to the servers

PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%
Of course, as everyone has said, only able to use EAC 'disabled' servers. This works fine for me as a casual solo and I find that there are plenty of active players.
If you're commited to playing on larger EAC servers... dual boot 💁♂️
(ya'll have 20-40 series & 13th gens but bottleneck ur RAM?? wild)

PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=60 %command%
Game's pretty good, It runs almost the same as on windows as long as you are using proton experimental (as of march 2025). You don't really have many options for servers but here are a couple I revisit myself.
[EU] Rusticated.com - Creative : Great to practice building tho it is a bit buggy and linux is not supported officially so it may stop working anytime soon (works as of march 2025).
IP: client.connect 64.40.9.30:28035
Deadlock n Chill : It is the highest pop server for linux as of now, wipes monthly and it does die down a bit as the month starts to end, you can only raid on the last week of wipe, there are PVE players and there are changes to the UI so it can feel too modded. The admin is also pretty set on the rules and how the server should be ran. IP: client.connect play.deadlock.com
Raidados.top | 2x | Vanilla+ : It is a relatively new server but it can get pretty competitive on wipeday. It is the closest server to vanilla that we have on linux. Gathering is 2x but sulfur, components and diesel gathering is 1x, excav is vanilla too. There are no UI modifications so the server does feel pretty vanilla and not modded at all. The server is pretty community driven and the owner listens to feedback pretty closely. IP: client.connect raidados.top
Also rust is a very time consuming game and pretty much on every server you will read gamer words, please use the Mute Player function by clicking on the player that you want to mute with the chat open and mute them.
You can also completely disable global chat if you just want to chill.

I don't even know what a tinker is. It just works absolutely fine with Proton lauching from Steam

You will need to play on servers where EAC is disabled due to FacePunch/Gary refusing to enable EAC through Proton.
WINE_DO_NOT_CREATE_DXGI_DEVICE_MANAGER=1 gamemoderun %command% -force-feature-level-11-0 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded -cpuCount=8 -exThreads=16 -malloc=system -maxMem=24576 -gc.buffer 2048
There are a good number of Linux Servers out there, but DO NOT play on Deadlock. The single admin there perpetuates racism and other bigotry except when called out on that the admin (Deadlock) said, and I quote, "[6:42 PM]JimDeadlock: I'll decide what's racist". If you aren't okay with racism then go play on Deadlock. Deadlock also allows blatant cheaters to go unpunished on the server. I was banned without any warning and without breaking the rules, just because I wasn't okay with the racism.
There are seriously plenty of other Linux servers (EAC off) that you can play on now, so DO NOT play on Deadlock, support other servers with actually good admins.
You can find them under the modded section of servers in-game search "Linux"
And you can also find more using Steam's Server List. In the main Steam Window (outside the game) top left menu, View -> Game Servers. Switch to "Internet" in the new window, and select "Rust" in the top right, click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right. Set "Anti-cheat" to "Not secure" and boom you now can see all the servers you can connect to!
I get 140-160 FPS on my own local Rust server (for testing) on medium-ish settings. So this game runs very well on Linux!

DXVK_ASYNC=1 game-performance %command%
Looking to play Rust on Linux? Here's what you need to know!
While the game itself runs smoothly on Linux, joining EAC-protected servers, which are unfortunately the majority, is currently not possible. However, there are still ways to enjoy Rust on Linux!
There are a limited number of servers that support Linux clients. You can find them on the modded tab in-game or by connecting directly using the console.
FREE RUST server: This is a great option for Brazilian players, as it's the only server in the South American region that accepts Linux users and is truly free as in freedom. client.connect 185.173.110.119:28015.
Deadlock server: This server is a good choice for players in North America and Europe. You can find more information on their website: https://rust.deadlock.com/
Don't let the lack of EAC support discourage you from playing Rust on Linux. There are still communities out there to welcome you!
See you in the wilderness!
Can only play on linux friendly servers

Runs great but the developers have not enabled EAC for linux so you have to play on non eac servers.
I would not recommend that a linux user buys this game due to the fact that EAC is not enabled for linux, it's a great game overall and I've obviously played before switching to linux but due to the fact that there isn't many servers available for non eac I wouldn't recommend it.
You can find non eac servers in the steam server list on the top of steam (View > Game Servers > Game = Rust > Anti-cheat = Not secure) A server which I would recommend which is unlisted is deadlock, you can connect by pressing F1 in the game to open the console and type "connect play.deadlock.com" without the quotation marks.
Hopefully in the future, facepunch will consider enabling it again. They did consider it in the past.

Since the anti-cheat doesn't allow Linux, you will need to play on servers that have disabled it, which is a very small amount of servers.
I noticed a large hit to my FPS when using any form of DLSS, around 20 to 30fps lower than normal.
The DLSS issue may have something to do with my graphics driver, but I am a bit of a noob when it comes to that kind of stuff. (Using an RTX 3070 with Nvidia's drivers)

gamemoderun mangohud %command%
Time after time, extremely large FPS drops when opening the inventory. There are occasional freezes or FPS drops during the game.
Extreme impact on the stability of the system - sometimes plasmashell crashes during the game, after a while during the game there are complete browser freezes, the inability to open new windows (for example, it is impossible to view an image in Telegram Desktop), the inability to drag and interact with windows in the Steam overlay.
And so, I deployed my local server without EAC and played with friends for a few days. You can play, but the game behaves extremely unstable, consumes a lot of RAM and affects the stability of the system itself. Of the advantages, I can note the graphics - they are very beautiful, it seems to me, much better than native. However, the disadvantages outweigh, and the developers just need to fix all the problems!

Unable to connect to the servers
gamemoderun mangohud %command%
It is not possible to connect to any server. The developers have not enabled Wine/Proton support in EasyAntiCheat, although this is not a problem for them. There are also serious performance problems - unstable FPS in the menu, FPS drops. I haven't tested servers without EAC yet, so the performance in the game itself is unclear.

Easy Anticheat
The EAC doesn't work means that you can't play on most servers and this is really important for this game. If you want to host your own server without eac then it will work.

EAC
The only linux compatible server is run by a transphobe who specifically allows hate speech. Consider buying the game if you're able/willing to host a private server for your group.

All in all solid
16GB seems to be a bit too few for rust, when using a second monitor and filling the ram my system sometimes froze, but only when playing rust, so i would recommend 24GB+ ram, athough could just be a proton issue.
Only problem is that the devs seem to be thinking linux will compromise their anti cheat software, so playing on eac-servers is a no go, but Jim does a solid Job with the deadlock server, defenitely worth checking out.

Flawless OOTB but non-EAC servers only
There are a lot of reports recommending Proton experimental - do NOT try experimental unless you have issues with the standard Proton version, which should work fine.
The most reliable/populated non-EAC server is Deadlock - https://rust.deadlock.com or F1 connect play.deadlock.com

gamemoderun mangohud %command%
EAC problem
can play in F1 menu -> client.connect 51.77.68.57:1333
PVP and PVE
gamemoderun mangohud DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -force-gfx-direct -maxMem=60000 -malloc=system -force-feature-level-11-0 -cpuCount=16 -exThreads=32 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded -window -mode exclusive -gc.buffer 8192 -client.headlerp_inertia 0

DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -maxMem=12288 -cpuCount=4 -exThreads=8 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded gamemoderun %command%
With only 16GB of ram, I had to increase zram's size to 6GB and add a memory usage limit via launch options in order to prevent my system from crashing due to lack of memory.

You are unable to play on EAC secured servers
rust has no EAC support for linux
EAC not work.

Rust has not enabled EAC support for linux. This forces you onto one of a few servers.. RUSTed Angels, Apocrypha, or Deadlock..
When in fullscreen mouse sometimes escapes window. alt-enter to exit and enter fullscreen fixes it.
The game runs great for me, just really hoping for support for EAC

DXVK_HUD=fps,gpuload DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -maxMem=24576 -cpuCount=8 -exThreads=16 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded
May crash if alt-tabbed from fullscreen if given higher max memory in launch options.
Due to the developers not supporting Rust on Linux, there is only one server you can realistically play on.

Game is basically native. Their implementation of EAC, whose update to a Linux supported version for years, isn't. It's so painful to see.
Messaged Facepunch support about the timeline, instead of getting a "we don't have one" or "it's hard to say" or whatever other PR statements, I got told that it is just straight up unlikely. Really sad man

And yet, still not linux support even though linux has more market share than macos.
Facepunch's main reason of not supporting Linux was the "lack of marketshare" meanwhile its supporting macos which has a smaller marketshare on Steam then Linux.
Otherwise, you could play on no EAC servers, but cheaters will be rampant, and not many people will play on those servers. As well. its not EAC protected.
Facepunch seriously needs to just enable support, from what I've heard its a single toggle inside of EAC.

You have to play on non-EAC enabled servers aka F1: connect play.deadlock.com:1333
Activating voice with V would freeze the game.

DXVK_HUD=fps,gpuload DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -maxMem=32768 -cpuCount=8 -exThreads=16 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded
At random my cursor can get locked to the top left but going windowed fixes this
EAC Doesnt support linux with Rust atm so ive been gaming on "Apocrypha". In order to connect hit F1 and type in client.connect 172.96.164.77:28035

The lack of Anti-cheat support might defeat the purpose of playing safely on a EAC enabled server.
Rust lacks Easy Anti-cheat support for Linux users. You can play on any servers without Easy Anti-cheat just fine.

Not a lot of servers to connect to, though one unpopular, but good one is "Apocrypha". To connect press F1 and "connect 172.96.164.77:28035"
The EAC doesn't work so you can only play on a few select servers that have their own anti-cheat or have disabled EAC.

only Non EAC servers
Non EAC servers, and lags

The game will launch but will stay stuck on the Opening Bundles loading screen.
DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -maxMem=16384 -cpuCount=4 -exThreads=8 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded gamemoderun %command%
I will see a lot of trace:unwind:dump_unwind_info
and trace:seh:sigsys_handler SIGSYS
in the log dumps when it attempts to load the Bundle Assets Rust uses and thats where it freeze-crashes at because it doesn't know what to do here even though the bundle assets are there, and fine, not corrupted or anything.
I have tried with Proton Experimental and Proton 8.0-3 and find the game wont even launch at all, it'll be stuck on Launching and do absolutely nothing from there because it hangs for whatever unknown reason, and can't get any log output of whats going on.
If anyone knows how to get around this Opening Bundles freeze-crash issue with the Bundle Assets and make Rust load them correctly without crashing, then you can try reach out to me on socials on meow.social/@Alkaris

A typical gamer may enjoy this game and using the Jim Deadlock server. But if you are a hardcore rust player, stick to Windows if you can.
DXVK_HUD=fps,gpuload DXVK_ASYNC=1 %command% -maxMem=16384 -cpuCount=4 -exThreads=8 -force-d3d11-no-singlethreaded
If launching in fullscreen, game will crash when alt+tab. Instead, I launch windowed and Shift+Enter to go fullscreen
It crashes just as frequently on Windows and Ubuntu.
Only active non anticheat server is connect play.deadlock.com:1333 fortunately it's a good community with an active admin that bans cheaters!
Game may stutter a lot depending on many aspects. I recommend having 16-32 GB RAM for this game, it is hungry.

You will be able to connect to servers and start playing, however due to "Easy Anti-Cheat / EAC" you will be kicked depending on their implimentation. This results in the majority of servers unplayable for linux users. one server "play.deadlock.com:1333" hosts a rich server full of linux users and the anti-cheat is setup in such a way you can play as a linux user, without cheaters.
Playable, very fun, just join the deadlock server.
it opens but you are not able to join any servers as EAC does not seem to work, you will have to find servers that dont have EAC protection

If eac were supported this game would be perfect. The game looks great and runs great.
Big asterick placed on this because eac is not yet supported
If you want to play this game really badly use the "game servers" option under the "view" drop down in steam. Then click the game as rust and set the anti cheat option to "not secure". Now you can look at rust servers that don't use eac and can still enjoy the game just with a smaller list of servers. Unfortunately this leaves you with a greatly reduced list of servers with few players. If that is ok with you have fun otherwise you are out of luck :(

No EAC. Could only play in servers with no EAC.
Everything is perfect except the fact that EAC doesn't work, so you can't join EAC protected servers. Aside from that, no frame drops, hiccups or whatsoever. Everything else just works as on Windows.

The game no longer starts on linux since the Lumberjack update.
It installs fine however when I try to start the game in steam it attempts to load it and then promptly crashes and fails to start. It doesn't even show a loading screen for the game. I run start steam through lutris and then play the games directly from steam.

EAC Throws an error and cant even run the game
Dont recommend to play on linux :/
Can't play cause EAC bullshit
WINE_FULLSCREEN_FSR=1 WINE_FULLSCREEN_FSR_STRENGTH=1 %command%
The only non-EAC server I found is Deadlock Dweebs.
With GE-Proton8-3 and game intsalled:
- run the game
- wait ~5 min to load menu
- press F1, type "
connect play.deadlock.com:1333
", press Enter - wait ~20m to preload stuff
- enjoy!
I use FSR upscaling for higher FPS but it's not necessary if you have a good GPU.
gamemoderun %command%
Laggy