Install Crucible Local Server

Crucible Local Server is a free Windows app delivered through the Crucible launcher, the hub for the Crucible apps. You install and update it from there, and once it is open the app installs the Rust dedicated server files for you, so there is no SteamCMD setup to do by hand.

Get the app from the launcher

Crucible Local Server is an app inside the launcher, not a separate download:

1. Install and open the Crucible launcher on your Windows PC.
2. Find and install Crucible Local Server from the Apps view. The launcher downloads it, verifies it, and adds it to your library.
3. Open it from the launcher. The app runs in its own window, so you can close the launcher and the server app keeps running.

The launcher keeps the app current, so a new version installs in place with no re-download.

First run

Crucible Local Server opens straight to the server list, with no startup prompts. From here you install the Rust dedicated server files (below), then create your first server.

Install the Rust dedicated server files

Before a server can start, the app needs the Rust dedicated server on disk. It handles that through SteamCMD, inside the app:

• Open the Installs manager from the button in the titlebar.
• The app bootstraps SteamCMD and downloads the Rust dedicated server, showing a live progress bar, the installed and latest build id, and the install size.
• Installs are organized by branch. The default is release, with staging and aux branches available if you need to test against them.
• Already have a Rust dedicated server from Steam or SteamCMD elsewhere? The app detects it and links the existing files instead of downloading another copy.

Servers on the same branch share one install, so a single download backs as many server configs as you like. If you press Start before the files are installed, the app opens the Installs manager so you can finish the install first.

Next step

With the Rust server files in place, create your first Rust server from a preset and start it.