Configuring Your IDE

Setting up your development environment properly is a crucial first step to creating efficient and reliable plugins for both Carbon and Oxide. This guide will walk you through preparing your workspace, installing the necessary files, and configuring your IDE. Whether you're just getting started or optimizing an existing setup, following these steps will help ensure a smoother development experience across both frameworks.

IDE Comparison: Visual Studio, VSCode, and Rider

Choosing the right IDE depends on your workflow, system resources, and personal preferences. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Feature	Visual Studio	VSCode	Rider
Type	Full IDE	Lightweight Editor	Full IDE
Performance	Heavy, slower on low-end PCs	Very lightweight, fast startup	Mid-weight, optimized for performance
Plugin Development	Excellent (native .NET support)	Good (with extensions)	Excellent (especially for C#)
Cost	Free (Community Edition)	Free	Free (Community Edition)

Summary

• Visual Studio (VS):
  The industry standard for C# development. Ideal if you want a robust, feature-complete environment, especially for debugging and managing larger projects.

• Visual Studio Code (VSCode):
  Lightweight and flexible. Requires some extensions (like C# Dev Kit and Ionide) to match the capabilities of full IDEs. Great for smaller projects or quick edits.

• JetBrains Rider:
  A strong alternative to Visual Studio with excellent C# and Unity support. Rider is cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).

Carbon IDE Configuraton

NOTE:

This guide follows Carbon's official documentation, which should always be your primary reference.

📉 Quick Outline

1. Create Folder Structure: F:\RustModding\{Carbon Server, Plugin Dev}
2. Download QuickStart: From Carbon GitHub → place in Carbon Server
3. Update Carbon: Run update_edge.bat
4. Configure Server: Edit run.bat
5. Boot Server: Run run.bat
6. Enable Developer Mode: Set "DeveloperMode": true in config.json
7. New Project:
   • Type: Class Library (.NET Framework)
   • Framework: 4.8
   • Location: Plugin Dev
8. Edit .csproj: Add <Import Project="F:\Carbon Server\Carbon\server\Carbon.targets" />
9. Restart IDE: Apply project settings

Step 1: Pick Your Drive Location

Windows limits filepath lengths, so it's best to create your project at the root of a drive (e.g., F:\).

Step 2: Set Up Directory Structure

Create a base folder (e.g., F:\RustModding\) with two subfolders:

• Carbon Server — for the server files.
• Plugin Dev — for your plugin projects.

Step 3: Download Carbon QuickStart Files

Get the QuickStart files from the Carbon QuickStart Repository and place them in your Carbon Server folder.

Step 4: Update Carbon

Run update_edge.bat in the Carbon Server folder to download the latest files. (Or run another update_*.bat file for a different branch.)

Step 5: Configure and Start Your Server

Edit run.bat to adjust server settings like name and port.
Run run.bat and wait for it to fully boot.

Step 6: Enable Developer Mode

Open /server/carbon/config.json.
Set "DeveloperMode": true.

This saves patched DLLs to /server/carbon/developer/patched_assemblies/, which are required for plugin development.

Step 7: Create Your Project

Open Visual Studio.
Create a new project under Plugin Dev.
Choose Class Library (.NET Framework).
Target .NET Framework 4.8.

Step 8: Link Carbon Assemblies

Open your project’s .csproj file.
Add this after the first line:

<Import Project="F:\Carbon Server\Carbon\server\Carbon.targets" />

• Save and close.

Step 9: Restart Your IDE

Close and reopen Visual Studio to apply changes.

Oxide IDE Configuraton

NOTE:

This guide assumes Windows and Visual Studio are being used. Oxides own documentation was heavily used when creating this guide.

Unlike Carbon, Oxide does not have a QuickStart repository. You will need to manually set up your environment and scripts.

📉 Quick Outline

1. Create Folder Structure: F:\RustModding\{Oxide Server, Plugin Dev}
2. Install SteamCMD
3. Use SteamCMD to install/update Rust Dedicated Server
4. Download and install Oxide from uMod.org
5. Create a server start batch file
6. New Project:
   • Type: Class Library (.NET Framework)
   • Framework: 4.8
   • Location: Plugin Dev
7. Reference Oxide DLLs in your project
8. Restart IDE: Apply project settings

Step 1: Pick Your Drive Location

Create your project at the root of a drive to avoid Windows filepath length limits (e.g., F:\).

Step 2: Set Up Directory Structure

Create a base folder (e.g., F:\RustModding\) with two subfolders:

• Oxide Server — for the server files.
• Plugin Dev — for your plugin projects.

Step 3: Install SteamCMD

Download and extract SteamCMD from SteamCMD.

Step 4: Install Rust Dedicated Server

Create a batch file (e.g., update_server.bat) inside the RustModding folder:

@echo off

set root=%cd%
set server=%root%\server
set steam=%root%\steam
set url=https://github.com/OxideMod/Oxide.Rust/releases/latest/download/Oxide-Rust.zip
set steamCmd=https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip

if not exist "%server%" mkdir "%server%"

if not exist "%steam%" (
    mkdir "%steam%"
    cd "%steam%"
    echo Downloading SteamCMD...
    powershell -Command "(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('%steamCmd%', '%root%\steam.zip')"
    echo Extracting SteamCMD...
    powershell -Command "Expand-Archive -Path '%root%\steam.zip' -DestinationPath '%steam%' -Force"
    del "%root%\steam.zip"
)

cd "%steam%"
steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir "%server%" +login anonymous +app_update 258550 validate +quit

cd "%server%"
echo Downloading Oxide...
powershell -Command "(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('%url%', '%root%\oxide.zip')"
echo Extracting Oxide...
powershell -Command "Expand-Archive -Path '%root%\oxide.zip' -DestinationPath '%server%' -Force"
del "%root%\oxide.zip"

pause

Step 5: Create Server Start Script

Create a start_server.bat inside the RustModding folder:

@echo off

set root=%cd%
set server=%root%\server

cd "%server%"
RustDedicated.exe -batchmode -nographics -server.hostname "My Oxide Server" -server.port 28015 -server.identity "oxide_dev" -server.level "Procedural Map" -server.worldsize 4000 -server.seed 12345 -server.maxplayers 10 +oxide.load

pause

Step 6: Create Your Project

Open Visual Studio.
Create a new project under Plugin Dev.
Choose Class Library (.NET Framework).
Target .NET Framework 4.8.

Step 7: Reference Oxide DLLs

• Right-click your project > Add Reference.
• Browse to RustModding/server/RustDedicated_Data/Managed.
• Add references to:
  • Oxide.Core.dll
  • Oxide.Ext.Rust.dll

Step 8: Restart Your IDE

Close and reopen Visual Studio to apply changes.