How to Modify Loot Tables on a Rust Server (Oxide, Carbon and Popular Plugins)

Rust’s vanilla loot is not changed by editing a game file on your server. On an Oxide/uMod or Carbon server, install a loot plugin, then edit that plugin’s configuration or data files (or use its in-game editor). The most common route is Better Loot: global options are stored in oxide/config/BetterLoot.json, while per-container tables are normally in oxide/data/BetterLoot/LootTables.json.

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Make a backup, confirm the paths and field names for the exact plugin version you installed, validate JSON before reloading, and test containers in a safe area. The procedures below cover Better Loot, MagicLoot, Loot Table & Stacksize GUI, and Raidable Bases on both Oxide and Carbon-style setups.

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What controls Rust loot?

Loot generation is controlled by the server framework and the plugin handling each container or event. A vanilla Rust installation does not provide a supported loot-table file for administrators to edit directly. You therefore need an Oxide/uMod or Carbon server with a compatible loot plugin.

Oxide and Carbon expose the hooks that plugins use to change container contents. Carbon is designed to run most Oxide plugins without modification because it implements the same hook API, but Carbon-specific file locations and commands are not consistently documented for every plugin. Treat the framework and plugin versions as a matched pair and check the plugin’s current documentation before changing a path.

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Choose the editing method that matches your goal

Do not install several plugins that rewrite the same container without checking their interaction. A plugin can overwrite another plugin’s changes during a reload or when a container is populated.

Prepare the server before editing

Confirm the framework and plugin version

Identify whether the server is running Oxide/uMod or Carbon, then note the exact version of the loot plugin. Configuration schemas change: Better Loot V4, for example, is not compatible with older loot-table files. Use the documentation for the installed release rather than copying a file from an unrelated guide.

Back up configuration and data

Copy the complete oxide/ directory before editing an Oxide server. On Carbon, back up the corresponding carbon/ configuration and data directories. Keep the original files outside the live server folder so a malformed edit or plugin upgrade can be reversed quickly.

Use a JSON-aware editor and validator

These files are JSON. A missing quote, comma or closing brace can stop a plugin from loading. Edit with an editor that highlights matching brackets, then run the file through a JSON linter before uploading it. Preserve the existing encoding and indentation where possible.

Unload or stop when the plugin expects it

Community administrators commonly stop or unload a plugin before hand-editing its data because a running plugin may save its in-memory copy over your changes. This behavior is not guaranteed for every release, so follow the plugin’s own instructions. If no instruction is available, stop the server or unload only the affected plugin, make the edit, validate the file, and then reload.

Modify loot with Better Loot

Better Loot separates server-wide behavior from the contents assigned to individual container prefabs. The names below reflect the current uMod listing; an older forum post used the singular LootTable.json. If your installation contains a different name, trust the files created by your installed version and verify them against its documentation.

1. Locate the files

1. Open the server’s oxide/config/ directory and find BetterLoot.json. This is the global configuration.
2. Open oxide/data/BetterLoot/ and find LootTables.json. This holds per-prefab loot tables on current releases.
3. Make a dated copy of both files before changing anything.

2. Decide whether you need global or per-container changes

Use BetterLoot.json for settings that affect the plugin’s overall behavior. Use LootTables.json when a specific prefab—such as a particular crate or barrel—needs its own item list. Keeping those purposes separate makes later troubleshooting much easier.

3. Edit an existing entry instead of inventing a schema

Open the generated file and copy the structure of an existing item or container entry. Change only the fields documented for your release. Do not assume field names from a different Better Loot version; a syntactically valid file can still be ignored if the schema has changed.

4. Account for the V4 format change

Better Loot V4 cannot read old loot-table files without conversion. The uMod listing points to a converter at looty.cc/converter. Convert a copy, compare the result with a newly generated file from your installation, and keep the original so you can roll back if the converter output does not match your plugin version.

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5. Validate and reload

1. Save the edited JSON and run it through a validator.
2. Upload it to the same path, preserving the filename and capitalization.
3. Reload Better Loot with oxide.reload BetterLoot on Oxide/uMod, or use Carbon’s equivalent reload command.
4. Watch the server console for JSON or plugin errors before testing a container.

6. Test each affected prefab

Spawn or locate one example of every container type you changed. Empty the container, repopulate it if necessary, and check several generations rather than judging the result from one crate. If an unchanged container behaves differently, another plugin may also be modifying it.

Modify loot with MagicLoot

MagicLoot uses two files with different jobs. Container multipliers, blacklists and per-container rules are in oxide/config/MagicLoot.json. Stack-size data is stored separately in oxide/data/MagicLoot.json.

Change container behavior

1. Back up both MagicLoot files.
2. Open oxide/config/MagicLoot.json and identify the existing container rule that most closely matches your target.
3. Adjust the documented multiplier, blacklist or per-container value. Keep the original data types: a number must remain a number and a list must remain a list.
4. Validate the file, reload MagicLoot, and inspect the console for parse errors.

Change stack sizes

1. Open oxide/data/MagicLoot.json.
2. Find the item entry and alter its stack-size value using the same structure as neighboring entries.
3. Reload MagicLoot after validating the file.
4. Test both a newly generated container and an item moved into inventory; stack behavior can appear different in those two situations.

Carbon users should not assume that the Oxide path is unchanged. Carbon compatibility is common, but the Carbon-specific location for a particular MagicLoot build was not established in the available documentation. Inspect the files the plugin creates on your server before editing.

Edit tables through Loot Table & Stacksize GUI

The Loot Table & Stacksize GUI plugin is useful when several administrators need to adjust loot without opening JSON files. It provides an in-game editing workflow, but it has framework-specific prerequisites.

Carbon prerequisite

On Carbon, enable Harmony references first with:

c.harmonyreference 1

Run the command from the server console or an administrator console according to your Carbon setup, then restart or reload as the plugin documentation requires.

Oxide prerequisite

On Oxide/uMod, the plugin requires Image Library. Install and load that dependency before troubleshooting the GUI itself; otherwise menus or item icons may fail even when the loot configuration is correct.

Safe GUI workflow

1. Install the plugin and its required dependency for your framework.
2. Confirm that the plugin loads without errors.
3. Open its administrator interface in game and select the container or table you intend to edit.
4. Change one variable at a time, save, and generate a test container.
5. Keep a backup of the plugin’s generated files so you can undo an accidental bulk edit.

The GUI reduces syntax mistakes but does not remove version compatibility issues. If an update changes the underlying data format, export or back up before upgrading.

Customize Raidable Bases event loot

Raidable Bases maintains its own loot data rather than using Better Loot’s per-container table. On Oxide, the files are under oxide/data/RaidableBases/. Default_Loot.json acts as the fallback. Carbon installations use carbon/data/RaidableBases/.

Generate a complete editable list

From an administrator console, run:

rb.populate all

This generates an editable list of every item recognized by the event plugin. Use the generated output as the schema reference instead of manually guessing item keys.

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Edit and apply the event table

1. Back up the entire Raidable Bases data directory.
2. Run rb.populate all if you need a complete list or want to refresh item names.
3. Edit the relevant loot file, retaining the generated structure and valid JSON.
4. Save, validate, and reload Raidable Bases or restart the server according to the plugin’s instructions.
5. Create a test base and verify that the fallback table is not silently replacing your custom file.

If your changes work on Oxide but not Carbon, check that you edited the Carbon data path rather than the Oxide path. Do not copy a path assumption from another plugin; each plugin decides where it stores data.

Reloading without losing your changes

Oxide/uMod

Use a single-plugin reload after a validated edit:

oxide.reload PluginName

Replace PluginName with the plugin’s actual name, such as BetterLoot or MagicLoot. A full restart is safer when the plugin documentation says it only reads data at startup or when several dependencies were changed together.

Carbon

Carbon provides an equivalent reload mechanism, but the exact command can vary by Carbon release and server administration setup. Use the command shown by your Carbon installation and confirm completion in the console. Avoid running Oxide and Carbon as competing frameworks on the same server; choose one framework and use the paths and commands it creates.

Troubleshooting common failures

The plugin reports a JSON parse error

• Restore the last backup to confirm that the plugin itself still loads.
• Run the edited file through a JSON validator and inspect the line identified by the error.
• Check for smart quotes, trailing commas, duplicate keys and an unmatched brace.
• Reload only after the file validates.

The plugin loads but ignores the edit

• Confirm that you edited the correct file: Better Loot global settings and per-container tables are separate; MagicLoot configuration and stack data are separate.
• Check capitalization and the plural Better Loot filename, LootTables.json.
• Make sure the item or prefab identifier exactly matches one generated by the plugin.
• Unload or stop the plugin before editing if it may be rewriting your file from memory.
• Read the console after reload for a warning about deprecated or unknown fields.

Old Better Loot tables fail after an update

Do not keep retrying the old file. Better Loot V4 requires conversion from older table formats. Use the converter linked above, compare the converted structure with a fresh V4 file, and retain the pre-conversion backup.

Carbon cannot find a file that exists under oxide

Carbon may use its own data directory even when it runs an Oxide-compatible plugin. For Raidable Bases, the documented Carbon location is carbon/data/RaidableBases/. For other plugins, inspect the directories created by that build and consult its current documentation rather than copying an Oxide path.

Loot appears unchanged in game

• Existing containers may already have generated contents; test a newly spawned or freshly respawned container.
• Another loot plugin may be rewriting the same prefab.
• The edited rule may apply to a different container type than the one tested.
• The plugin may have failed to reload even though the server stayed online; check the console log.

Use a controlled test plan

1. Record the original file hash or keep an untouched backup.
2. Change one item, multiplier or container rule.
3. Validate the JSON before uploading.
4. Reload only the affected plugin.
5. Generate several fresh examples of the target container or event.
6. Check that excluded items stay excluded, stack sizes remain legal for your rules, and unrelated containers retain their previous behavior.
7. Document the working filename, framework, plugin version and date so the next update can be compared against a known-good state.

Maintenance after plugin or framework updates

Recheck every custom table after an update. A plugin may add fields, rename a file, change an item identifier or migrate data automatically. Read the startup log, compare the generated configuration with your backup, and reapply only the custom changes that are still valid. Never overwrite a newly generated file wholesale with an older file unless the release documentation explicitly says the formats are compatible.

Keep a small change log containing the date, plugin version, edited path and reason for each change. This makes it possible to identify whether a loot problem began with your edit, a plugin update or a framework migration.

The Bottom Line

For most Oxide/uMod servers, start with Better Loot, edit BetterLoot.json for global behavior and LootTables.json for container-specific contents, then validate and reload. Use MagicLoot for multiplier and stack-size controls, the GUI plugin for in-game administration, and Raidable Bases’ own data files for event loot. Always back up first and verify paths against the exact version running on your server.

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