spawn.min_rate (Rust server ConVar)
What spawn.min_rate does on a Rust server: the 0.5 default, how it pairs with spawn.max_rate and player count, and how to check the live spawn scalars.
Last updated Verified on Rust build 25582902, 2026-09-28
- Kind
- Variable
- Value on build 25582902
0.5- Server help text
- (Generated) Minimum spawn rate scalar applied to NPC/resource population spawning; lower values slow down respawn ticking when server population is low
- Applies
- Immediately (runtime)
- Persists in
- server.cfg
- Vanilla Rust
- Yes, native
- Example
spawn.min_rate 0.5
Gotchas
- It is the low population end of a range; spawn.max_rate is the high end. Keep min_rate at or below max_rate.
- It scales how fast populations (animals, NPCs, resource nodes) respawn, not how many there are; spawn.min_density and spawn.max_density set density.
- spawn.scalars prints the current spawn scalars, so you can compare before and after a change.
- Not written to serverauto.cfg by server.writecfg, so a value set only over RCON is lost on restart. Keep it in server.cfg.
spawn.min_rate is the low end of the scalar Rust applies to its population spawning: the animals, NPCs and resource nodes that refill over time as players kill or harvest them. The server's own help text (marked "Generated" by Facepunch):
Minimum spawn rate scalar applied to NPC/resource population spawning; lower values slow down respawn ticking when server population is low
On build 25582902 the value was 0.5.
How it pairs with spawn.max_rate
The two rates are the ends of one range. The help text of spawn.max_rate (default 1) says "the spawn tick rate scales up to this value as player count increases". So with the defaults, respawning at low population runs on a scalar of 0.5, and it climbs toward 1 as the server fills.
Neither help text says which player count counts as "full", so we do not publish a formula. Do not mix it up with two other ConVars that sound similar: spawn.player_base (100) is about group spawn rates, and spawn.population_cap_rate (300) is about loot respawn rates.
The population ticks themselves run every spawn.tick_populations seconds (60 on our server). Its help text warns that lower values "increase server CPU load".
When to change it
Going by the help text, this is why low population servers see slower respawns: the fewer players, the closer the scalar is to spawn.min_rate. Raising it toward spawn.max_rate narrows that gap, and setting both to the same value should, going by the help texts, make the rate stop depending on player count. We have not measured either on a live server, so compare spawn.scalars before and after.
Check it on a live server
Two read-only commands show what the spawn system is doing:
spawn.scalarsprints "current spawn scalar values including player fraction, excess, population rate, density, and group rate". Run it before and after a change.spawn.reportlists every population with its current count, target and fill percentage.
After a wipe, spawn.fill_populations fills every population at once instead of waiting for the ramp up.
Setting it
spawn.min_rate 0.5
It can be set over RCON without a restart. server.writecfg does not save it to serverauto.cfg, so a value set only over RCON is gone after the next restart. Keep it in server.cfg.
In Panelra
There is no dedicated slider. Add it under Settings, Custom ConVars. Panelra writes it to server.cfg and runs server.readcfg, so no restart is needed.
Set it in Panelra
Change spawn.min_rate from the dashboard instead of editing files over SSH.
Related ConVars
- spawn.max_rate(Generated) Maximum spawn rate scalar applied to NPC/resource population spawning; the spawn tick rate scales up to this value as player count increases
- spawn.tick_populations(Generated) Interval in seconds between population spawn ticks; lower values cause populations to refill faster but increase server CPU load
- spawn.respawn_populations(Generated) When enabled, population spawners (animals, NPCs, resources) will respawn entities over time as they are killed or harvested
- spawn.scalars(Generated) Prints a table of current spawn scalar values including player fraction, excess, population rate, density, and group rate; pass --json for machine-readable output
- spawn.report(Generated) Prints a spawn handler report listing all populations, their current count, target count, and fill percentage; pass true for detailed mode or a name filter as a second argument
- spawn.fill_populations(Generated) Immediately fills all population spawners to their target density; useful after a wipe or server restart to skip the gradual ramp-up period
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