Rust custom map not downloading? How to fix it

1. Test the link like a player would

Paste the link into a private browser window. A working link starts downloading a .map file straight away. A broken one shows a preview page, a login screen, a virus warning or an error. Anything that is not an immediate download will fail on the server.

2. The link has expired

Discord attachment links stop working after about 24 hours, which is the single most common cause:why Discord links break. Free file hosts expire links too, often without telling you.

Maps hosted here stay up for 90 days from upload. After that the link answers with a short notice saying when it expired, rather than pretending nothing is wrong. Your dashboard shows the expiry date for every map, and uploading the map again gives you a fresh link.

3. The link points at a page, not the file

Dropbox links ending in dl=0, Google Drive view links and most "share" pages hand back HTML. Rust needs the bytes of the map.What works and what does not on Dropbox and Google Drive.

4. The setting itself

• Wrap the whole link in straight double quotes.
• Check for a trailing space, a missing s in https, or a line break in the middle of the link.
• Use the full name server.levelurl.
• In a panel, use the Custom Map URL field if there is one, rather than pasting the link in two places.

5. Leftover procedural settings

Remove these from your startup arguments when you use a custom map:

+server.seed 12345
+server.worldsize 4000
+server.level "Procedural Map"

Facepunch's guidance says the same: the procedural settings have to go, or they fight with the custom map.

6. The server loads it but players cannot join

This one confuses people. Your server downloaded the map when it started, so it runs fine, while new players still fetch the file from the link every time they join. If the link dies mid-wipe, existing players carry on and newcomers are stuck. Test the link from outside your network, not just on the server.

7. Too many downloads

Free hosts cut you off when a file gets popular. Dropbox's free accounts allow 20 GB of shared-link traffic a day, then suspend the link for up to 24 hours. A 40 MB map reaches that after about 500 downloads, which a decent wipe day passes easily.

8. The file itself

If the link downloads a file but the server still refuses it, check the file is the map you think it is: a .map saved by RustEdit or a Rust server, not a zip, not a renamed save, and not truncated by a half-finished upload. Re-save it and upload it again.