The RUST spectate command

What does the RUST spectate command do

The RUST spectate command enables the player who invokes it the ability to spectate all other players currently logged into the RUST game server. This permits them the ability to see the spectated player’s physical movement and actions, such as running, walking, sneaking, jumping, etc.

It does not allow, or grant the administrator and moderator, access to the spectated player’s inventory, crafting queue, hot bar, chat window or mouse cursor.

Some practical reasons for using the spectate command:

Recording video and screen shots from player perspectives

Monitoring players who are causing grief to others

Suspected RUST hackers, cheaters, exploiters

Who can enter the RUST spectate command

The spectate command can be issued by administrators and moderators only. The spectate command requires the administrator or moderator invoking it to be logged in to the game server. It will not work while inside of an RCON console, such as RCON.IO. Players looking to spectate others on the server can send a Steam friend request, and if accepted, can then request to watch a stream of that player. Otherwise, there is no spectate command in RUST for non-admin or moderators currently.

RUST spectate command syntax

This will select a specific player that you pass as a parameter.

spectate “player_name”

This will select the first online player on the server, in an alpha-numeric order.

spectate

How to use the RUST spectate command

Before initiating the spectate command, store all worn gear, weapons and items. Ensure nothing is in the crafting queue as well. Regardless if a specific or random player is selected, the spectate command will kill the admin or moderator who initiates it. Make sure to store all gear and items away before initiating the spectate command.

The RUST spectate command can only be issued from the in-game console while logged into a server. Press the F1 key to first open the in-game console. Once the command console is open, type in the spectate command syntax listed above press enter.

The command console will then display the following upon success:

You died: Cold Got Respawn Information LocalPlayer.Entity.SecondsSinceDeath: 0.02321352

Useful actions available while in spectate mode

Cycle spectate to the next player

After entering spectate mode, each time the space bar key is pressed, it will cycle to the next online player in an alpha-numeric order. If there are a large number of players online, it can take awhile to cycle to the intended player. Each time spectate is cycled, the text displayed in the chat console is visible only to the admin or moderator. The text will look like the following:

Spectating: player_name

Cycle the spectated player’s view point

When spectating a player, each time the F3 key is pressed, it will cycle through three different vantage points:

The first option, over the shoulder view

The second option, 3rd person view

The third option, first person view

Then if pressed a fourth time, it will cycle back to the first, over the shoulder view.

Enable the console variable: specnet

When spectating, by default, player admins and moderators will not be “networked” unless they’ve set the console variable specnet to true. This configuration, when enabled will allow the admin or moderator spectating to be able to hear voice chat in the vicinity of the player they’re spectating. In order to enable this, type the following command into the in-game console:

global.specnet true

Exit spectate mode and return to life

While spectating a player, many console and keyboard commands are disabled. The suicide (kill) command in particular, is one of the most common ways to re-spawn in RUST, but is disabled and does not work in spectator mode. The following command to exit spectator mode is as follows:

respawn

The respawn command allows admins and moderators to exit spectator mode. Once it’s initiated, it forces the player to spawn in a random location on the coast line of the game world.