Rust MIDI setup and configuration help

1. Using MIDI Player + Loop MIDI for solo playback

To play music in Rust using a 3rd party program, the suggested software is a combination of both MIDI Player and Loop MIDI. MIDI Player acts like a typical media player, and Loop MIDI takes the MIDI signal from MIDI Player and ports it into Rust just as if it was a real MIDI instrument.

Download MIDI Player + Loop MIDI (most widely used software)

  • MIDI Player: https://falcosoft.hu/softwares.html#midiplayer
  • Loop MIDI: https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html

    • 2. Using Rustissimo for full band playback

    The only known software for syncing MIDI songs between multiple players in Rust is called "Rustissimo" and is found on Steam. It has a free version but only allows 8 songs per hour with a band size of 3 or less and the songs have to be 5 minutes or less, so for $5 you can get the Pro version which has no restrictions.

  • Rustissimo Free on Steam
  • Rustissimo Pro on Steam

    • Setup for Rustissimo is very simple. On first install you must make sure to close Rust and open Rustissimo first, then open Rust so it can load in the Rustissimo MIDI drivers (making Rust think you have a piano plugged in) and it should work without any further configuration.

    One thing to check in the Settings cog wheel, is to ensure all 3 boxes are checked. The three boxes should all have to do with automatically joining and leaving concerts which you will probably never want to manually do, as it wastes a lot of time each song.

    If you are having problems with Rustissimo not playing back, try updating/repairing the MIDI driver: To do this, go to your Steam Library and right click on Rustissimo, choose Properties. Then choose "Installed Files" from the left panel. At the top right, click on the Browse... button.
    Once there, you will see the the Rustissimo folder. Go to the folder called 'redist' and run the installer and choose 'Repair'. (A restart of your PC will be required.)

    3. Using the Rust F1 console

    This method is simple. You use F1 console to type the command "instruments.playrecording SONG" where SONG is the name of your MIDI file. Any song played using the console like this must be located inside a folder called 'instruments' that you must create inside your Rust folder.

    To find your Rust folder, go to your Steam Library page, select Rust and right click. Go to Properties > Installed Files > Browse. This should take you to a folder that on most Windows computers will be something like this:
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rust

    From here, right click and create a new folder and title it 'instruments' and put your MIDI files in there to be played in the F1 console. Songs can have spaces in them, but any song with spaces in the title must be wrapped in "quotes".

    Example:
    Song with spaces: instrument.playrecording "song with spaces"
    Song without spaces: instrument.playrecording songwithoutspaces

    4. Using your mouse + keyboard

    Just left click bruh.

    Links for more information about MIDI playback in Rust:

    Visit my Steam guide for more help with setting up MIDI Players and making sounds in Rust:
    Steam Guide for Rust MIDI music

    Check the Official Facepunch Rust wiki page for MIDI instruments:
    Facepunch Music Instruments Wiki