Rust console commands for FPS and memory

September 29, 2026 · 3 min read · Rust

Half of the "secret FPS commands" from old guides no longer exist. Here is only what works today, with an explanation of what each command does.

How to enter commands

Press F1 in game, paste the line and press Enter. You can chain several commands with semicolons. To check that a command exists, type find name: if nothing comes up, it is gone.

All graphics in one line

Console (F1)

water.quality 0;water.reflections 0;graphics.shadowquality 0;graphics.shadowmode 0;graphics.grassshadows False;grass.quality 0;mesh.quality 0;tree.quality 0;terrain.quality 0;particle.quality 0;effects.motionblur False;effects.bloom False;graphics.dof False;effects.antialiasing 0;graphics.af 0;graphics.drawdistance 1500

Against micro-stutter: gc.buffer

gc.buffer reserves memory for the garbage collector in advance, so it runs less often — fewer short hitches. Use 2048 with 8 GB of RAM and 4096 with 16 GB or more.

Console (F1)

gc.buffer 4096

Memory-clear bind

Over time Rust piles up garbage in memory and FPS drops. This bind clears it on a key press — handy between fights (there is a short freeze at the moment you press it).

Console (F1), once

bind p "gc.collect;pool.clear_assets;pool.clear_memory;pool.clear_prefabs"

FPS limit

fps.limit 0 removes the cap. If your FPS jumps around a lot, a cap slightly below your average is smoother — for example fps.limit 141 on a 144 Hz monitor.

Steam launch options

Steam → right-click Rust → Properties → Launch options:

Launch options

-high -maxMem=16384 +gc.buffer 4096

Set -maxMem to your RAM size in megabytes (16 GB = 16384).

The DisplayTune Quick optimization tab has a Copy button for each of these lines, and gc.buffer and -maxMem are filled in for your RAM automatically. The "Optimize game" button writes the graphics straight into client.cfg — see Rust FPS boost.

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Frequently asked questions

What does gc.buffer do in Rust?

It sets the garbage collector buffer size. The bigger it is, the less often collections happen and the fewer micro-stutters you get; 4096 with 16 GB of RAM or more.

Does pool.clear_memory still work?

Yes. Together with gc.collect and pool.clear_assets/prefabs it frees accumulated memory. Expect a short freeze while it runs.

Do I need to enter the commands every time?

Graphics and gc.buffer are saved to client.cfg when you exit the game normally. The bind is saved too.