Carbon Plugins Not Loading? The Full Fix Checklist

"Carbon plugins not loading" is the single most-searched Carbon problem, and the answers online are mostly generic host knowledgebase pages that say "reinstall Carbon." That's rarely the fix. This guide is the ordered checklist a server admin actually runs — fastest, most-likely causes first.

1. Confirm Carbon itself is actually running

Before blaming a plugin, prove Carbon loaded. In the server console (F1 or RCON), run:

c.version

If you get a version string, Carbon is live. If the command is unknown, Carbon never loaded — that's a different problem; see how to install Carbon. Everything below assumes c.version responds.

2. Check the folder — this is the #1 cause

Carbon and Oxide use different plugin folders. Carbon scans:

If you migrated from Oxide and dropped your .cs files into oxide/plugins/, Carbon will never see them. Move them to carbon/plugins/. Note that Carbon also reads oxide/plugins/on some builds for compatibility — but don't rely on it; put files where they belong.

3. Read the console — Carbon tells you exactly what failed

Carbon logs every plugin load. A healthy load looks like Loaded plugin Kits v4.x.x. A failure looks like one of:

• Compile error — Failed to compile: Kits.csfollowed by a line number. The plugin's C# doesn't build against the current game version. Fix: update the plugin.
• Missing dependency — Kits requires Economics. Install the dependency first; load order matters.
• Hook exception— the plugin loaded but threw on a hook. It's "loaded" but not working. Same fix: update it.
• Nothing at all— the file isn't being scanned. Back to step 2, or the file watcher is disabled (step 6).

4. Version mismatch — the post-wipe classic

Rust force-wipes on the first Thursday of every month, and the monthly Facepunch update almost always breaks someplugins. If plugins worked yesterday and don't today, this is your cause. There is no clever workaround — you update the plugins. See how to update Carbonfor the safe process, and check each plugin's page in our directory for its current Carbon compatibility verdict.

Tip: subscribe to update threads for the 3–4 plugins your server can't live without. Knowing before wipe day which ones lagged saves the 2am scramble.

5. Check the config didn't corrupt

A plugin with a malformed configs/PluginName.json will fail to load — sometimes silently. This happens if a previous edit left invalid JSON, or an update changed the config schema. Either delete the config file and let the plugin regenerate a fresh default, or validate it with our plugin config validator.

6. The file watcher and load order

Carbon hot-loads files via a watcher. If you've disabled it (or your host's panel does), dropped-in files won't load until a restart or a manual c.load PluginName. To force a reload of everything:

c.reload *        # reload all plugins
c.load Kits       # load one plugin by name
c.unload Kits     # unload one plugin

If a plugin only loads with a manual c.load but not on its own, the watcher is off — re-enable it in carbon/config.json.

Still nothing? Isolate it

Pull every plugin out of carbon/plugins/, then add them back one at a time, watching the console after each. The plugin that breaks the load — or that drags a missing dependency with it — reveals itself immediately. Tedious, but it always works, and it's faster than guessing.

Quick reference