RUST PULSEWiki
In-game overlay

Overlay troubleshooting

Common overlay issues and how to fix them — invisible on top of Rust, can't drop tags, hotkeys stop working, blank minimap.

If something's off, work through these in order.

"The overlay doesn't appear on top of Rust."

Cause: Rust is in Exclusive Fullscreen. Exclusive fullscreen blocks every overlay (Discord, ours, anything). This is a Rust limitation, not a Rust Pulse one.

Fix: In Rust's graphics options, switch to Fullscreen Borderless (or Windowed). Restart Rust.

"F8 / F9 / F7 don't work."

Cause: Another app has grabbed the same global hotkey, or the overlay process isn't running.

Fix:

  • Confirm the overlay window is open (look for the Rust Pulse icon in your tray).
  • Try rebinding in Settings — F1–F12, pick a key no other app is using.
  • Some keyboard utilities (StreamDeck, AutoHotkey scripts) eat F-keys before the overlay sees them — pause those temporarily to test.

"The minimap is blank."

Cause: The overlay can't reach the live data stream, or your paired server is currently disconnected from Rust+.

Fix:

  • Check the dashboard — if the dashboard map is also blank, the issue is the paired server, not the overlay.
  • The overlay shows a small reconnect indicator in the corner when it's disconnected. Wait 10–20 seconds; it'll usually catch up on its own.
  • If it stays blank, restart the overlay.

"Click-through stops responding."

Cause: Occasional Windows quirk — the overlay's click-through state gets out of sync with what the system thinks.

Fix: Press F9 twice to toggle back. If it's stuck, restart the overlay.

"I get 'Premium required' even though I'm subscribed."

Cause: Plan tier is propagating from the most recent Stripe update, or you just upgraded and the overlay hasn't re-checked.

Fix: Open Settings → click Refresh entitlement. Or just restart the overlay.

"The overlay window is somewhere off-screen / unreachable."

Multi-monitor setups sometimes leave the window on a disconnected display.

Fix: Open Settings → Reset window position. If the overlay's invisible (no way to reach Settings), delete the local settings file:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Rust Pulse Overlay\settings.json
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Rust Pulse Overlay/settings.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Rust Pulse Overlay/settings.json

Then restart.

Still stuck?

Drop into the support Discord with /ticket and include:

  • Your OS and version.
  • Rust's display mode (Fullscreen vs. Borderless vs. Windowed).
  • The exact thing that isn't working.