Configure BetterChat titles and group priority in Rust

BetterChat formats player messages with group colours and titles. A coloured staff label is not proof that the player has administrator authority. Keep appearance changes separate from Rust owner access and sensitive Oxide permissions.

Prepare a reversible test

Confirm BetterChat is loaded and note its version. Back up its configuration and oxide/data/BetterChat.json, together with the relevant Oxide permission data. The group definitions are persistent data, so do not treat that file as a disposable generated configuration. Keep the original copy outside the server before editing.

Choose a test account and record its current memberships. If the account belongs to several existing roles, note all of them before testing. Select an unobtrusive title that cannot be confused with official CloudExa support or an automated security message.

Use the supported management commands

The author documents a chat command family. Run the following examples in the trusted server console; in-game chat commands use the slash-prefixed form. These examples show a new group and an individual membership; replace the placeholders with a deliberate group name and verified Steam64 ID:

chat group add communityhelpers
chat user add STEAM64 communityhelpers
chat group list

Administrative use requires betterchat.admin. Grant that only to the person managing the plugin, not to everyone receiving a title. Use the author's supported settings and syntax for the installed version when editing a group's formatting.

Understand priority

BetterChat uses the lowest numerical priority as the highest priority when selecting a player's primary group. A player in several groups may therefore inherit a different primary format than expected. Inspect all memberships rather than repeatedly making the same group more privileged. Document your priority order so future roles can fit into it.

Prefer command-based edits for a simple change. If editing the JSON data directly, use a controlled maintenance window and the author's storage guidance so an in-memory save cannot overwrite your changes. Validate the local copy before uploading it and preserve the previous file.

Verify real chat output

Send a harmless message from the test account and check the title, colour and name.
Send a message from an ordinary player and confirm that their format remains readable.
Check a player with multiple roles to confirm the intended priority.
Inspect whether messages appear once, and whether another chat integration changes the result.

Duplicate messages can be caused by another incompatible chat formatter. Identify the overlapping component and read its integration documentation before disabling anything. Logging, moderation and relay plugins may depend on the existing setup, so avoid removing them casually.

Finish or restore

If the role is only a trial, remove that test membership with the documented chat user remove STEAM64 communityhelpers form. Restore the retained group definition if formatting is wrong. Do not reset all permission groups to fix a cosmetic problem.

For support, provide the version, redacted group definitions, memberships and a screenshot with private messages hidden. Explain the expected primary group and actual output. Never include RCON secrets or complete player chat histories in a public report.