The first night of a wipe in Rust is pitch black, and you will not have a battery or a wire tool for a while. The Lantern is the answer. Every player knows the blueprint from the first second of the wipe, it needs no workbench and no wiring, and a handful of low grade fuel keeps it glowing for hours.
This Rust lantern guide covers the exact recipe, how much fuel it burns and how long a full tank lasts, how to place and turn it on, what it takes to break one, what you get back from a recycler, and when you should swap it for an electric light.
What Is the Lantern in Rust?
The in-game description is short: “A Lantern. Place it where you need light, requires low grade fuel to work.” It is a red metal oil lamp with a glass chimney, and it is one of the oldest items in the game, added back in August 2014 with Devblog 21. In the game files it is lantern with item ID 1658229558. Every other ID is in our Rust item IDs list.
A lantern is a deployable, not something you hold. You place it, put Low Grade Fuel in its single slot and turn it on. It gives off a warm glow that lights a small room or a stretch of corridor. It runs purely on fuel, so it works on day one with no electricity at all, which is exactly why every starter base has one.
How to Craft a Lantern
You do not need to research anything. The Lantern is a default blueprint, so it shows up in your crafting menu from the moment you spawn. All you need is 25 metal fragments and 15 low grade fuel, and you can craft it anywhere.
| Stat | Lantern |
|---|---|
| Recipe | 25 Metal Fragments, 15 Low Grade Fuel |
| Workbench | None (default blueprint) |
| Craft time | 15 s, faster near a workbench |
| Research | 10 scrap (only to make a physical blueprint) |
| Fuel | Low Grade Fuel, 1 every 10 minutes |
| Fuel slot | 1 slot, up to 500 low grade |
| Health | 50 |
| Repair (hammer) | Up to 12 metal fragments and 8 low grade fuel |
| Stack / despawn | 1 / 5 minutes on the ground |
| Short name / ID | lantern / 1658229558 |
The Facepunch wiki lists a 20 second craft and a 20 scrap research cost. The current game files say 15 seconds and 10 scrap, so we use those. You only ever research a lantern to get a physical blueprint for an Industrial Crafter, since you already know how to make it. Our crafting calculator works out the cost of a batch.
Running a server? Admins can spawn one from the F1 console:
inventory.give lantern 1Our Rust admin commands list has every other give and spawn command.
How Long Does a Lantern Last in Rust?
A lit lantern burns one low grade fuel every 10 minutes. That is 6 an hour and 144 a day if you leave it on around the clock. Its one slot takes up to 500 low grade, which is just over 83 hours of light. It only burns while it is switched on.
| Low grade fuel | Light time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 minutes |
| 6 | 1 hour |
| 36 | 6 hours |
| 144 | 24 hours |
| 500 (full slot) | About 83 hours |
Low grade is cheap to make. Craft it from 3 animal fat and 1 cloth, or run Crude Oil through a Small Oil Refinery for 3 low grade per crude. One hunted boar or bear covers a lantern for a long time.
How to Use a Lantern
- Place it. Put it on a floor, a foundation or the ground. It also sits on most deployables, such as shelves, and you can put it on a boat.
- Add fuel. Press E to open it and drop low grade fuel into its one slot. It accepts nothing else.
- Turn it on. Hit Turn On in the panel. The flame lights and the fuel starts to tick down.
- Turn it off the same way when you do not need it.
The fuel slot cannot take a lock, but you need building privilege to open it, so a stranger cannot simply walk up and empty your lantern inside your base. A lantern decays slowly: roughly 48 hours outside a building and much longer indoors under an upkept TC. See our decay guide for the details.
How to Destroy a Lantern
With only 50 HP, a lantern is never worth explosives. Raiders break them to darken a room or to grab the fuel, since everything inside drops when it dies.
| Tool | Amount to destroy |
|---|---|
| Salvaged Axe | About 17 seconds |
| Hatchet | About 31 seconds |
| Double Barrel Shotgun | 3 handmade shells |
| Bolt Action Rifle | 7 rifle rounds |
| Beancan Grenade | 3 |
| Satchel Charge | 1 (overkill) |
| Explosive 5.56 ammo | 5 |
| Incendiary 5.56 ammo | 10 |
Lantern Recycle and Repair
Throw a spare lantern in a recycler and you get part of the recipe back. It gives no scrap.
| Recycler | Metal fragments | Low grade fuel |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow (safe zone, 40%) | 10 | 6 |
| Green (monument, 50%) | 12 to 13 | 7 to 8 |
| Green with power (60%) | 15 | 9 |
| Red (Power Plant, 75%) | 18 to 19 | 11 to 12 |
A damaged lantern repairs with a hammer for up to 12 metal fragments and 8 low grade fuel. It is usually cheaper to just craft a new one.
Lantern vs Other Lights in Rust
| Light | Cost | Runs on | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lantern | 25 frags + 15 low grade, no bench | Low grade | Day one light, boats, anywhere without power |
| Tuna Can Lamp | 1 empty tuna can + 20 wood + 10 low grade, 20 scrap to research | Low grade | A cheap light hung on a wall |
| Ceiling Light | 50 frags, Workbench 1 | 2 power | Lighting a powered base for good |
| Chandelier | 100 frags, Workbench 1 (Exhibit Decor Pack DLC) | 4 power | Decor in a main room |
| Search Light | 500 wood + 200 frags, Workbench 2 | 10 power | A long, aimable beam over your compound |
| Jack O Lantern | 2 pumpkins (Halloween store item) | Low grade | Seasonal decoration, see our Halloween event guide |
The rule of thumb is simple. Use lanterns until you have a battery, then move to Ceiling Lights: they cost almost nothing, never need fuel and stay on as long as the power does. Keep a lantern or two for boats, outposts and anywhere you do not want to run wire.
Lantern Tips
- Turn it off at dawn. It keeps burning in daylight and eats 6 low grade an hour for nothing.
- Top up small. 10 to 20 low grade covers a night of play. A full stack inside is just loot for raiders.
- Make your own fuel. 3 animal fat and 1 cloth make 4 low grade, so one hunt covers a lot of light.
- Watch your windows. A glowing window at night tells everyone someone is home. Keep lanterns away from open windows on a raid night.
- Use it on the water. Lanterns place on boats, so they are handy on a Tugboat or a boat base.
- Mind your frames. Every light that casts shadows costs FPS. Our graphics settings guide explains the Max Shadow Lights option.
New to Rust? Our beginner’s guide walks you through your first base, and the force wipe countdown tells you when the next fresh start lands.
Lantern FAQ
How do you craft a lantern in Rust?
Craft it from 25 metal fragments and 15 low grade fuel. It needs no workbench and takes 15 seconds. The blueprint is known by default, so you can make it from the start of every wipe.
How long does a lantern last in Rust?
A lantern burns 1 low grade fuel every 10 minutes while it is on, so 6 low grade lasts an hour and a full slot of 500 lasts about 83 hours.
What fuel does a lantern use in Rust?
Only Low Grade Fuel. Its single slot accepts nothing else, so wood, crude oil and diesel will not work.
Do you need to research the lantern in Rust?
No. It is a default blueprint. Researching it costs 10 scrap and only gives you a physical blueprint, which is useful for an Industrial Crafter.
How do you turn on a lantern in Rust?
Press E to open it, put low grade fuel in the slot and hit Turn On. Do the same to turn it off. You need building privilege to open a lantern inside a base.
How much HP does a lantern have in Rust?
50 HP. A hatchet breaks it in about 31 seconds, a salvaged axe in about 17, and 3 beancans or 3 double barrel shells also destroy it.
Can you put a lantern on a boat in Rust?
Yes. Lanterns can be placed on boats, and they also sit on most deployables such as shelves.
What do you get from recycling a lantern?
At a powered green recycler you get 15 metal fragments and 9 low grade fuel. A safe zone recycler gives 10 and 6, and the red recycler at the Power Plant gives about 18 and 11. No scrap.
Is a lantern or a ceiling light better in Rust?
A lantern is better early because it needs no power. A ceiling light is better once you have a battery, since it costs 50 metal fragments, uses only 2 power and never needs fuel.