Sign Artist

Sign Artist (players usually just say /sil) lets you put custom images on signs and picture frames. There are three ways to do it: an image URL, typed text, or an item icon. Look at the sign you want to edit, then run the command.

Restrictions

Sign images are one of the biggest client FPS killers on Rust. Every nearby player has to download and render them, so a dense cluster of custom signs can tank frame rates for anyone walking by. Our version of this system is customized specifically to keep that under control.

Access is limited to VIP or higher (VIP unlocks at about 20 hours of playtime). That stops brand-new throwaway accounts from carpeting a neighborhood with images before they stick around.

There are also per-player and per-area caps on how many Sign Artist images can exist. Even if you personally still have room, a nearby base that is already loaded with images can block more placements in that spot. The game will tell you when you hit either limit. Related deployable guidance is also listed on the Deployables page.

The two files below show the impact. Left: a Nightmare raid base with very few pictures. Right: a tiny Easy raid base packed with Sign Artist images. Easy bases are tiny and have few deployables, yet the file size difference is huge.

Nightmare raid base file size with few sign artist images
Easy raid base file size with many sign artist images

Image URL

/sil URL

Use a direct image link from an image host that allows hotlinking. .png and .jpg links work best. Paste the URL in-game with /sil (Ctrl-V).

Sign Artist URL example

Text

/silt "text" fontsize font-color-hex bgcolor-hex

Font size, font color, and background color are optional. Colors are hex values without the #. Sites like htmlcolorcodes.com make picking those easy.

Example: /silt "Hello World!" 48 00ff00 000000 - font size 48, lime green text, black background.

Sign Artist text example

Icon

/sili

The last letter is an i (eye). Hold any item in your hand (or put a non-wieldable item on the hotbar and scroll to it), look at the sign, and run the command. It pastes a picture of that item onto the sign. Skinned items work too.

Sign Artist icon step 1
Sign Artist icon result

Restoring a sign

/silrestore

Restores a sign's previous image if you need to undo a change.

Command quick reference

  • /sil URL - image from a link
  • /silt "text" size color bg - text on the sign
  • /sili - held item icon
  • /silrestore - undo the last image change