Fix "Group 'vip' doesn't exist" (Oxide permissions)
Oxide prints this when you assign a user to a permission group (or grant a permission to a group) that has not been created yet on the server. Create the group first with oxide.group add, then add the player to it.
Group 'vip' doesn't exist
Why it happens
Oxide keeps groups in its own data, separate from the plugin files. oxide.group add <name> creates that entry; oxide.usergroup add <player> <name> only links an existing player to an existing group. If you run the usergroup command first, or type the group name differently from how it was created, Oxide cannot find a group with that name and prints Group '<name>' doesn't exist. The same message appears when you grant a permission to a nonexistent group with oxide.grant group <name> <perm>. This is common on fresh servers where a plugin's docs list perms like vip.kit but nobody ran oxide.group add vip, and after wiping oxide/data (where the group list lives) while keeping a startup script that still assigns players to the old groups. Group names are case-insensitive, but a typo anywhere else in the name still fails.
How to fix it
- Confirm which groups exist by running
oxide.show groups(andoxide.show group vipto inspect one). - Create the group if it is missing:
oxide.group add vip. Optionally pass a title and rank, e.g.oxide.group add vip "VIP" 1. - Add the player using their exact name or SteamID64:
oxide.usergroup add 76561198000000000 vip. - Verify with
oxide.show user 76561198000000000— the output lists the player's groups — oroxide.show group vip, which lists members. - If the assignment is done by a plugin at startup, reorder it so the group is created before players are added, or create the group once by hand and keep it in a startup batch file that runs
oxide.group addbeforeoxide.usergroup add. - Repeat for each group your plugins reference. After the group exists, the earlier usergroup command can be re-run and will succeed without any reload.
Before and after
# Create a permission group named vip (required before assigning anyone to it)
# MISSING: oxide.group add vip
# Assign player to the group (fails because the group was never created)
oxide.usergroup add 76561198000000000 vip
# Grant a permission to the group (also fails, no group to attach it to)
oxide.grant group vip myplugin.vip# Create a permission group named vip (required before assigning anyone to it)
oxide.group add vip
# Assign player to the group (now succeeds)
oxide.usergroup add 76561198000000000 vip
# Grant a permission to the group (now succeeds)
oxide.grant group vip myplugin.vip
# Confirm the group and its members
oxide.show group vipFAQ
Where are Oxide groups stored?
Groups and their members live in Oxide's data files under oxide/data (Carbon uses carbon/data). They are not part of any plugin's config, so removing a plugin does not remove its groups, but wiping the data folder does. Back up oxide/data before a full reset if you rely on group assignments.
Does the group name have to match the plugin's permission prefix?
No. Group names are free-form and unrelated to permission strings. A group called vip simply holds permissions such as myplugin.vip that you grant with oxide.grant group vip myplugin.vip. The plugin only checks the permission, never the group name.
Why does `oxide.grant group vip myplugin.vip` also fail?
oxide.grant group writes a permission entry onto an existing group. If the group was never created, there is nothing to attach the permission to, so Oxide reports the same missing-group message. Run oxide.group add vip first, then grant the permission.
Can I create groups automatically when the server starts?
Yes. Put the oxide.group add lines before any oxide.usergroup add lines in your startup batch or RCON script. Creating a group that already exists is harmless, so the script can run on every restart without duplicating entries.
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