How to set up a Factorio server

A Factorio server keeps your factory running around the clock, so everyone can drop in and build whenever they have time. This guide covers the whole setup, from ordering to your first login.

What you need

• A Headpat Space account with a verified email address and your billing details filled in.
• Factorio on your computer. Everyone who joins needs the same game version as the server.

1. Order the server

1. Sign in to the panel, open Game Servers in the sidebar and click New server.
2. Under 1. Pick a game, choose Factorio.
3. Under 2. Pick a variant, choose the variant. If there is only one, the panel selects it for you.
4. Under 3. Pick a location, choose the location closest to your players.
5. Under 4. Configure resources, set CPU, RAM and disk. The recommended values are already selected.
6. Under 5. Name and finalize, give the server a name.
7. Check Game settings, for example Factorio Version, Server Name and Save Name. Leave the version on latest for the newest release, or type a specific version number.
8. Click Continue to checkout and pay. You land on the page of your new server, where the installation starts on its own.

2. Start the server

The server does not start by itself after the installation. Watch the Console until the installer is done, then click Start under Server actions.

On the first start the server creates a new map. It is ready when the status shows Running.

3. Connect

The Address card on the server page shows the Host and the Port of your server.

1. Start Factorio and click Multiplayer.
2. Click Connect to address.
3. Enter host and port together, like 203.0.113.10:20015, and connect.

Always use the port from the Address card.

4. Make yourself admin

Type commands into the field below the console and press Enter. Factorio commands start with a slash. Text without a slash is sent to the players as a chat message.

To make yourself admin, type:

/promote YourName

Other useful commands:

Command	What it does
/players	Lists the players
/server-save	Saves the map right now
/kick Name Reason	Removes a player from the server

5. Change the server settings

In the panel. Open Startup. Under Variables you find the same fields you saw when ordering. Change a value, click Save next to it and restart the server. Maximum Slots, the player limit, is shown there too, but it is locked.

In the settings file. Open Files, go to the data folder and click server-settings.json. Change what you need, click Save and then click Restart on the server page.

Settings people change most often:

Setting	What it does
game_password	Players need this password to join
visibility	Whether the server shows up in the public server list
auto_pause	Pauses the game while nobody is online

Name, description, player limit, autosave and AFK kick come from Variables. Change them there: the panel writes them into the file again on every start.

To show the server in the public list, enter the username and token of your factorio.com account in Server Username and Server Token under Startup.

6. Use your own save

1. Make a backup first: see Back up and restore your game server.
2. Click Stop on the server page.
3. Open Files and upload your save as a .zip file to the saves folder. For larger files, use SFTP: see Upload files to your game server with SFTP.
4. Open Startup and set Save Name to the name of your file, without .zip. The name may only contain letters, numbers, - and _, so rename the file first if needed. Click Save next to it.
5. Click Start.

7. Add mods

Upload the mod .zip files to the mods folder and restart the server. If the folder is not there yet, create it with New folder. When players connect, Factorio offers to download the same mods and versions automatically.

8. Change the Factorio version later

1. Make a backup first.
2. Open Startup and, under Variables, change Factorio Version. Click Save next to it.
3. Back on the server page, click Reinstall under Server actions.
4. Leave Also delete all files switched off. The installer then runs over your existing files and your saves stay where they are.

Factorio can load a save in a newer version, but not in an older one.

If something does not work

• Players cannot connect: check that the status is Running, that host and port match the Address card, and that everyone uses the same Factorio version and the same mods as the server.
• The server stops right after starting: read the last lines in the Console. The usual cause is a mod that does not fit the game version.
• The map is new after a restart: Save Name under Startup does not match a file in saves, so the server created a new map with that name. Correct the name and restart.

Ready to start? Order your Factorio server.