Factorio Server Hosting

What a Headless Factorio Server Is

Factorio can host multiplayer from inside the game, but the factory then lives on one player's PC and stops when they quit. A headless server is the same game with no graphics, made for running a map around the clock. Wube offers it as a free download for Linux, and since 2.0 it includes the Space Age content.

One detail surprises new admins. By default the server pauses the game when nobody is connected, a setting called auto_pause. That keeps a factory from running out of ammunition overnight, but it also means no production while everyone is away. Turn it off if your team would rather log in to full chests.

Space Age on a Server: Who Needs What

On stable 2.0, Space Age is built as three official mods: Space Age itself, Quality and Elevated Rails, with the recycler part of Quality. The 2.1 experimental moves the recycler into a fourth mod of its own. The headless server already has the content, so the question is only about players. Wube's game modes page states that a Space Age game can be played in multiplayer if all players own the expansion.

The planets each change how a team works. Vulcanus is volcanic and built around tungsten and molten metal, Gleba is a swamp of crops that spoil, Fulgora is a stormy scrapyard of ruins and holmium, and Aquilo is an ice world of heat pipes, cryogenics and fusion power. Space platforms carry goods between them and have to be defended against asteroids.

server-settings.json, Line by Line

Most of a Factorio server's behaviour lives in server-settings.json, which our panel opens in an easy editor. Stop the server before changing it. These defaults come from Wube's own example file:

Admins, Whitelists and Going Public

Admins are named in server-adminlist.json, one factorio.com username per entry, or promoted from the console. Because allow_commands defaults to admins-only, only they can run commands, which keeps a curious newcomer from cheating in a stack of solar panels.

1. Stop the server and open server-settings.json in the panel's easy editor.
2. For a public listing, enter your factorio.com username and token in the credentials section.
3. Set a game_password for a private team game, or leave visibility as public for anyone to find.
4. Start the server, then use /whitelist add in the console to limit who can join; an empty whitelist means everyone can.

Your token lives on your factorio.com profile once you have linked your Steam account there. Our knowledge base walks through it step by step.

Running Mods From the Official Portal

Factorio mods come from mods.factorio.com, Wube's own portal, which lists thousands of mods for 2.0. To add one to the server, download its zip, upload it to the mods folder with SFTP or the File Manager, and restart. When a player connects, the game offers to fetch and enable the same mods at the server's versions, so the team never has to compare lists.

• Add mods one at a time, so a crash points straight at the cause.
• Check each mod's page for the Space Age requirement and for dependencies.
• Large overhauls change the whole tech tree; start a new map rather than bolting one onto an old save.
• Before a Factorio update, wait for your mods to update too, then update the server.

Saves, Map Strings and Moving a Factory

On a PC, Factorio keeps saves in the saves folder of its user data directory: %appdata%\Factorio on Windows, Library/Application Support/factorio on macOS and ~/.factorio on Linux. To move a factory onto the server, upload that save to the server's saves folder and set it to load. Saves from 1.0 and 1.1 still load in 2.0.

For a fresh start with known settings, a map exchange string copies every map-generation option in one line: copy it from the load screen and paste it into the new game screen. On the server, the Map Generator Editor from our Mod Manager lets you edit map-gen-settings.json and map-settings.json, and the Wipe Server button clears the old map before the new one generates.

Memory, CPU and Keeping UPS Up

Two resources decide how a Factorio server feels. Memory has to hold the whole explored map, every surface in Space Age and all loaded mods, which is why our plans are sold by RAM. The processor decides UPS, the number of game updates per second; when a factory grows too big for the CPU, the whole game slows down for everyone.

Start at 3GB for a new vanilla map, give Space Age bases across several planets 4GB to 8GB, and move to 12GB and beyond for overhaul mods. If UPS drops while memory still has room, the answer is a faster CPU option rather than more RAM. You can change both later from the client area without moving the save.

What to Compare Before You Rent a Factorio Server

Factorio servers live for months or years. These are the details that matter once the factory is big.

1. Memory for the long runCheck the RAM included and how easily you can move up when the map and mod list grow.
2. Processor speedUPS depends on clock speed. Look for fast CPUs and the option to upgrade for a megabase.
3. Settings accessYou need to edit server-settings.json, the admin list and map generation files yourself.
4. Save uploadsSFTP or a file manager makes moving a single-player factory onto the server quick.
5. Ping to your teamFactorio keeps everyone in lockstep, so a location close to the whole team matters more than anything on a spec sheet.
6. Backups you controlCheck you can back up and restore yourself, and how long offsite copies are kept.
7. Billing termsCompare monthly and longer terms, and check for setup fees or minimum contracts.

Factorio Server Glossary

Headless server

Factorio with no graphics, made to run a multiplayer map on a server.

server-settings.json

The file holding the server's name, password, visibility, autosave and player settings.

auto_pause

A setting, on by default, that pauses the game when no players are connected.

UPS

Updates per second: how fast the simulation runs. 60 is full speed.

Space Age

The paid expansion released with 2.0: space platforms, four planets, quality and elevated rails.

Quality

Five tiers for items and buildings, from Normal to Legendary; optional in a Space Age game.

Space platform

A flying factory that carries goods between planets and must fend off asteroids.

Map exchange string

A line of text that copies every map-generation setting to a new game.

Mod portal

Wube's official site for Factorio mods, which players sync from when joining a server.

Megabase

A very large factory, usually built to produce science or rockets at huge rates.

Token

The key from your factorio.com profile that lets a server appear in the public browser.

Factorio Server Help and Next Steps

Useful pages for setting up and running your factory server.

• Factorio wiki: MultiplayerThe official guide to headless servers, ports and admins.
• Factorio mod portalEvery official mod for 2.0 and Space Age.
• Factorio downloadsThe game and the headless server from Wube.
• Gaming Deluxe control panelWhat the panel does and how to log in.
• Our server locations
• Contact support24/7 help with saves, tokens and mods.