How to Add Mods to Your Factorio Server

Factorio has its own mod system and does not use the Steam Workshop. Mods come as .zip files from the official mod portal mods.factorio.com or from the in-game mod portal.

Warning

Stop your server before adding or removing mods. After a game update, mods may be incompatible and prevent the server from starting.

Download a mod

1. Open the mod portal
   Open mods.factorio.com and search for the mod you want.

2. Choose the matching version
   Download the .zip file that matches the game version of your server.

3. Do not unzip the file
   The mod stays a .zip file – Factorio loads mods directly from the archive.

Upload mods to the server

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Upload mods
   Upload the .zip files to the following directory. If the folder does not exist yet, create it:

   /mods/

4. Start the server
   Start your server.

Enable and disable mods

Which mods are loaded is controlled by the file mods/mod-list.json. It is created automatically on the first server start once the mods folder exists. Each mod is listed there with its name and the enabled status:

{
  "mods":
  [
    {
      "name": "base",
      "enabled": true
    },
    {
      "name": "my-mod",
      "enabled": false
    }
  ]
}

Set enabled to false to disable a mod without deleting it. Restart the server after making changes.

Warning

Make sure the file stays valid JSON – a missing comma or an extra bracket can cause the server to discard the file or fail to start.

Important

All players need exactly the same mods in the same versions as the server, otherwise the checksum check fails when joining.

Automatic mod sync

When joining a server that uses mods, Factorio offers to synchronize the mods with the server. Confirming the mod sync automatically downloads and enables all required mods.

Space Age and other expansions

The server already ships with the mods base, elevated-rails, quality and space-age. If the expansion mods are active, players without the DLC cannot join. They can be set to "enabled": false via mods/mod-list.json. However, there are reports of the server re-enabling the expansion mods on startup – so far there is no official fix for this. After a restart, check the mod-list.json to see whether your setting was kept.