factorio Server Hosting Guide

Overview

factorio is a multiplayer game server that can be hosted on a VPS or dedicated server. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about hosting a factorio server for your community.

Quick Info

🔌 Network Ports

# UFW (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo ufw allow [PORT]/tcp
sudo ufw allow [PORT]/udp
sudo ufw reload

# FirewallD (CentOS/RHEL)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=[PORT]/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=[PORT]/udp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Windows Firewall
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="factorio Server" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=[PORT]
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="factorio Server" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=[PORT]

Installation & Setup

System Requirements

• OS: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+ recommended) or Windows Server 2019+
• CPU: 2+ cores recommended (single-threaded performance important for most game servers)
• RAM: 1GB minimum (more for larger player counts)
• Storage: 5GB+ for server files (SSD recommended for better performance)
• Network: Stable internet connection with low latency

Installation Steps

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Update system packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Create server directory
mkdir -p ~/gameserver
cd ~/gameserver

# Download server files (method varies by game)
# Check official documentation for download links

Windows Server

Download the server files from the official game website or through Steam (if applicable). Extract to a dedicated folder and run the server executable.

Using SteamCMD - RECOMMENDED METHOD

This game can be installed via SteamCMD using App ID: none

Install SteamCMD (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Update package list
sudo apt update

# Enable 32-bit architecture
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

# Install SteamCMD
sudo apt install -y lib32gcc-s1 steamcmd

Download Server Files

# Create directory for game server
mkdir -p ~/gameservers/factorio

# Run SteamCMD and download
steamcmd +login anonymous \
         +force_install_dir ~/gameservers/factorio \
         +app_update none validate \
         +quit

# Server files are now in ~/gameservers/factorio/
cd ~/gameservers/factorio
ls -la

Windows Installation with SteamCMD

1. Download SteamCMD from: https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip
2. Extract to C:\steamcmd\
3. Open Command Prompt and run:

cd C:\steamcmd
steamcmd.exe +login anonymous ^
             +force_install_dir C:\gameservers\factorio ^
             +app_update none validate ^
             +quit

Server Configuration

After installation, you'll need to configure your server. Here's where to find the configuration files and what settings you can change.

Essential Settings

• Server Name: Set a descriptive name for your server
• Max Players: Configure based on your server's resources
• Password: Optional password protection for private servers
• Admin/RCON Password: Set a strong password for remote administration
• Game Mode: Configure game-specific modes and settings

Configuration Files

Important configuration files for this server:

• data/server-settings.json - Server settings (use SERVER SETTINGS to edit this file
• data/server-whitelist.json - Whitelist File
• data/server-adminlist.json - Adminlist File
• data/server-banlist.json - Banlist File