How to Host a Factorio Server on LoafHosts

To host a Factorio dedicated server on LoafHosts, deploy a server, set your save name and listing details on the Startup tab, use the in-panel Config Editor if you want to fine-tune server-settings.json, then start it and connect. Factorio’s dedicated server is unusually light to run: there is no Steam requirement on the server side, no query port, and no RCON out of the box, so the whole setup is really just a save file and one JSON settings file. This guide walks the whole path from an empty plan to a running, joinable server, using the tools the LoafHub panel actually gives you for Factorio: the Startup tab for the handful of variables the server reads on boot, and a form-based Config Editor for everything else in server-settings.json.

What You Need Before You Start

Hosting a dedicated Factorio server is mostly point-and-click on a managed host, but two things are worth deciding up front: which Factorio version you want to run, and whether the server will be public (listed in-game) or private (LAN or invite-only). You do not need a Steam account, a game purchase, or SteamCMD for the server itself; Factorio’s headless Linux server is a free download straight from factorio.com, independent of owning the game on Steam.

Tip: Decide on a version before your first boot: Factorio has strict client/server version matching, so pinning a version avoids a client that suddenly can’t connect after a reinstall

Tip: If you want your server to show up in Factorio’s public server browser, you will need a factorio.com account token, not just a username

Note: On LoafHosts the Factorio server binary is installed for you at deploy time, so you go straight to the Startup tab and the Config Editor

Step 1: Deploy the Server

Deploying a Factorio server on LoafHosts is a checkout-and-wait process. Choose a plan family and region that fit your community, then let the panel provision the server.

1. Go to loafhosts.com and choose a plan
2. Pick the region closest to your players
3. Complete checkout
4. Open LoafHub at hub.loafhosts.com and select your new server
5. Wait for the panel to show the server deployed and ready

Factorio is not a demanding server to run compared to most survival or sandbox titles; a small plan comfortably handles a base-building session with a handful of players, and you only need to size up for very large multiplayer factories with heavy biter activity and dozens of players.

Tip: Put your server physically near most of your players to keep ping low, since factory automation still depends on responsive input for building and combat

Step 2: Set Your Save and Listing Details on the Startup Tab

Before the first boot, open the Startup tab on your server and review the Factorio-specific variables. These are the values Factorio actually reads at container start, and a few of them only take effect once, when the save is first created.

Maximum player count is set by an admin on your account rather than being a field you edit yourself on the Startup tab, so if you need it raised, reach out to support.

Warning: Leaving Factorio Version on latest means a future reinstall can silently pick up a newer stable release. Because Factorio requires an exact version match between client and server, that can suddenly stop your existing players from connecting. Pin an exact version string once you have a community running

Note: Getting listed in Factorio’s public server browser needs a real Server Token generated from your factorio.com account (the Player Data page, or “Generate token” in-game), not just any username and password

Step 3: First Boot and Save Creation

The first time your server starts, it checks for a save file matching your Save Name under saves/. If none exists yet, it generates one automatically using the default world-generation settings before the game server itself starts. You will see the console print Hosting game at once the server is fully up and listening for connections; that line is what the panel watches to know your server is ready.

1. Open the Console tab so you can watch the first boot
2. Press Start
3. Watch for the world to generate (first boot only) and then for the server to report it is hosting
4. Confirm the server reaches a running state with no errors

Tip: World generation only happens once, when the save file does not exist yet. If you want different terrain or resource settings, you need to set those before this first boot (see the note on map-gen-settings.json below)

Warning: Changing your Save Name later does not migrate your world. It just makes the server think no save exists and creates a brand-new empty map on the next start; your old save stays on disk under its previous filename, just no longer loaded

Step 4: Fine-Tune server-settings.json with the Config Editor

Factorio’s Save Name, Server Name, description, username, token, and autosave settings can all be set from the Startup tab above. For everything else in server-settings.json, such as visibility, access control, and pause behavior, LoafHub gives you a dedicated Config Editor. It only appears on Factorio servers and edits data/server-settings.json directly.

1. In the panel, open your Factorio server
2. Open the Config Editor (the configuration section for server-settings.json)
3. You will see a form, grouped into sections, plus a search box to jump to any setting by name

The settings are grouped as follows:

Note: The editor is file-backed. It edits data/server-settings.json directly, and Factorio reads that file at boot, so changes take effect on the next start or restart

Tip: Use the search box to jump straight to a setting instead of scrolling every group

Step 5: Know What You Cannot Edit Here (Locked Fields)

A handful of server-settings.json fields are shown read-only in the Config Editor and tagged as managed on the Startup tab: username, password, token, and game_password. These are credential-shaped values, so the editor refuses to write them directly.

In practice, username and token are the same values as the Server Username and Server Token fields on the Startup tab; set them there and the server writes them into the file for you on every start. password and game_password do not currently have a matching Startup field, since the shipped variable set has no join-password option. If you need a private server today, control access with the visibility toggles and access settings instead of a join password: turn off public listing, leave LAN visibility on for a local network game, or require verified factorio.com accounts and keep the direct-connect details inside your community.

Note: A few Config Editor fields overlap with Startup variables: name, description, max players, autosave interval, autosave slots, and the AFK kick timer are all re-applied from the Startup tab’s values on every server start. If you want one of these to stick, set it on the Startup tab rather than only in the Config Editor

Note: Max players is shown as an editable field in the Config Editor, but it is not user-editable on the Startup tab by default; an admin sets the ceiling for your plan, so an editor change can be overwritten back to that ceiling on the next start

World Generation and Map Settings

Two additional files shape a Factorio world, but only at the moment the save is created: data/map-gen-settings.json (resource frequency, size, and richness, water and terrain scale, cliffs, and the starting area) and data/map-settings.json (pollution diffusion and absorption, enemy evolution factors, and enemy expansion). Both live alongside server-settings.json and can be reviewed or edited through the File Manager.

The important thing to know is timing: these two files only affect the world at creation time, when the save file does not exist yet. Editing them after your world is already running does nothing to that world. If you want a fresh map with different generation settings, edit the files first, then either delete the existing save or change your Save Name so the server creates a new one on the next start.

Warning: Editing map-gen-settings.json or map-settings.json on a server that already has a save in progress has no visible effect until you start a brand-new world. This is one of the most common points of confusion when tuning Factorio worlds

Connecting to Your Server

Once the console shows Hosting game at, your server is ready for players.

1. Copy the server IP and port from the panel
2. In Factorio, use “Connect to server” from the multiplayer menu with the IP and port, or find it in the public server browser if you set a listing token
3. Join and confirm the world loads correctly
4. Share the connection details with your players

Remember that Factorio enforces an exact version match: every player connecting needs the same Factorio version as the server. If you pinned an exact version on the Startup tab, tell your players which one so their client matches.

Tip: A private LAN-style server (visibility off, LAN on) is not actually restricted to your local network when hosted; players still connect over the internet using your server’s IP and port, LAN visibility just controls whether it broadcasts itself for discovery

Change Game, RCON, Backups, Schedules, and Auto-Restart

A few panel-wide tools are useful once your Factorio server is running:

• Change Game lets you switch the server to a different game entirely if your community moves on, without ordering a new plan.
• RCON console: Factorio’s binary supports a Source-RCON-compatible protocol through --rcon-port and --rcon-password startup flags, but the server does not enable it by default, and the Startup tab does not currently expose those flags. Out of the box, admin actions go through the panel’s live Console (which sends commands straight to the server’s stdin) or in-game commands such as /promote, /demote, /ban, and /kick.
• Backups let you snapshot your saves/ folder and configuration before a risky change, such as adding mods or regenerating a world. Take one before any change you might want to undo.
• Schedules let you automate routine tasks, such as a nightly restart to clear memory and roll autosaves, without you needing to be online.
• Auto-Restart brings the server back automatically if the process stops unexpectedly, which matters most for a server your community expects to be up around the clock.

Tip: Take a backup before you touch map-gen-settings.json, map-settings.json, or add any mods, since a bad change to a running world is not something you can undo from inside the game

Installing Mods

Factorio mods come from the official mod portal at mods.factorio.com, not Steam Workshop; Factorio does not use Steam Workshop for mod distribution on any platform. A mod is a .zip archive placed in the server’s mods/ directory, and the game reads that folder at boot.

LoafHosts does not yet have a dedicated Mods manager for Factorio, so mods are installed by hand today:

1. Download the mod .zip you want from mods.factorio.com (mods must be compatible with your server’s exact Factorio version)
2. Open the File Manager on your server and upload the .zip into the mods/ directory
3. Restart the server so it picks up the new mod

Every player connecting to a modded server automatically downloads the same mod set from the server on their next join, the same way the base game syncs. Keep your server’s mod versions matched to what you expect players to have, since a mismatched mod version can block a connection the same way a mismatched game version does.

Warning: Mods load only at boot. Adding, removing, or updating a mod .zip needs a server restart before it takes effect

Tip: Test a new mod on a backup or a throwaway save before adding it to a world your community is actively playing on

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Factorio dedicated server?

A dedicated server runs the Factorio headless server process on its own, independent of any player’s game client. It stays online around the clock, has a fixed IP and port, and gives you control over server-settings.json, your save file, and mods without one player having to host from their own PC.

Do I need to own Factorio on Steam to run a server?

No. The dedicated server is a free headless Linux download from factorio.com, separate from the paid game clients players use to connect. LoafHosts installs it for you at deploy time.

Why does my server need an exact version match with players?

Factorio’s networking protocol is version-specific: a client running a different patch version, even one point release off, cannot connect. Pin an exact version on the Startup tab and tell your players which version to run, rather than leaving it on latest.

How do I make my server private?

There is no built-in join password exposed on LoafHosts today. Turn off public visibility in the Config Editor’s Listing group to keep the server out of the public browser, and share your direct-connect IP and port only with the people you want to invite. Leave LAN visibility on if you also want local-network discovery.

Why didn’t my world generation settings do anything?

map-gen-settings.json and map-settings.json only apply the moment a save is created. If your world already exists, editing those files has no effect on it. Delete the save or change your Save Name to start a fresh world with the new settings.

Does Factorio support RCON?

Not out of the box. The Factorio binary supports Source-RCON via startup flags, but those flags are not enabled by the current Startup configuration, so admin actions go through the panel’s live Console or in-game commands instead.

How do I install mods?

Download the mod from mods.factorio.com and upload the .zip into your server’s mods/ directory through the File Manager, then restart. There is no in-panel mod browser for Factorio yet, and mods do not come from Steam Workshop.

Can I change my max player count myself?

Not from the Startup tab by default; the maximum player count is set by an admin for your plan. Contact support if you need it raised.