Configure Factorio mods in two separate places: set the mod values through the game’s Mod Settings screen, and set server-listing options in a JSON file passed with --server-settings. A dedicated server must load a save, and it can use a selected mods directory with --mod-directory. Map-wide mod values travel with the save, while local player values are retained in the player’s mod-settings.dat and can be replaced by the save when multiplayer synchronization is enabled.
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The configuration model: four different settings locations
Most confusion comes from treating every JSON or settings file as if it controlled mods. Factorio separates configuration by scope and by when the setting is applied. Before changing anything, identify whether you are changing a mod value, a server listing option, or a map-generation parameter.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Mod Settings screen | Values exposed by installed mods, including startup, runtime-global and runtime-per-user settings | According to the setting’s scope; some affect the map, others only a player | Settings associated with the game or save |
mod-settings.dat |
Local player mod-setting persistence | Between local sessions; multiplayer behavior depends on the player’s synchronization choice | Local user data |
server-settings.json |
Server name, description, tags, visibility and player-limit options, plus other server-listing settings exposed by the example file | When the dedicated server starts with --server-settings |
A JSON file supplied at server startup |
--mod-directory PATH |
The collection of mods the server loads | Server startup | The directory named in the command line |
map-gen-settings.json |
Terrain, resource and other map-generator parameters | When a new map is created with --create |
A JSON file supplied during map creation |
map-settings.json |
Simulation parameters such as pollution, evolution and biter expansion | When a new map is created with --create |
A JSON file supplied during map creation |
The important boundary is this: server-settings.json does not act as a general store for mod options. It advertises and limits the server. Mod values are configured through Mod Settings and are associated with the game or save according to their scope.
Before you start: prepare a compatible mod set
Install the required mods on the server
Put every required mod, with the required version, in the directory the dedicated server will use. If the machine has more than one mod collection, select the intended one explicitly with --mod-directory PATH. This is useful for keeping a test world, a production world and unrelated installations from sharing files accidentally.
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The server’s mod collection is only one side of multiplayer compatibility. Each client joining the game must be able to load the same compatible mod set. A client missing a required mod, using an incompatible version, or loading a conflicting collection cannot participate normally in that save.
Decide whether you are changing an existing save or creating a map
For an existing world, use that save in the server start command. For a new world, create the save first. The dedicated server requires a save file; it does not generate a playable map merely because the process was started.
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Step-by-step: configure and launch the server
- Install and select the mods. Place the required versions in the server’s mods directory. If you need an isolated collection, decide on its path for
--mod-directory. - Create or choose the save. Select an existing save, or create one with
--create SAVE. When creating a new map, add--map-gen-settings FILEand/or--map-settings FILEif you have those JSON files. - Set mod values in Factorio. Open the Mod Settings screen and set the startup, runtime-global and runtime-per-user values exposed by the installed mods. Runtime-global values are map-wide; runtime-per-user values belong to an individual player.
- Prepare server-level options separately. Copy the example server-settings file from Factorio’s data directory, edit the copy, and save it as your server configuration. Use it for server name, description, tags, visibility and player limits rather than for ordinary mod options.
- Start the dedicated server. A typical command is
factorio --start-server SAVE --server-settings PATH. ReplaceSAVEwith the save file andPATHwith the server-settings JSON. To load the latest available save instead, usefactorio --start-server-load-latest --server-settings PATH. - Add the isolated mod directory when needed. Include
--mod-directory PATHin the same command when the server should load mods from a non-default collection. - Join and verify. Connect with a client that has the compatible mod set. Open Mod Settings and check the values after the save has loaded. Verify both a map-wide setting and, if relevant, a per-user setting on the joining account.
Command-line parameters are evaluated before the game launches. That makes the startup command the repeatable part of the setup: the save, server-settings file and optional mod-directory path can be kept together in a service definition, script or administrator checklist without relying on a person to select them manually each time.
How Factorio mod-setting scopes affect multiplayer
Startup settings
Startup settings are exposed by mods in the Mod Settings screen and apply at the mod or game initialization level. Configure them deliberately for the save and mod set you intend to run. If a mod does not expose a startup option, there is no server-settings JSON field that can create one.
Runtime-global settings
Runtime-global settings are map-wide values. They are the settings most administrators mean when they want every player to experience the same mod behavior. Treat the save as the authoritative copy: changing a map-wide value for the server should be done against the save that the dedicated server will load, then verified by joining that save.
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Runtime-per-user settings
Runtime-per-user settings belong to an individual player. Two players can legitimately have different values, so a difference here is not necessarily a synchronization failure. Check the setting’s scope before trying to force all clients to match.
Local persistence in mod-settings.dat
The stable mod-settings documentation identifies mod-settings.dat as the place where local player settings are retained between sessions. It is therefore a client-side persistence file, not a replacement for the save loaded by a dedicated server.
Why settings appear to reset when you join
When joining multiplayer, Factorio’s “keep mod settings per save” choice determines how local settings and the loaded save interact. Depending on that choice, your local values can be synchronized to the save, or the save’s values can be used for the session. A value that seems to reset may therefore be the save’s authoritative value being applied rather than data being lost.
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Diagnose the symptom
- Only your local, per-user preferences change: inspect the client’s “keep mod settings per save” behavior and remember that per-user settings are not intended to be identical for every account.
- Everyone sees the same unexpected value: check the runtime-global setting on the save that the server is actually loading. Confirm that the server did not start a different save or a different mod directory.
- The setting disappears or is unavailable: verify that the server and client have the mod installed and that their mod versions are compatible. A setting cannot be applied if the mod that defines it is absent or incompatible.
- Values differ only after changing worlds: per-save synchronization can preserve a separate local profile for each save. Check the setting again after joining the intended save rather than relying on the value from another world.
Recovery procedure
- Leave the server and identify the exact save loaded by the dedicated-server command.
- Confirm that the server’s mod directory contains the intended mod versions and that the joining client can load the same compatible set.
- Review the client’s “keep mod settings per save” choice and decide whether local values should follow the save or be synchronized into it.
- Open Mod Settings while working with the intended save and set the relevant value at the correct scope: runtime-global for a shared map behavior, runtime-per-user for an individual preference.
- Reconnect and check the result on the same save. If the value changes again, compare the startup command, save name and mod-directory path rather than editing server-listing JSON.
Where each file belongs in an administrator’s workflow
Use the following decision path whenever you are unsure which file or command to edit:
- “I need to change a mod’s behavior.” Use the Mod Settings screen and the setting’s documented scope. The resulting values are associated with the game or save; local player persistence is handled separately by
mod-settings.dat. - “I need to change the server name or who can see it.” Edit a copy of
server-settings.example.jsonand pass it with--server-settings PATH. - “I need a different mod collection.” Select the collection with
--mod-directory PATHand ensure clients can load the same compatible set. - “I need different terrain or resources on a new map.” Supply
map-gen-settings.jsonthrough--map-gen-settings FILEwith--create SAVE. - “I need different pollution, evolution or expansion behavior on a new map.” Supply
map-settings.jsonthrough--map-settings FILEwith--create SAVE. - “I need the server to open the newest save.” Use
--start-server-load-latest, while still supplying any required server settings and selecting the intended mod directory.
Making a setup repeatable and safe
Keep configuration roles separate
Store the server-settings JSON, save selection and startup command as separate, clearly named pieces. This prevents a listing change from being mistaken for a mod change and makes it obvious which values are applied at startup versus stored with a save.
Record the mod collection used by each save
An isolated directory is valuable only if administrators know which save belongs to it. Record the path passed to --mod-directory alongside the save name, and update both together when testing a new mod version.
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Change one scope at a time
When diagnosing a problem, change a single setting and reconnect before changing another. First establish whether the value is startup, runtime-global or runtime-per-user; then determine whether the save or the local player profile should be authoritative. This avoids attributing a per-user difference to the server or a map-wide value to mod-settings.dat.
Verify after every startup change
After editing a JSON file or startup command, start the server, note the save that loads, connect with a compatible client and inspect Mod Settings. A successful process launch alone does not prove that the intended save, mod directory or setting scope was used.
Common mistakes and their fixes
| Mistake | Why it fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Putting a mod option in server-settings.json |
That file controls server-level and listing options, not the general mod-setting store | Set the option in Mod Settings and verify it on the save |
| Starting without a save | A dedicated server requires a save file | Create one with --create SAVE or provide an existing save with --start-server SAVE |
| Editing map JSON files to change a mod | Map-generation and map-simulation files control world creation, not mod options | Use the Mod Settings screen for mod values |
| Assuming local settings are server settings | mod-settings.dat persists local player values and multiplayer synchronization can replace them with save values |
Check the “keep mod settings per save” choice and the setting’s scope |
| Loading different mod versions | Clients must be able to load the same compatible mod set | Align mod names and versions, then reconnect |
| Using the wrong mod directory | The server may load a valid but unintended collection | Pass the intended path with --mod-directory PATH and confirm the save belongs to it |
| Checking only the server process status | A running process can still have loaded the wrong save or configuration | Join the server and inspect the actual Mod Settings values |
A concise checklist for every deployment
- The required save exists before the dedicated server starts.
- The server loads the intended mod directory, explicitly with
--mod-directorywhen necessary. - Every client has the same compatible mod set.
- Mod values are set in Mod Settings at the correct scope.
- Server name, description, tags, visibility and player limits are configured in a copied server-settings JSON file.
- Map-generation and simulation JSON files are used only when creating a new map.
- The startup command uses
--start-server SAVEor--start-server-load-latestand passes the intended--server-settings PATH. - A client joins the loaded save and verifies the resulting values.
What to remember
There is no single “server mod settings” file. The save carries map-wide mod configuration, the local mod-settings.dat file retains a player’s settings between sessions, and multiplayer synchronization decides which of those values is used when joining. The server-settings JSON handles server presentation and limits; the mod-directory option selects the code and content available to the server; map JSON files shape a newly created world. Keeping those roles separate, then verifying the loaded save with a compatible client, is the reliable way to make Factorio mod settings persist.
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