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Updated 10 October 2026
Running your own Satisfactory server means the factory keeps humming after its founder logs off for the night. The dedicated server is free, runs on 64-bit Windows and Linux, and accepts players from both Steam and the Epic Games Store, although console players cannot join one. This guide follows the official Satisfactory wiki’s dedicated server documentation from download to daily running: hardware, the three install routes, the two ports that matter, claiming the server, settings, files and fixes.
In short: download the server with SteamCMD as app 1690800, start it with FactoryServer.sh on Linux or FactoryServer.exe -log -unattended on Windows, and open port 7777 for both TCP and UDP plus port 8888 for TCP. Then, in the game’s Server Manager, register the server, name it, set an administrator password, and start a session or upload a save.
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The wiki’s figures are community minimums, and it advises exceeding them, especially on the processor:
- CPU: a reasonably recent x86-64 chip, at least an Intel i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, with a single-thread rating around 2000 or better. ARM and 32-bit systems are not supported.
- Virtual machines: a VPS counts, and one presenting its virtual CPU as plain kvm64 cannot run the server.
- Memory: 8 GB, or 16 GB if the save is large or more than four people play.
- Disk: about 12.4 GB of server files on Windows; on Linux, roughly 8 GB including the operating system. The full game client is not needed.
- System: Windows 10 or 11, Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022, or a Linux distribution such as Debian or Ubuntu, on a broadband line where you can forward ports or use a VPN.
Step 1: Download the server
The wiki prefers SteamCMD, Valve’s command-line client. On Linux, as an ordinary user rather than root, run steamcmd +force_install_dir ~/SatisfactoryDedicatedServer +login anonymous +app_update 1690800 validate +quit; on Windows the same arguments work with steamcmd.exe and a folder of your choice, wrapped in quotes if the path contains spaces. An absolute install path is the safest choice.
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Two other routes exist. In the Steam client, the server appears in your library under Tools once the filter shows them, though the wiki notes this currently needs an account that owns the game. In the Epic Games Store, it is a free add-on available to every account. Whichever store you install from, players from both stores can connect.
For the experimental branch, append -beta experimental to the SteamCMD download, and remember that every player must be on the same branch as the server.
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Step 2: Open the ports
| Port | Protocol | Carries |
|---|---|---|
| 7777 | TCP | Server traffic and the HTTPS API |
| 7777 | UDP | Game traffic and the lightweight query API |
| 8888 | TCP | Reliable messaging, needed since patch 1.1 |
From the official Satisfactory wiki, read 10 October 2026. Ports 15000 and 15777 have been unused since version 1.0.
Forward all three on your router to a fixed LAN address for the server, because a DHCP change would silently break the rule. The main port cannot be redirected, so its outside and inside numbers must match; the reliable port can be remapped with -ExternalReliablePort. On the machine itself, Debian’s firewall accepts everything by default and Ubuntu ships UFW turned off, but if UFW is on, an application profile listing 7777/udp, 7777/tcp and 8888/tcp does the job. With firewalld, add each of those three ports permanently and reload. Windows users can open them with PowerShell’s New-NetFirewallRule. If several servers share one public address, the wiki says to give each instance its own port numbers or use automatic port allocation.
Step 3: Start the server and confirm it is listening
From the Steam client, launch the server like a game from Tools; its log window may fall silent after a while, which usually means it is idle and waiting. From a terminal, run ./FactoryServer.sh in the install folder on Linux, or .\FactoryServer.exe -log -unattended on Windows. Useful launch options include -Port and -ReliablePort to move the two ports, -DisableSeasonalEvents to turn off events such as FICSMAS, -DisablePacketRouting, and -ini, which writes a configuration value at startup.
To check that it is up, open https:// followed by the server’s address and port in a browser, or run curl -k against the same address. After a warning about the self-signed certificate, a reply mentioning route_handler_not_found means the server is answering. Two EOS-related warnings right after startup are normal, according to the wiki, and can be ignored.
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On an unattended machine, set the server up as a service, so a crash or a reboot no longer leaves it offline. For Linux, the wiki’s example systemd unit is worth copying: the ExecStartPre line updates the server through SteamCMD (app 1690800) before each launch, ExecStart launches FactoryServer.sh from the install folder, User and Group run it under your ordinary account, Restart=on-failure with RestartSec=60 brings it back a minute after a crash, KillSignal=SIGINT lets it shut down cleanly, and WorkingDirectory points at the install folder. Enable and start it with systemctl, and check it with systemctl status. On Windows, the wiki covers the same idea with NSSM, plus Task Scheduler for updates. Logs still go to FactoryGame/Saved/Logs as well as the system journal.
Step 4: Claim the server
A fresh server does nothing until it is claimed. Start the game, open Server Manager from the main menu, register the server, choose its name and an administrator password, which guards save loading, server options and new-game creation. Then begin a fresh session, or send up a local save from the server’s Manage Saves tab.
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A join password is off by default. To add one, use the Change Password button next to Player Password Protection in the Server Settings tab, an odd name the wiki itself pokes fun at. Ask friends to add the server through the Server Manager too, because joining another way can fail with an “Encryption token missing” error.
Step 5: Settings worth setting
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto-Load Session Name | Which session’s latest save loads when the server starts |
| Auto Pause | Pauses the game while nobody is connected |
| Auto-Save on Player Disconnect | Saves whenever someone leaves |
| Server Restart Interval | Despite the name, the time of day for a daily restart, such as 06:00 |
| Autosave Interval | Minutes between automatic saves, for example 10 |
| Network Quality | Higher values can speed up client loading at the cost of server frame rate |
| Send Gameplay Data | Untick to stop sending play data to Coffee Stain |
Satisfactory allows four players by default. To raise that, start the server with -ini:Game:[/Script/Engine.GameSession]:MaxPlayers=8, or set the same value in the configuration files the wiki documents.
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Beyond the in-game options, the server reads Unreal Engine ini files from FactoryGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer on Linux or FactoryGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer on Windows, inside the install folder. The wiki documents several useful changes:
- Player cap: MaxPlayers under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] in Game.ini. Up to 127 players is possible in theory, but the wiki stresses that the server is tuned for the default four.
- Timeouts: players on older hardware or slow connections may need more than the default 30 seconds; raise InitialConnectTimeout and ConnectionTimeout under [/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver] in Engine.ini.
- Kept autosaves: the server rotates three autosaves by default; mNumRotatingAutosaves under [/Script/FactoryGame.FGSaveSession] in Engine.ini changes the count.
- Autosave timing: the default is every 300 seconds, and the console command FG.AutosaveInterval sets another value, with the trade-off that each save briefly costs server performance.
- Tick rate: 30 ticks per second by default, adjustable in Engine.ini, though the wiki considers the default right for most servers.
Console commands
The console tab in the Server Manager is the only place to run commands. The known ones include quit, stop and exit, which end the server process; server.SaveGame followed by a name, which writes a save on demand, with quotation marks if the name has spaces; and server.GenerateAPIToken and server.InvalidateAPITokens, which create and revoke tokens for the server API. If the server runs as a system service, quitting from the console may simply trigger an automatic restart, so stop it through the service manager instead.
Where the server keeps its files
- Server settings: ServerSettings.PORT.sav, named after the port, in ~/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames on Linux or %LocalAppData%\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames on Windows.
- Saves: the server folder inside SaveGames, with blueprints in a blueprints folder beside it once one has been made.
- Logs: FactoryGame/Saved/Logs inside the install folder; the current log is FactoryGame.log, older ones are renamed with a date, and Linux keeps up to 15.
Running the server as a Windows service moves these folders into the service account’s profile: under %WINDIR%\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\FactoryGame with NSSM, or %WINDIR%\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Local\FactoryGame for a Windows Server service. Wherever they end up, copy the SaveGames folder to another disk on a schedule; it holds everything you would hate to lose.
Forgot the admin password?
Delete the ServerSettings.PORT.sav file, ServerSettings.7777.sav on a default setup. That also wipes the server name, the player password, the auto-load session and the certificate, and the next start lets you claim the server afresh with a new administrator password. Save files live separately, in the server folder.
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Updates and clean shutdowns
An install made with the Steam client updates itself soon after a patch, occasionally after restarting it or verifying files. With SteamCMD, stop the server and run the original download command again. For a clean stop, the wiki ranks the options: first the Shutdown function of the HTTPS API, then quit from the console in the Server Manager, and on Linux a SIGINT to the process or stopping its systemd unit.
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Hosting skips the router and update work. Godlike.Host lists a Satisfactory VPS with the game already installed (Godlike’s page, 10 October 2026), with a VirtFusion panel covering restarts, reinstalls and monitoring with no shell access needed. Plans run as KVM virtual machines on AMD EPYC “Milan” chips, with processor time and memory guaranteed to the server, in sizes of 16 GB with four vCPU cores and 20 GB or 32 GB with eight, on NVMe storage, plus attack filtering, snapshots that can be rolled back, and full say over mods and rules. The smallest plan meets the wiki’s 16 GB suggestion for big saves and groups above four.
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Location: the page’s location answer names a USA-East data center only; latency rises the farther your group is from the eastern US.
Weighing other hosts? Our ranking of Satisfactory dedicated server hosts sets six of them against the same wiki figures.
Troubleshooting
- “Certificate verify result: certificate is not yet valid”: the joining computer’s clock or time zone is wrong; correct it and reconnect.
- “Encryption token missing”: the player joined outside the Server Manager; add the server there and join from it.
- Startup fails on a VPS: ask whether its virtual CPU is the kvm64 type, which the server does not support.
- Players cannot connect from outside: confirm all three ports in the firewall and router, that the main port is not remapped, and that the server is listening on the address you forward to.
- Players keep timing out: slower machines or connections may need more than the default 30 seconds; raise the two timeout values in Engine.ini described above.
- The server drops off after you leave it: the wiki lists this as a known issue when the server runs on the same machine someone plays on.
FAQ
Does the Satisfactory dedicated server cost anything?
No. Anyone can fetch it through SteamCMD without signing in to an account, and Epic offers it as a free add-on.
Can Steam and Epic players play together on my server?
Yes. Clients from either store can join, wherever the server software was downloaded from.
How do I make the server restart every day?
Set the Server Restart Interval option to the time of day you want; it schedules a daily restart rather than an interval.
How do I add more than four players?
Raise MaxPlayers, for example with the -ini launch option shown above.
Which ports does Satisfactory need?
7777 for TCP and UDP and 8888 for TCP. Nothing else needs forwarding since version 1.0.
