This guide covers everything you need to configure and run your Factorio dedicated server on Legion Hosting, including account authentication, startup variables, server settings, world generation, connecting players, and save management. For mod installation, see Factorio Mod Installation.

1. Getting a Factorio Account Token

A Factorio account username and token are required if you want your server to appear in the public multiplayer server browser. They are also needed for downloading mods from the official mod portal.

1. Go to factorio.com/login and sign into your Factorio account.
2. Navigate to your Profile page.
3. Scroll down to the API Authentication Tokens section.
4. Click Generate to create a new token (or copy your existing token).
5. Copy the token string -- you will paste it into GPanel's Startup tab in the SERVER_TOKEN field.

2. First Start

After purchasing your Factorio server from Legion Hosting, follow these steps to get it running for the first time:

1. Log into GPanel and select your Factorio server.
2. Go to the Startup tab.
3. Set the FACTORIO_VERSION variable:
   • latest -- installs the current stable release (recommended for most players).
   • experimental -- installs the latest experimental/beta build with the newest features, but may have bugs.
4. Set your SERVER_NAME to whatever you want displayed in the server browser.
5. Fill in SERVER_USERNAME and SERVER_TOKEN if you want public server listing (see section above).
6. Go to the Console tab and click Start.
7. The server will download the Factorio dedicated server files and generate a default save. This may take a few minutes on first launch.

3. GPanel Startup Variables

These variables are configured in GPanel's Startup tab and control core server behavior. They take effect on each server start.

4. server-settings.json

The primary server configuration file is located at:

data/server-settings.json

Edit this file via the File Manager in GPanel or through SFTP. Below are the most important settings.

Example server-settings.json

{
  "name": "My Factorio Server",
  "description": "A Legion Hosting Factorio Server",
  "tags": ["vanilla", "friendly"],
  "max_players": 0,
  "visibility": {
    "public": true,
    "lan": true
  },
  "username": "YourFactorioUsername",
  "token": "YourTokenHere",
  "game_password": "",
  "require_user_verification": true,
  "max_heartbeats_per_second": 60,
  "allow_commands": "admins-only",
  "autosave_interval": 10,
  "autosave_slots": 5,
  "afk_autokick_interval": 0,
  "auto_pause": true,
  "only_admins_can_pause_the_game": true,
  "max_upload_in_kilobytes_per_second": 0,
  "max_upload_slots": 5,
  "minimum_latency_in_ticks": 0,
  "ignore_player_limit_for_returning_players": false,
  "admins": ["YourFactorioUsername"]
}

5. Map Generation

Factorio uses two configuration files to control how new maps are generated and how the world behaves during gameplay.

map-gen-settings.json (World Generation)

Located at:

data/map-gen-settings.json

This file controls the terrain, resource distribution, and enemy placement when a new map is created. Changes to this file only take effect when generating a fresh map -- they do not alter an existing save.

Resource Frequency, Size, and Richness Values

For each resource in autoplace_controls, you can adjust three properties. Values are multipliers where 1 is normal:

Example map-gen-settings.json

{
  "width": 0,
  "height": 0,
  "seed": null,
  "peaceful_mode": false,
  "autoplace_controls": {
    "iron-ore": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1.5, "richness": 2 },
    "copper-ore": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1.5, "richness": 2 },
    "coal": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 1.5 },
    "stone": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 1.5 },
    "crude-oil": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 2 },
    "uranium-ore": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 1 },
    "trees": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 1 },
    "enemy-base": { "frequency": 1, "size": 1, "richness": 1 }
  },
  "cliff_settings": {
    "name": "cliff",
    "cliff_elevation_0": 10,
    "cliff_elevation_interval": 40,
    "richness": 1
  },
  "starting_area": 1,
  "property_expression_names": {
    "control-setting:moisture:frequency:multiplier": "1",
    "control-setting:moisture:bias": "0"
  }
}

map-settings.json (Runtime World Behavior)

Located at:

data/map-settings.json

This file controls runtime behavior such as pollution spread, enemy evolution, and expansion. Unlike map-gen-settings.json, some of these settings can affect an existing save when changed and the map is reloaded.

Example map-settings.json

{
  "pollution": {
    "enabled": true,
    "diffusion_ratio": 0.02,
    "min_to_diffuse": 15,
    "ageing": 1,
    "expected_max_per_chunk": 150,
    "min_to_show_per_chunk": 50
  },
  "enemy_evolution": {
    "enabled": true,
    "time_factor": 0.000004,
    "destroy_factor": 0.002,
    "pollution_factor": 0.0000009
  },
  "enemy_expansion": {
    "enabled": true,
    "max_expansion_distance": 7,
    "settler_group_min_size": 5,
    "settler_group_max_size": 20,
    "min_expansion_cooldown": 14400,
    "max_expansion_cooldown": 216000
  }
}

6. Creating a New Map

By default, your server generates a map with standard settings on first start. To create a fresh map with custom generation settings:

1. Stop your server in GPanel.
2. Edit data/map-gen-settings.json and data/map-settings.json with your desired world generation and runtime settings (see section above).
3. Navigate to the saves directory in the File Manager.
4. Delete or rename the existing save file (e.g., gamesave.zip) so the server generates a new one.
5. Ensure the SAVE_NAME startup variable matches the save file name you want (default is gamesave).
6. Start the server. It will detect that no save exists with that name and generate a new map using your updated settings.

7. How to Connect

There are two ways for players to connect to your Factorio server.

Option A: Public Server Browser

If you have configured SERVER_USERNAME and SERVER_TOKEN with valid Factorio credentials and visibility.public is set to true:

1. Open Factorio and click Play.
2. Select Multiplayer.
3. Click Browse public games.
4. Use the search bar to find your server by name.
5. Click the server to join. Enter the game password if one is set.

Option B: Direct Connect

1. Open Factorio and click Play.
2. Select Multiplayer.
3. Click Connect to address.
4. Enter your server's IP address and port in the format: IP:Port
5. Click Connect.

8. Save Management

Auto-Save Configuration

Auto-saves are controlled by two startup variables:

• SAVE_INTERVAL -- How often the server auto-saves, in minutes (default: 10).
• SAVE_SLOTS -- The number of rotating auto-save files kept (default: 5). Once the limit is reached, the oldest auto-save is overwritten.

Auto-save files are stored in the saves directory with names like _autosave1.zip, _autosave2.zip, etc.

Manual Saves

You can trigger a manual save at any time by running the following command in the GPanel console:

/server-save

This creates a save using the current SAVE_NAME. You can also save to a specific filename:

/server-save my-backup

Uploading an Existing Save

To transfer an existing Factorio world to your server:

1. Stop your server in GPanel.
2. Locate your local save file. On most systems, Factorio saves are found at:
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Factorio\saves\
   • Linux: ~/.factorio/saves/
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/factorio/saves/
3. Upload the .zip save file to the saves directory on your server via the File Manager or SFTP.
4. In GPanel's Startup tab, set SAVE_NAME to the uploaded file name (without the .zip extension).
5. Start the server.

Related Articles

• Factorio Mod Installation
• How to Find Your Server IP and Port
• How to Upload Files via SFTP
• Server Startup Guide

Need Help?

If you are experiencing issues not covered in this guide, open a support ticket with your server details and a description of the problem.