How to Establish Factorio Linux Server from scratch

1. Purchase a Cloud Computer

Before starting, purchase an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance from a provider like Alibaba Cloud. For a smooth Factorio experience, ensure you have at least 2GB of RAM (4GB+ is recommended for heavily modded games).

2. Connect to Your Server

Log in to the Alibaba Cloud dashboard, navigate to the ECS Control Console, and locate your running instance. You can use the browser-based terminal, but for long-term management, a dedicated SSH client is better.

For beginners on Windows, I recommend FinalShell—it is free and provides a convenient file manager alongside the terminal. Alternatively, you can use VS Code (with the Remote SSH extension) or PowerShell.

You can log in using the root password you set during the instance creation, or for better security, use an SSH Key Pair.

3. Download the Factorio Headless Server

If your server is located in mainland China, you may encounter slow speeds when downloading from external sites. You may need to use a proxy or download the file locally and upload it.

Step 3.1: Direct Download

Navigate to the Factorio Official Website to find the latest Headless Server URL. Use wget to download it directly to your server:

wget https://www.factorio.com/get-download/2.0.15/headless/linux64 -O factorio.tar.xz

Step 3.2: Extract the Files

We will move the archive to /opt/ and extract it. Using /opt/ is standard practice for manual software installations.

sudo tar -xJf ./factorio.tar.xz -C /opt/
cd /opt/factorio

4. Configure the Factorio Server

4.1 Update the Game

To keep your server current, you can use a community-made updater. Ensure you have Python 3 installed first.

git clone https://github.com/narc0tiq/factorio-updater.git
python3 ./factorio-updater/update_factorio.py -xDa ./bin/x64/factorio

4.2 Initialize a New Save

Create a fresh world to generate the necessary directory structure:

./bin/x64/factorio --create ./saves/my-save.zip

4.3 Upload Existing Saves and Mods

If you have a local save or mods, upload them to the server:

Saves: Upload to /opt/factorio/saves/ (Local Windows path: %AppData%\Factorio\saves)
Mods: Upload to /opt/factorio/mods/

Using FinalShell, you can simply drag and drop these files into the respective folders.

4.4 Server Settings

To make your server public in the browse list, edit /opt/factorio/data/server-settings.json. You must enter your Factorio username and token (found on your Factorio Profile).

5. Start and Secure Your Server

5.1 Launch the Server

To start the game using a specific save and your custom settings, run:

./bin/x64/factorio --start-server ./saves/SA_Multi.zip --server-settings ./data/server-settings.json

5.2 Configure the Firewall

By default, cloud providers block most ports. You must go to the Security Group settings in the Alibaba Cloud console and open the following:

SSH: Port 22 (TCP) - To connect to your server.
Factorio: Port 34197 (UDP) - This is the default game port.

5.3 Verify Connection

You can check if the server is listening correctly by running:

sudo netstat -tulnp | grep factorio

To test if the port is open from your local machine, use:

nc -zvu <Your-Server-IP> 34197

Now, you are ready to automate the factory!