How to Upload a Factorio Save to a Dedicated Server

A Factorio save is a ZIP archive, and the same save can be loaded by a local game or a dedicated server. The safe move is simple: make a finished local save, stop the server, copy the ZIP into its saves directory, then start the server and check its console. Keep the old saves until players have joined the new factory.

Move your factory with managed Factorio hosting

Find and prepare your local save

Save the game, return to the main menu, then copy the save rather than moving the only copy. The official Factorio application-directory guide lists the platform paths. The usual save folders are:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Factorio\saves
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/factorio/saves
• Linux: ~/.factorio/saves

Choose the .zip file you just saved. Do not unzip it, and do not select it while Factorio is still writing it. Note the Factorio version, whether the save uses Base or Space Age, and every enabled mod before changing the server.

Check Base, Space Age and mods first

A Base save belongs on a Base-configured server; a Space Age save needs the Space Age content enabled. Changing that decision after a world has grown is not a casual toggle. Our Factorio Base versus Space Age server guide explains the compatibility boundary and why a test copy is wise.

Third-party mods also have to match. The server needs the same compatible mod set and version, and joining players need that set too. Factorio's mod installation guide explains how the game synchronizes mod context. GHosting does not auto-install third-party mods: upload compatible mod ZIPs through Files or SFTP, maintain data/mods/mod-list.json, and restart only after checking the set.

Self-hosted dedicated-server workflow

1. Stop the Factorio service cleanly so it writes its latest autosave.
2. Copy your local .zip into the saves folder under the server's configured write-data directory. This is data/saves in the GHosting layout. Keep existing ZIPs there as rollback points.
3. Start the service with its normal configuration. The documented multiplayer server options include loading a chosen save or --start-server-load-latest.
4. Watch the console until it names the expected save and begins listening, then have one player join before inviting the group.

If your service uses --start-server-load-latest, a newly copied save normally wins by modification time. For a deliberate one-time choice, start with the explicit save path instead. Our full Factorio dedicated-server guide covers service setup, UDP access and updates.

GHosting guided-import workflow

1. Create your Factorio server and wait for installation to finish.
2. Save and close the local world, then open the server's Files tab.
3. Use Stop server in the normal controls. The import panel stays disabled until the server is stopped.
4. At the top of Files, choose one local .zip and select Import world.
5. Wait for the upload confirmation, then start the server from the normal controls and inspect Console as it loads.

The importer stores the upload under a new server-side name in data/saves. It never replaces, renames or removes an old save, and it does not start the server automatically. That separation makes a failed compatibility check observable without making a successful upload look lost.

Verify, then keep a rollback path

• Confirm the console loaded the intended world and did not report a version, expansion or mod mismatch.
• Join with one client using the same Factorio version and enabled mods.
• Check the spawn area, technologies and a few known factory locations before telling everyone to migrate.
• Leave prior saves in place until the new world is confirmed. If the import is incompatible, stop the server, review Console and start from an earlier save instead.

For help with a server that boots but cannot be reached, see our Factorio connection troubleshooting checklist. Ready to keep the factory online without maintaining the host? Choose a Factorio hosting plan.