Factorio Headless Server on Docker

Dockerfile with fac packed, and ability to switch the savegame served.

Usage

Pull image

docker pull tingtingths/factorio

Or build it yourself

docker build -t my_factorio_image .

Data dir

Mods, saves, logs, caches etc. are saved into /data inside the container. You should bind- or volume-mount this directory when running the container, but it needs certain files and folders for the container to work. sample_data_directory/ in this repo is a good start.

Token first run

Unless you provide a player-data.json with a token in the data mount, fac will ask for your factorio username/password, so do this on first run:

docker run --it --rm \
  -v <path/to/factorio/data/folder>:/data \
  my_factorio_image \
  fac install dummyplaceholder

and player-data.json will be saved with your token.

Start container with the image

docker run -d --name factorio \
	--restart=unless-stopped \
	-p 34197:34197/udp \
	-v <path-to-factorio-data-dir>:/data \
	my_factorio_image \
  start-server my-save-game

This will start serving <path-to-factorio-data-dir>/saves/my-save-game.zip, after automatically downloading and enabling the mods listed within the savegame. Any other mods (e.g. from previously served savegames) will be disabled.

Use docker logs factorio or docker exec factorio fac list to see which mods are enabled for the current savegame.

Don't care about switching between multiple savegames

If you run the container with just start-server (without a savegame name), or with no command at all, it'll default to <path-to-factorio-data-dir>/saves/save.zip, which you can overwrite with your savegame then forget about.

Want to manage mods manually on the server ignoring what's in the savegame(s)

Create a file <path-to-factorio-data-dir>/mods.txt listing the mods you want, one per line. Restart the container after changing the mod list.

OR pass -e SKIP_AUTOMODS=1 when running the container, and use docker exec factorio fac [install|remove|enable|disable|list|etc.] to manage mods - the container needs to be restarted afterwards.

Add/remove mods from current savegame

It's easier and less error-prone to use different saves for different modsets.

The easiest way is via your local Factorio client: connect to the server, save the game (locally), quit the multiplayer session, install/enable/disable the mods you want, load the local savegame, save it again. Then scp or otherwise copy the local savegame to the server's <path-to-factorio-data-dir>/saves folder, and restart the container with the modified savegame.

Alternatively (this will alter the mods in the current served savegame, use caution):

1. docker exec factorio fac [install|disable] <modname> && docker stop factorio && docker rm factorio
2. restart the container, passing as well -e SKIP_AUTOMODS=1
3. docker stop factorio && docker rm factorio (savefile should now have the new mods configuration)
4. restart the container normally

Rcon

To enable rcon, pass -p 27015:27015 and -e "RCON_PASSWD=somepassword" when running the container.