How to Set Up a Satisfactory Dedicated Server on a VPS

A Satisfactory dedicated server keeps your factory humming around the clock, so your team's belts and trains keep running even when nobody's logged in. Satisfactory has a native Linux server and an in-game claiming flow that's a little different from other survival games. This guide covers the full setup.

What you need

• A Linux VPS: Ubuntu 22.04/24.04. Satisfactory is memory-hungry as factories grow — 12 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB recommended for large saves or 4+ players.
• Open port: 7777 (UDP and TCP) for the modern single-port setup.

Step 1: Create a user and install dependencies

sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" satisfactory
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y lib32gcc-s1 steamcmd

Step 2: Install the server with SteamCMD

The Satisfactory dedicated server is App ID 1690800 with a native Linux build:

sudo su - satisfactory
steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/satisfactory/server +login anonymous +app_update 1690800 validate +quit

Step 3: Open the firewall

sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp
sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
sudo ufw reload

Open TCP and UDP 7777 on any provider firewall as well.

Step 4: Run it as a systemd service

Create /home/satisfactory/start.sh:

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/satisfactory/server
./FactoryServer.sh -unattended

chmod +x /home/satisfactory/start.sh

# /etc/systemd/system/satisfactory.service
[Unit]
Description=Satisfactory Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=satisfactory
ExecStart=/home/satisfactory/start.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now satisfactory
sudo journalctl -u satisfactory -f

Step 5: Claim the server in-game

Unlike most survival servers, Satisfactory is configured from inside the game:

1. In Satisfactory, open Server Manager and add a server using YOUR_IP:7777.
2. Set the admin password to claim it.
3. Name the server and either create a new game or upload an existing save.
4. Manage sessions, passwords, and settings entirely through this in-game panel.

This means there's no config file to edit for most settings — the game handles it. It's a friendly flow once you know to look for it.

Step 6: Plan for growing factories

Satisfactory's memory use climbs steeply as your factory scales — huge builds with thousands of machines and long conveyor networks are exactly the kind of save that eats RAM. If your factory gets ambitious, plan to move from 12 GB to 16 GB or more. NVMe storage also helps with save/load times on large worlds. For updates, re-run +app_update 1690800 or automate it.

Back up your factory

A sprawling Satisfactory save is many hours of work, and autosaves rotate, so keep your own backups. Saves live under the server's config directory (typically ~/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server/):

# nightly save backup, keep two weeks
0 4 * * * tar -czf /home/satisfactory/backups/sf-$(date +\%F).tar.gz ~satisfactory/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames && find /home/satisfactory/backups -name 'sf-*' -mtime +14 -delete

Watch memory as the factory grows with monitoring server resources on Linux — a save that ran fine at 12 GB last month may need 16 GB after a big expansion. For a fuller strategy, see how to back up your game server automatically.

FAQ

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