How to host a Satisfactory server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a Satisfactory server yourself for free: install the dedicated server (Steam app 1690800) with SteamCMD using an anonymous login, start it with ./FactoryServer.sh, open port 7777 (TCP and UDP) and TCP 8888, then claim it from the game. Or rent a Satisfactory server and skip the install and the port forwarding.

Players join through Server Manager, not Join Game. Each one opens Server Manager from the game's main menu, chooses Add Server and types the server's IP address and port.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against the 4 November 2026 crossplay update, the newest announcement on Steam. The newest numbered fix patch is 1.2.4.1, from 12 October 2026.

This guide uses the official Satisfactory wiki's dedicated server page, Coffee Stain's Steam announcements and what we run on every Satisfactory server we host. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "Satisfactory Dedicated Server", Steam app 1690800. It is free and downloads with an anonymous Steam login.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine, 64-bit, running Windows 10 or 11, Windows Server 2016 to 2022, or a Linux distribution such as Debian or Ubuntu. The wiki lists no 32-bit or ARM support. This guide uses Linux, which is what we run.
• RAM and CPU: the wiki gives 8 GB of RAM as the minimum and says 16 GB may be recommended for larger saves or more than 4 players. For the CPU it gives an Intel i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or better, with a single-thread rating of 2000 or higher. See How much RAM does a Satisfactory server need?
• Disk: the wiki lists 8 GB in total on Linux and 12.4 GB for the server files on Windows.
• Network: port 7777 over TCP (server traffic and the HTTPS API) and over UDP (game traffic), plus TCP 8888 (reliable messaging), reachable from the internet.
• The game on PC: every player needs Satisfactory on PC, from Steam or the Epic Games Store; the wiki says both can join the same dedicated server. In its 4 November 2026 announcement, Coffee Stain says the dedicated server is currently PC only and not available during crossplay.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The install command is the wiki's, and the same app id is the one our servers install.

Install the server

1. Install SteamCMD and create a user for the server. SteamCMD itself is a 32-bit program, so a 64-bit Debian or Ubuntu needs the lib32gcc-s1 package first; install it from a user that has sudo, then switch to the new user.

   sudo apt install lib32gcc-s1 wget
   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U satisfactory
   sudo su - satisfactory
   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/SatisfactoryDedicatedServer
   cd ~/steamcmd
   wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   tar -xf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   ./steamcmd.sh +quit

2. Download the server.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/SatisfactoryDedicatedServer +login anonymous +app_update 1690800 validate +quit

   On our own installs SteamCMD has sometimes answered "Failed to install app (Missing configuration)", left no game files and still carried on as if it had succeeded. Our install script therefore treats the app manifest, not the exit code, as proof, and tries up to three times. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_1690800.acf exists in the server folder and run the command again if it does not.
3. Optional: copy the Steam client library, as our install does:

   mkdir -p ~/.steam/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/

Open the ports

• Game and API: allow 7777 over both TCP and UDP, for example sudo ufw allow 7777, and forward both on your router.
• Reliable messaging: allow TCP 8888 (sudo ufw allow 8888/tcp) and forward it too.
• Keep port 7777 the same inside and out. The wiki says port redirection is not supported for the standard port, so its external and internal numbers must match. The wiki also assumes your connection is not behind carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT), where port forwarding cannot work. Give the machine a fixed LAN address so the forwarding does not break when your router hands out a new one.

Start it and claim it

1. Start the server from the server folder:

   cd ~/SatisfactoryDedicatedServer
   ./FactoryServer.sh

   On Linux, -Log and -Unattended are already on. The flags -Port= and -ReliablePort= change the two ports from 7777 and 8888. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
2. Claim it straight away. Start the game, open Server Manager from the main menu, choose Add Server, and type your server's IP address and port. Set a server name and an administrator password. You can then create a new game, or upload a save from your PC on the server's Manage Saves tab. A player password is optional and is set in the same place.
3. Update by stopping the server and running the step 2 download command again. The wiki shows the experimental branch as the same command with -beta experimental added, and -beta public to go back to stable.

Saves live in ~/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server on Linux. The wiki says autosave interval and saving when a player disconnects are both set in the in-game Server Manager.

Why you claim it first

A new Satisfactory server has no owner until someone claims it. On our test server in October 2026 we found that the game's own API hands the first caller the initial admin token, so the first person to claim the server owns it, whoever they are. If your machine is reachable from the internet, claim it right after the first start.

Stopping loses the last minutes

We also measured that stopping the server with a plain interrupt (Ctrl+C) made it exit in about 3 seconds without saving. The game that came back was the last autosave, which was 24 seconds old in that test. Save from the game before you stop a server you run by hand.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports, the claim step and the update routine. You still choose a name, your passwords and your rules.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Satisfactory server hosting page and compare the plans: BIOMASS BURNER (4 players), PARTICLE ACCELERATOR (10) and SPACE ELEVATOR (24) at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on SPACE ELEVATOR) and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints a line starting with [PlayNHost] Ready. once the server is claimed and set up.
3. Name it and set the passwords. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name, the Admin Password and, if you want a private server, a Join Password. Then restart.
4. Join it. The Play with friends card on Overview shows the IP address and port. In Satisfactory, open Server Manager from the main menu, choose Add Server, and type them in. See How to join your Satisfactory server.
5. Bring your world or your mods if you have them. Upload a save on the Worlds page, and add mods from ficsit.app on the Modding page. See How to upload your own Satisfactory world.

What the panel does for you:

• It claims the server itself within seconds of the first start, with the Admin Password from Settings, so nobody else can take it. If no password was set, the launcher makes one up and keeps it in .pnh/admin-password, which you can read in Files. It also starts a new game for you, so you can join straight away.
• Stop and Restart in the panel save the game first, so you do not lose the minutes since the last autosave.
• Your ports are assigned and open from the start. The panel starts the game with -Port and -ReliablePort set for you. See Satisfactory ports and firewall explained.
• With Automatic Updates on (the default, under Show advanced in Game Settings), the server updates itself when it starts. See How to update your Satisfactory server.
• The panel writes the player cap, the number of rotating autosaves and the two connection timeouts into Game.ini and Engine.ini at every start, so edits made in those files are overwritten. The player cap comes from your plan; change the other three in Game Settings.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine. Renting is a monthly fee set by the plan.
• Availability: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall, the router and the claim step. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, port forwarding for 7777 and 8888 and the first claim. Renting needs a server name and, if you want a private server, a join password; the panel claims the server for you.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab.

Ready to skip the setup? See the Satisfactory server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to set up your Satisfactory server: key settings.