Satisfactory Mod Manager: Mods on a Dedicated Server

To mod a Satisfactory dedicated server, add the server to Satisfactory Mod Manager (SMM) under Other, Manage Servers with its SFTP details, stop the server, and install the same mod profile on it that you use on your own PC. Only mods with a checkmark in the Server column on ficsit.app run on a dedicated server, and every player needs the same mods, usually in the same versions, to join.

This follows the modding team's own guide to installing mods on dedicated servers and the mod data on ficsit.app, checked on 25 October 2026.

What you need

• Satisfactory Mod Manager 3.0 or newer. The current release is SMM 3.1.0 from 6 June 2026. The command line tool ficsit-cli can do the same job.
• The Satisfactory Mod Loader (SML). SMM installs it for you as a dependency. The current version, SML 3.12.0, came out on 6 June 2026, four days after Update 1.2, with builds for Windows, Windows Server and Linux Server.
• SFTP access to the server: host, port, username and password. On a rented server they are in the panel.
• A short stop of the server. A running server keeps its mod files locked, and mod changes only take effect after a restart anyway.

Which mods work on a server

Mods have to be compiled for the dedicated server separately, and most but not all of them are. On a mod's ficsit.app page, the Latest Version section shows a table with a Server column. A checkmark for your server's system means the mod runs on a dedicated server; a cross means it does not yet. If you are not sure which system your server runs, look at its files: a Linux server has FactoryServer.sh, a Windows server FactoryServer.exe.

When SMM manages a server install, its "compatible" filter hides mods without a server build, which saves you checking every page. A few examples from ficsit.app on 25 October 2026:

Container Screens has a Windows client build only, so it cannot go on a dedicated server, and players who use it in single player need a separate profile without it.

Why every player needs the same mods

Each mod declares whether it is required on both sides of a multiplayer connection. According to the mod packaging docs, that setting, RequiredOnRemote, defaults to true, and the accepted version range defaults to the mod's own version, "meaning both sides must have the exact same mod version installed". When a player connects, the server compares its mod list with theirs, and since SML 3.9.0 the client checks the server as well.

So for most mods the rule is simple: same mods, same versions, on the server and on every PC. A few mods are marked as not required on the other side. On ficsit.app on 25 October 2026 that was the case for MAM Enhancer, Mod Update Notifier and Infinite Nudge, which players can run without the server having them.

Install mods with SMM over SFTP

1. Install SMM on your PC from the SMM guide and open it.
2. Look up the SFTP details in your server panel. Log in once with an SFTP client such as WinSCP or FileZilla and find the folder that contains FactoryServer.sh. That folder is the path SMM needs.
3. Add the server. In SMM's left panel, under Other, choose Manage Servers and pick SFTP. The path follows the format sftp://username:password@ServerNameOrIP:Port/path/. If you point SMM at the root of the install, its file browser picks the right subfolder; a wrong path gives a "no installations found" error.
4. Stop the server in the panel.
5. Select the server in SMM's Game Version dropdown. From here on it behaves like a local install: pick your profile, install or remove mods, and SMM pulls in dependencies such as SML.
6. Start the server, then join with the same profile active on your own PC.

The docs recommend SFTP over plain FTP whenever a host offers both. They also keep a list of hosts where users report SMM working and hosts where it does not, for reasons such as a panel that hides FactoryServer.sh or blocks executables. Seeing that file in your SFTP login is the quick test.

Keep players in step

Installing mods one by one on the server is the fastest way to end up with a version mismatch that keeps everyone out. The docs suggest one SMM profile on your PC that you use for both your game and the server. Export that profile from SMM and send the file to your players so they can import it; the "Copy mods list" option in the Mod Manager settings gives a readable list for Discord.

When a join fails, SML tries to show a useful disconnect message, but not always. The docs' order for finding the cause:

1. Remove all mods from the server and from your PC and check that a vanilla join works. Most connection problems also happen without mods; our ports and setup guide covers those.
2. Add the mods back in small groups until the join breaks.
3. Still stuck? Ask in the #help-using-mods channel of the modding Discord with logs from the client and the server. The server's log is usually in FactoryGame/Saved/Logs in its install folder.

Mod settings on a server

There is no screen for changing mod settings on a dedicated server. Configure the mods in your own game, then copy the files from FactoryGame/Configs in your game folder to the same folder on the server. The docs warn that some mods misbehave when client and server configs differ.

Some mods ask for settings that have to be chosen when the save is created, and the Server Manager's new game screen cannot set them. Create the save on your PC with those settings, then upload it to the server from the Server Manager's Manage Saves tab.

Do not copy your PC's Mods folder to the server. The docs say plainly that this "will not work": the client files are compiled differently from the server files, and you get vague errors.

After a game patch

Every mod version on ficsit.app is tied to a range of game builds, and patches can break or fix mods. Coffee Stain's v1.2.4.1 notes of 12 October 2026 switched audio changes back on that an earlier patch had disabled; disabling them had been "preventing some mods from working". If your server updates the game when it restarts, a patch day can leave the server and the players on different builds.

A routine that works:

1. Make a copy of the save before the patch reaches the server.
2. Let the game update on your PC and on the server.
3. Update SML and the mods in SMM, first for your own install, then for the server, then share the updated profile.
4. If a mod has no build for the new version yet, remove it from the profile or wait before you restart.

How big a server for a modded factory

The official wiki's server requirements say 8GB of memory, and 16GB "may be recommended for larger saves or to host more than 4 players". We have no measured figure for how much a given mod adds, so watch the memory graph in the panel after you install a big content mod and move up a plan if it gets tight.

Our Satisfactory server hosting runs Update 1.2 in nine regions with 8GB to 24GB of RAM, and you reach the server files over SFTP. For RAM per factory size and what other hosts charge, see our Satisfactory server hosting comparison.

FAQ

Can you use mods on a Satisfactory dedicated server? Yes. Install them with Satisfactory Mod Manager 3.0 or newer over SFTP. The mod needs a server build, shown as a checkmark in the Server column on ficsit.app.

Do all players need the same mods as the server? For most mods, yes, and in the same version. Mods marked as not required on the other side, such as MAM Enhancer or Mod Update Notifier, are the exception.

Can I copy my mods folder to the server? No. Client builds do not run on a dedicated server. Let SMM install the server builds.

What path do I enter in SMM for SFTP? sftp://username:password@host:port/path/, where the path is the folder that contains FactoryServer.sh or FactoryServer.exe. Your SFTP details are in the server panel.

Why can't my friends join after I added mods? Usually a version mismatch. Share your SMM profile so everyone has the same set, and test a vanilla join first if the error stays.

Do mods survive Satisfactory updates? Not always. Update SML and the mods after a patch, on the server and on every PC, and keep a copy of the save from before the patch.