Factorio Mod Template

A ready-to-use template for Factorio mods

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1. Usage

1.0.1 Downloading the template

Download the repository, unzip it, and put it in your Factorio mods directory, in your developing subfolder (any name can be used). The directory structure should look like this:

  factorio
  ├── config
  ├── mods                                # main mods folder
  │   ├── mod-list.json                   # list of enabled mods
  │   ├── mod-settings.dat                # your stored mods' settings
  │   ├── mod-A_1.0.0.zip                 # any mod
  │   ├── mod-B_1.0.0.zip                 # any mod
  │   ├── ...        
  │   └── dev                             # developing subfolder
  │       └── factorio-mod-template       # unzipped template       
  ├── saves
  ├── scenarios
  └── ...

1.0.2 Renaming

Remember to change the mod's name, author and hyperlinks in the info.json as well.

Mod's name must not include spaces in its internal name

The developing subdirectory and your mod's folder name can have any name

1.0.3 Exporting for Test and Distribution

If you're using Visual Studio Code, you can run any of the already available tasks to automatically export your mod in the Factorio convention.

archive/, .vscode/ and .gitignore will not be exported/copied along with your mod.

The task export will export the mod directly into the main mod folder in .zip format: factorio/mods/factorio-mod-template_0.1.0.zip, using the name and version specified in the info.json, ready to be used or uploaded to the Mod Portal. Will also overwrite any existent zipped mod with the same name and version.

task:export is particularly useful for data-stages and distribution

The task copy will export the mod directly into the main mod folder just as it is (unzipped): factorio/mods/factorio-mod-template_0.1.0, using the name and version specified in the info.json, ready to be used. Will also overwrite any existent mod folder with the same name and version.

task:copy is particularly useful for testing, especially runtime scripts

The task clear will remove any instance of matching name and version of your mod from the factorio/mods directory, if you need a cleanup.

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2. Resources

• Markdown: Basic Syntax
• Factorio:
  • Data raw: documentation of Factorio's prototypes at data stage
  • Runtime docs: documentation of classes and events at runtime
  • Mod portal: the official Factorio Mod Portal
• Lua 5.2 manual
• Visual Studio Code: setting up tasks