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Modding: Difference between revisions

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This page tells you how to download and install mods, and gives a quick overview of what you should keep in mind when creating a mod. For more detailed instructions on creating mods, you may view the [[Tutorial:Modding_tutorial| modding tutorial page]]. If you are looking for the modding API, check out the [http://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/ official Factorio Lua API documentation] website. If you wish to know where to install a mod which is in a zipped format, please read the instructions on the [[Application_directory|application directory]] page.
This page tells you how to download and install mods, and gives a quick overview of what you should keep in mind when creating a mod. For more detailed instructions on creating mods, you may view the [[Tutorial:Modding Tutorial| modding tutorial page]]. If you are looking for the modding API, check out the [http://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/ official Factorio Lua API documentation] website. If you wish to know where to install a mod which is in a zipped format, please read the instructions on the [[Application_directory|application directory]] page.


== Downloading & installing mods ==
== Downloading & installing mods ==
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You can download the mods from the following places:
You can download the mods from the following places:


* Mod portal (in-game)
* [https://mods.factorio.com/ Mod portal (website)]
* [https://mods.factorio.com/ Mod portal (website)]
* Mod portal (in-game)
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=14&sid=68de6ef9ee46dcd7566653335917752b Mod subforum]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=14&sid=68de6ef9ee46dcd7566653335917752b Mod subforum]


=== Mod portal (website) ===
=== Mod portal (in-game) ===


Factorio's developers created the [https://mods.factorio.com/ mod portal (website)] to allow the players to share mods. A mod you download from the website comes in the form of a zipped file. To install the mod, you need to copy the zipped file into the mods directory located under the [[Application_directory#User_Data_directory|user data directory]] without unzipping it. You can verify whether or not you installed it correctly by viewing the mods list which you can access through the game's main menu.
The "Mods" section of the main menu is the best way to get mods. It combines downloading & installing, checking installed mods for updates, and enabling/disabling installed mods.


=== Mod portal (in-game) ===
=== Mod portal (website) ===


The mods displayed on the [https://mods.factorio.com/ mod portal (website)] should show in the in-game mod portal which you can access through the game's main menu. The differences in the in-game mod portal are that you can use it to both automatically download and install mods, and to enable or disable the mods.
The [https://mods.factorio.com/ mod portal (website)] is the center of mod hosting, where authors upload mods, and you can find previous versions, and discussions. Mods come as ZIP files, installed by copying (not unzipping) into the "mods" directory in the [[Application_directory#User_Data_directory|user data directory]]. Verify a successful installation by viewing the "Mods" list through the main menu, in-game.


=== Mod subforum ===
=== Mod subforum ===


Some mod creators upload their mods to the official [https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=14&sid=68de6ef9ee46dcd7566653335917752b mod subforum] to showcase their work without submitting to the mod portal or to get feedbacks from the community on their mods before updating or sending them to the mod portal. An uploaded mod should show as an attachment.  Occasionally, a mod you download from the subforum comes in the form of a zipped file. You need to copy it into the mods directory located under the [[Application_directory#User_Data_directory|user data directory]] to install it — you do not have to unzip it. You can verify whether or not you installed it correctly by viewing the mods list which you can access through the game's main menu.
Mod authors maintain threads in the official [https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=14&sid=68de6ef9ee46dcd7566653335917752b mod subforum] to support their work. There may be experimental mods or updates here that aren't available on the main portal. They will be downloaded as ZIP files, either as forum "attachments", or with a link to a hosting site. These are installed the same way as mods downloaded from the portal.


=== Dependencies ===
=== Dependencies ===
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==== Required dependency ====
==== Required dependency ====


When a mod you installed requires you to install another mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is a required dependency.
When a mod you installed requires you to install another mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is a required dependency. The in-game mod portal automatically downloads required dependencies when downloading any mod.


==== Optional dependency ====
==== Optional dependency ====
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When a mod makes a suggestion to install another mod, but if it does not need that other mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is an optional dependency. You can install the optional dependencies which extend the functionality of a mod to enhance your gaming experience with the mod.
When a mod makes a suggestion to install another mod, but if it does not need that other mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is an optional dependency. You can install the optional dependencies which extend the functionality of a mod to enhance your gaming experience with the mod.


==== Sidenote ====
==== Incompatibility ====


Currently, the in-game mod portal does not automatically download neither required nor optional dependencies; therefore, it is up to the user to find and install them. However, such process is expected to be made automatic in the future.
The dependencies can also be used to declare a mod to be incompatible with other mods, which prevents them from being loaded together.


== Creating mods ==
== Creating mods ==
: ''See also: [[Tutorial:Modding tutorial|Modding tutorial]]''


=== Factorio modding API ===
=== API documentation ===


[http://lua-api.Factorio.com/latest Factorio's modding API] allows you to add new game entities and introduce new behaviors to the game it offers many hooks which you can use to trigger new and exciting actions.  
* [https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest Modding API docs] - Overview page of the modding API documentation website
** [https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/index-prototype.html Prototype documentation] — What prototypes can be added to the game, and what are their properties
** [https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/index-runtime.html Documentation of the runtime API] Hook into events and change the world around the player
* [[Tutorial:Mod structure|Mod structure]] — The basic structure of all mods
* [https://github.com/wube/factorio-data Factorio data github repository] — Tracks changes of the Lua prototype definitions in Factorio between releases
* [[Data.raw]] — Lists the names and types of all built-in prototypes


=== Lua scripting ===
=== Lua scripting ===


You need to use the Lua programming language to create any mods in Factorio. The game's mod system injects your code into the startup and to the data construction stage of the game. You can use any text editor to write the code for your mod. Well-known text editors that offer syntax highlighting for Lua are Notepad++ and Sublime Text.
You need to use the Lua programming language (version 5.2.1) to create any mods in Factorio. The game's mod system injects your code into the startup and to the data construction stage of the game. You can use any text editor to write the code for your mod. Well-known text editors that offer syntax highlighting for Lua are Notepad++ and Visual Studio Code.


Useful resources for Lua:
Useful resources for Lua:


* [http://lua-users.org/wiki/TutorialDirectory Lua tutorial]
* [http://lua-users.org/wiki/TutorialDirectory Lua tutorial]
* [https://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/ Lua reference manual]
* [https://www.lua.org/manual/5.2/ Lua reference manual]
* [https://repl.it/languages/lua Lua REPL] : A Lua read-eval-print-loop, essentially a sandbox.
* [https://repl.it/languages/lua Lua REPL] : A Lua read-eval-print-loop, essentially a sandbox.


=== Basic structure of a mod ===
=== Third-Party Tools ===
 
Factorio's mods are distributed in ZIP archives and contain several important files that Factorio looks for when loading mods. These files are listed below, and the required files are colored red.
 
* ExampleMod_v0.0.1.zip
** <span style="color:#FF5555">info.json</span>
** control.Lua
** data.Lua
** data-updates.Lua
** data-final-fixes.Lua
 
=== Licensing ===
 
Every mod requires a license since Factorio '''v0.11'''. If a mod has no license, it is assumed to have a Creative Commons license — [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)]. However, it is possible to purposely make the mod [https://choosealicense.com/licenses/unlicense/ unlicensed], to allow the code within it to be available to the public domain. The most popular distribution licenses for Factorio mods are the [https://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/ MIT license] and the [https://choosealicense.com/licenses/gpl-3.0/ GPLv3] license.


Other useful legal links include:
There is a wide variety of tools contributed by community members to help in mod development, such as plugins for IDEs to provide auto-completion, debuggers, as well as scripts to automate common tasks regarding translations or packaging.


* [http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6202&p=48971#p48968 Forum post on allowed use of base-mod content]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=135 Factorio sub-forum for mod development tools]
* [http://www.factorio.com/terms-of-service Factorio terms of service]
* [https://choosealicense.com/licenses/ Choose a license]


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[:Category:Technical]] — Documentation of technical formats and API's not related to modding


* [[Data.raw|Data.raw (internal object names)]]
{{C|Modding}}
* [[Prototype definitions]]
* [[Script interfaces]]
* [[Tutorial:Modding FAQ| Modding FAQ]]
* [[Tutorial:Modding_tutorial|Modding tutorial]]
* [http://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/ Official Factorio Modding API]

Latest revision as of 19:31, 13 November 2023

This page tells you how to download and install mods, and gives a quick overview of what you should keep in mind when creating a mod. For more detailed instructions on creating mods, you may view the modding tutorial page. If you are looking for the modding API, check out the official Factorio Lua API documentation website. If you wish to know where to install a mod which is in a zipped format, please read the instructions on the application directory page.

Downloading & installing mods

You can download the mods from the following places:

Mod portal (in-game)

The "Mods" section of the main menu is the best way to get mods. It combines downloading & installing, checking installed mods for updates, and enabling/disabling installed mods.

Mod portal (website)

The mod portal (website) is the center of mod hosting, where authors upload mods, and you can find previous versions, and discussions. Mods come as ZIP files, installed by copying (not unzipping) into the "mods" directory in the user data directory. Verify a successful installation by viewing the "Mods" list through the main menu, in-game.

Mod subforum

Mod authors maintain threads in the official mod subforum to support their work. There may be experimental mods or updates here that aren't available on the main portal. They will be downloaded as ZIP files, either as forum "attachments", or with a link to a hosting site. These are installed the same way as mods downloaded from the portal.

Dependencies

Many mods use Factorio's base mod as their only dependency which you do not have to install separately. However, some mods may require you to install other mods for them to work and can also make suggestions for you to install other mods for them to extend their functionality.

Required dependency

When a mod you installed requires you to install another mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is a required dependency. The in-game mod portal automatically downloads required dependencies when downloading any mod.

Optional dependency

When a mod makes a suggestion to install another mod, but if it does not need that other mod for it to work, the other mod, in this case, is an optional dependency. You can install the optional dependencies which extend the functionality of a mod to enhance your gaming experience with the mod.

Incompatibility

The dependencies can also be used to declare a mod to be incompatible with other mods, which prevents them from being loaded together.

Creating mods

See also: Modding tutorial

API documentation

Lua scripting

You need to use the Lua programming language (version 5.2.1) to create any mods in Factorio. The game's mod system injects your code into the startup and to the data construction stage of the game. You can use any text editor to write the code for your mod. Well-known text editors that offer syntax highlighting for Lua are Notepad++ and Visual Studio Code.

Useful resources for Lua:

Third-Party Tools

There is a wide variety of tools contributed by community members to help in mod development, such as plugins for IDEs to provide auto-completion, debuggers, as well as scripts to automate common tasks regarding translations or packaging.

See also

  • Category:Technical — Documentation of technical formats and API's not related to modding