Factorio Downloader is a fan-made web application that enables you to download various versions of Factorio—including the full game, demo, headless server version, and the Space Age expansion—with ease and efficiency. The site dynamically filters available downloads based on your selected version and detected operating system, ensuring that only authorized users (those who own the base game—and, when required, the Space Age DLC) can access the downloads.
Important Security Notice:
To help prevent piracy, you must configure your environment by filling out the .env file with your Factorio credentials. Downloads will only proceed if your account owns the game (and the Space Age DLC for expansion downloads).
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Version Filtering:
Displays a complete, ordered list of Factorio versions (from Latest Version down to 0.6.4) as defined in the configuration. When you select a version, the site dynamically shows only the relevant download sections. -
Multiple Download Categories:
- Full Game: Download the complete version of Factorio.
- Demo: Access the free, publicly available demo version.
- Server (Headless): Download the headless server version (available on Linux only).
- Space Age: Download the Space Age expansion (available from version 2.0.7 onward).
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Dynamic OS Detection:
Automatically detects your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux) and highlights the corresponding download button for a seamless experience. -
Authentication & Ownership Verification:
For Full Game and Space Age downloads, the application uses credentials defined in the .env file (loaded via Dotenv) to authenticate with Factorio’s API. Downloads proceed only if:- The login and password are correct.
- Your account owns the base game (and the Space Age DLC, if applicable).
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Direct Download Redirection:
Instead of proxying downloads through your server, the system retrieves the official download URL from Factorio’s servers and redirects your browser directly, ensuring fast and reliable downloads.
- PHP: Server-side scripting and dynamic page rendering.
- cURL: For fetching data from Factorio’s API and following redirects.
- jq: A lightweight command-line JSON processor used to parse API responses.
- CSS & HTML: For a clean, Factorio-inspired user interface.
- dotenv (vlucas/phpdotenv): For environment variable management (credentials are loaded from a .env file).
- ChatGPT o3-mini: Approximately 90% of the project’s code and structure was developed with assistance from ChatGPT o3-mini.
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Clone the Repository:
git clone https://github.com/louanfontenele/Factorio-Downloader.git
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Configure the Environment:
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Create and fill the
.envfile:
Copy the provided.env.example(if available) to.envand fill in your Factorio credentials. This step is essential to ensure that downloads (for full game and expansion) work only when proper credentials are provided—helping to prevent piracy.Example .env file:
FACTORIO_LOGIN=your_login FACTORIO_PASSWORD=your_password # Optionally, set a fallback token obtained via cURL: FACTORIO_TOKEN_FALLBACK=your_fallback_token
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Verify that your environment variables are loaded correctly via Composer’s Dotenv.
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Deploy to a PHP-Enabled Web Server:
- Upload all project files to your server (e.g., using Dokploy/Nixpacks, Docker, Apache, or Nginx with PHP-FPM).
- Ensure that the required PHP extensions (e.g., cURL and jq) are installed.
- If using Docker, build the container with the provided Dockerfile (which creates a persistent volume for certificates and runs
composer install).
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Access the Application:
- Open your browser and navigate to your project URL (e.g.,
http://yourdomain.com/index.php).
- Open your browser and navigate to your project URL (e.g.,
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Select a Version:
The homepage displays an ordered list of available Factorio versions. Click on a version to filter the download sections. -
Download Content:
Depending on the selected version:- Download options for the Full Game, Demo, Server (Headless), and Space Age will be displayed.
- For Full Game and Space Age downloads, authentication is enforced—your account must own the game (and the DLC, if applicable).
- The Server (Headless) version is available only for Linux.
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Direct Redirection:
When you click a download button, the application retrieves the official download URL from Factorio’s servers and redirects your browser directly.
Even though our project no longer reads a local player-data.json file, you still need a valid token for authentication (for Full Game and Expansion downloads). You can use cURL to request your token directly from Factorio’s API on any platform.
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Open your terminal.
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Run the following command (replace
YOUR_LOGINandYOUR_PASSWORDwith your actual credentials):curl -XPOST "https://auth.factorio.com/api-login?require_game_ownership=true&username=$(printf '%s' "YOUR_LOGIN" | jq -s -R -r @uri)&password=$(printf '%s' "YOUR_PASSWORD" | jq -s -R -r @uri)" -
If the credentials are correct and your account owns the game (and the Space Age DLC for expansion), you will receive a JSON response containing a token, for example:
[ "8me7gpab3nrqt5fahf7b363qa65uh7" ] -
Copy that token and add it to your
.envfile asFACTORIO_TOKEN_FALLBACK:FACTORIO_TOKEN_FALLBACK=8me7gpab3nrqt5fahf7b363qa65uh7
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Open Command Prompt or PowerShell.
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In PowerShell, run the following commands (replace
YOUR_LOGINandYOUR_PASSWORDwith your credentials):$username = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::UrlEncode("YOUR_LOGIN") $password = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::UrlEncode("YOUR_PASSWORD") curl -Method Post "https://auth.factorio.com/api-login?require_game_ownership=true&username=$username&password=$password"
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The output should be a JSON response containing your token (as shown above). Copy this token and add it to your
.envfile asFACTORIO_TOKEN_FALLBACK.
Note:
- Your account must own the base game (and the Space Age DLC, if required) for the token to be issued.
- Tokens may expire over time, so if downloads start failing, you might need to re-run the curl command to obtain a new token.
Factorio-Downloader/
├─ config.php # Configuration: credentials, version arrays, defaults, and environment variables
├─ .env # Environment file with sensitive credentials (not committed)
├─ strings.php # Centralized English strings for the UI
├─ theme.php # Handles version selection, filtering, and label assignment (Stable/Experimental)
├─ download.php # PHP script for authenticating and redirecting to the download URL
├─ index.php # Main entry point of the website
└─ site/
├─ downloadFactorio.php # Full Game download section
├─ downloadDemo.php # Demo download section
├─ downloadServer.php # Headless Server download section (Linux only)
├─ downloadSpaceAge.php # Space Age expansion download section
├─ gameVersions.php # Displays the list of available versions
├─ header.php # Contains the header, meta tags, and CSS/JS links
├─ menu.php # Site navigation and header logo
└─ footer.php # Footer content and scripts
To ensure that downloads are allowed only for authorized users, you must create a .env file in the project root with your Factorio credentials. For example:
FACTORIO_LOGIN=your_login
FACTORIO_PASSWORD=your_password
# Optional: Provide a fallback token obtained via cURL if direct authentication fails:
FACTORIO_TOKEN_FALLBACK=your_fallback_tokenThese credentials (and the fallback token) are used to authenticate with Factorio’s API. Downloads will only proceed if your account owns the game (and the Space Age DLC, when applicable).
Contributions are welcome! If you’d like to enhance the project, please open an issue or submit a pull request on the GitHub repository.
This project is provided as a fan project and is not officially affiliated with Wube Software. Use it at your own risk. Please ensure you comply with all relevant licensing and distribution laws.
- ChatGPT o3-mini: Approximately 90% of the project’s code and structure was developed with assistance from ChatGPT o3-mini.
- Factorio Community: Thanks to the vibrant Factorio community and existing projects for inspiration.
- Tools: Special thanks to the developers of PHP, cURL, jq, and vlucas/phpdotenv for providing robust tools that made this project possible.
Enjoy Factorio and happy downloading! 🎉
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