mods.factorio.com

The Mod Portal search matches your query against four fields: the mod title, its internal name, its summary, and the username of the mod owner. To search for an exact phrase, wrap it in double quotes (for example, "space exploration"). You can then narrow the results using the category and tag checkboxes in the left sidebar, or exclude categories and tags with the ban button.

What Each Search Field Covers

Because the query runs against all four fields at once, a single word can return results for several different reasons. Searching train may surface mods titled with "train," mods whose summary mentions trains, and mods uploaded by a user with "train" in their name.

Refining Results with the Sidebar

The left sidebar provides two kinds of filters:

• Categories describe the mod's overall purpose — Content, Overhaul, Tweaks, Utilities, Scenarios, Mod packs, Localizations, Internal, and No category.
• Tags describe specific features or themes — Planets, Transportation, Logistics, Trains, Combat, Armor, Character, Enemies, Environment, Mining, and more.

Check a box to limit results to that category or tag. Use the ban button to exclude one instead — handy when a popular tag floods your results with mods you don't want. To clear everything, click the active tab at the top of the page, which resets your filters.

An Expansion filter (Space Age) is also available if you want mods built around the expansion.

A Practical Search Example

Suppose you want logistics mods compatible with Space Age, but you don't want total conversions:

1. Type a term such as belt into the search box.
2. Check Logistics under Tags.
3. Check Space Age under Expansion.
4. If overhaul mods appear, use the ban button on the Overhaul category.
5. Review the remaining results, then click the active tab to reset when you're done.

The expected result is a short list of belt-related logistics mods tagged for the expansion, without full conversion packs mixed in.

Caching: Why New Mods Don't Appear Immediately

The portal caches its search and listing pages heavily. New mods and updates can take several hours to appear in search results. If you just published a mod and can't find it, this delay is the likely cause rather than a problem with your upload or search terms.

Related Pages on the Portal

The same navigation includes Highlighted mods, Recently updated, Most downloaded, and Trending views, plus a Factorio version filter. These are useful when you want to browse rather than search for something specific — for example, checking Recently updated to see what changed this week before deciding which mods to add to an existing save.

New and updated Factorio mods can take several hours to appear in Mod Portal search results because the site caches its pages heavily. The Mod Portal states this directly: "There's a lot of caching on this page. It can take several hours for new mods and updates to show up in search results." So if you've just published a mod or pushed an update and can't find it in search or the recently updated list, the usual cause is cache refresh timing, not a rejected upload.

What the delay affects

The caching note appears on the "Browse recently updated mods" page, so the delay covers both the recently updated listing and search results. In practice, this means:

• A mod you just published may not be findable by title, internal name, summary, or owner username yet.
• An update to an existing mod may not be reflected in search results for several hours.
• The recently updated listing may lag behind the actual update time.

How to check whether your mod was actually accepted

Before assuming a cache delay, confirm the upload itself succeeded:

1. Log in to the Mod Portal.
2. Open your own mod's page directly (by its URL) rather than relying on search.
3. If the page exists with your latest version, the upload went through and you're only waiting on cache refresh.

If the mod page doesn't exist at all, the problem is with the upload or review process, not caching.

How search matches your mod

Understanding what search looks at helps you verify discoverability once the cache clears. The Mod Portal matches your query against:

• the mod title
• the internal name
• the summary
• the username of the mod owner

To search for a specific phrase, surround it with double quotes. You can also narrow results with the sidebar by enabling category and tag checkboxes, or exclude them with the ban button. Resetting filters is done by clicking the active tab at the top.

Practical tips while you wait

• Search by your exact mod title in double quotes to reduce noise.
• Check the mod's direct page instead of search to confirm the version is live.
• Avoid re-uploading repeatedly to "force" it into search; the delay is on the display side, and the page evidence gives no indication that re-uploading speeds up cache refresh.
• If several hours pass and the mod still isn't visible anywhere, including its direct page, treat it as an upload issue rather than a caching one.

The Factorio Mod Portal splits filtering into two layers: categories describe a mod's overall purpose, while tags describe specific features or themes. You combine them with checkboxes to include results and the ban button to exclude them. This works best when you already know the kind of mod you want but not its name — for example, "a logistics mod that isn't a full overhaul."

What each layer tells you

Categories: the mod's overall purpose

Categories answer "what is this mod trying to be?" The portal lists these with mod counts at the time of writing:

The counts themselves are a useful signal. If you want a big, game-changing experience, Overhaul is small and deliberate (112 mods). If you want small quality-of-life changes, Tweaks and Utilities are where most of the volume sits.

Tags: specific features and themes

Tags cut across categories and answer "what does this mod actually touch?" Examples from the portal include:

• Planets (225) — new places to build more factories
• Transportation (435) — moving the player, via vehicles or teleporters
• Logistics (745) — augmented or new ways of moving materials: belts, inserters, pipes
• Trains (281) — expanding what trains can do
• Combat (627) — new ways to deal with enemies, attack or defense
• Armor (188), Character (97), Enemies (262), Environment (510), Mining — appearance, enemy changes, map generation and terrain, and mining respectively

A single mod can carry several tags, so tags are the better tool when your need is narrow ("I want better belts") rather than broad ("I want new content").

How to combine them

1. Enter a search term in the Mod Portal search box. The portal matches your query against the mod title, internal name, summary, and the mod owner's username. Wrap a phrase in double quotes to search for that exact phrase.
2. Use the sidebar on the left to refine. Enable checkboxes to limit results to selected categories and tags.
3. Use the ban button on a category or tag to exclude it. This is the step most people miss: if you want new content but not a total conversion, banning Overhaul removes those results instead of forcing you to scan past them.
4. To start over, click the active tab at the top to reset your filters.

There is also an Expansion filter for Space Age, the expansion that continues the game after launching rockets into space — new worlds, novel resources, and interplanetary space platforms. Use it when you want mods built around that content rather than the base game.

A worked example

Suppose you want to improve material handling without changing the game's core. Search for a term like "belt," then check Utilities (tools and interface changes that don't fundamentally change gameplay) and the Logistics tag, and ban Overhaul. You end up with mods that adjust how materials move, without total conversions or unrelated content mods crowding the list.

Common snags

• New mods and updates don't appear immediately. The portal notes there is a lot of caching on this page, and it can take several hours for new mods and updates to show up in search results. If a mod you just published or updated is missing, wait rather than assuming it failed.
• "No category" is not a red flag by itself. It is also the default for new mods, so some genuinely useful mods sit there until their author categorizes them.
• Internal mods aren't for direct play. They are Lua libraries for use by other mods and submods that are parts of a larger mod — filter them out unless you are troubleshooting dependencies.
• Too many filters can empty the list. If results dry up, reset by clicking the active tab and add filters back one at a time.

mods.factorio.com is the official Factorio Mod Portal. It is the place to browse, search, and find mods for Factorio, including mods built for the Space Age expansion. You can use it to discover new content, overhauls, tweaks, utilities, scenarios, mod packs, localizations, and internal libraries. The portal organizes mods by category, tag, and Factorio version, and offers several browsing views: highlighted mods, recently updated, most downloaded, and trending.

Main ways to browse mods

The portal’s home view is “Browse recently updated mods,” but it also provides other entry points:

• Highlighted mods — a curated selection.
• Recently updated — mods with recent changes or releases.
• Most downloaded — the most popular mods by download count.
• Trending — mods currently gaining attention.
• Search mods — a search box for finding mods by term.

These views help you decide whether you want something new, something popular, or something actively maintained.

Searching and filtering

The search box matches your query against four fields:

• the mod title
• the mod’s internal name
• the mod summary
• the username of the mod owner

To search for a specific phrase, surround it with double quotes ("). For example, searching "space platform" looks for that exact phrase rather than the individual words.

You can refine results using the sidebar on the left:

• Categories — limit results to one or more categories.
• Tags — limit results by tag.
• Ban button — exclude a category or tag from results.
• Reset filters — click the active tab at the top to clear your filters.

The portal notes that it uses a lot of caching, so new mods and updates can take several hours to appear in search results. If a mod you just published or updated does not show up immediately, that delay is expected.

Categories

Categories describe the broad purpose of a mod. The portal lists these:

The counts are shown on the page and give a rough sense of how much exists in each category.

Tags

Tags describe specific features or themes. The portal lists tags such as:

• Planets — new places to build more factories (225)
• Transportation — moving the player, whether by vehicles or teleporters (435)
• Logistics — augmented or new ways of transporting materials, such as belts, inserters, and pipes (745)
• Trains — expanding what trains can do (281)
• Combat — new ways to deal with enemies, attack or defense (627)
• Armor — armors or armor equipment (188)
• Character — changes to the player’s in-game appearance (97)
• Enemies — changes to enemies or entirely new enemies (262)
• Environment — map generation and terrain modification (510)
• Mining — new mining-related content

Tags are useful when you want a specific feature rather than a whole category. For example, if you want better belts and pipes, the Logistics tag is more precise than the Content category.

Expansion filter: Space Age

The portal includes an Expansion filter for Space Age, the Factorio expansion that continues the player’s journey after launching rockets into space. The page describes it as adding new worlds with unique challenges, novel resources for advanced technological gains, and interplanetary space platforms to manage. The Space Age filter shows 526 mods.

If you play with Space Age enabled, use this filter to find mods that account for the expansion. If you play the base game only, you may want to avoid mods that depend on Space Age content.

Factorio version filter

The sidebar includes a Factorio version filter. This matters because mods are built for specific game versions, and a mod made for an older version may not work after an update. Use the version filter to narrow results to mods compatible with the version you run.

A practical example

Suppose you want a mod that improves train logistics but you play Factorio with Space Age and a recent game version. You could:

1. Enter a search term such as train in the search box.
2. In the sidebar, select the Trains tag and the Logistics tag if you want both themes.
3. Enable the Space Age expansion filter.
4. Set the Factorio version filter to your game version.
5. Review the results, then adjust by banning a tag or category you do not want.

The expected result is a shorter list of mods that match your theme, expansion, and version. If the list looks stale, remember the caching note: recent updates may take several hours to appear.

What the portal is not

The page describes browsing and searching mods. It does not state pricing, login requirements, or download terms beyond what is shown. Treat those details as things to confirm on the site itself rather than assuming the portal is free or requires no login.

Space Age is the official Factorio expansion, and on mods.factorio.com it appears as an Expansion filter in the sidebar of the mod browsing pages. Selecting it narrows the mod list to mods built for or tied to Space Age. The portal describes the expansion as continuing the player's journey after launching rockets into space: you discover new worlds with unique challenges, exploit their novel resources for advanced technological gains, and manage a fleet of interplanetary space platforms. At the time of the page snapshot, the Space Age filter showed 526 mods.

Where the filter sits and what it does

The Mod Portal's "Browse recently updated mods" page groups its filters into four sidebar sections: Expansion, Categories, Tags, and Factorio version. Expansion is the first of these, which signals that it is a top-level way to slice the catalog rather than a niche tag.

• Expansion → Space Age limits results to mods associated with the expansion.
• The filter combines with the other sidebar controls, so you can stack it with a category or tag and a Factorio version.
• Checkboxes include items; the ban button excludes them. Clicking the active tab at the top resets your filters.

How it differs from Categories and Tags

These three filter types answer different questions, and mixing them up is the most common source of confusing results.

A Space Age mod can sit in any category. For instance, a Space Age mod that adds new planets would likely be tagged Planets, while one that only adjusts balance would fall under Tweaks. The Expansion filter tells you what it is for; categories and tags tell you what it does.

A practical example

Suppose you want mods that add new places to build factories in a Space Age playthrough. A workable sequence:

1. Open the Mod Portal's recently updated browse page.
2. Check Space Age under Expansion.
3. Check Planets under Tags.
4. Optionally set the Factorio version filter to match your installed game.
5. Enter a search term if you have one; wrap multi-word phrases in double quotes.

Expected result: a shorter list of recently updated mods that are both Space Age–related and planet-focused. If the list looks stale, note the portal's own warning that heavy caching means new mods and updates can take several hours to appear in search results.

Things to keep in mind

• The count is a snapshot. The 526 figure reflects the page at the time it was captured; the live number will drift as mods are published and updated.
• Search covers titles, internal names, summaries, and owner usernames — not full descriptions — so a mod whose summary doesn't mention Space Age may still be relevant but won't surface through text search alone.
• "No category" is the default for new mods (251 at snapshot), so a freshly released Space Age mod may briefly appear there before its author assigns a category.
• The expansion filter is not a compatibility guarantee. It indicates association with Space Age; check the mod's own page for the details that matter to your setup.

If your goal is simply to understand the site overall, the Expansion filter is one of four sidebar tools on a portal whose main jobs are browsing, searching, and filtering mods by category, tag, and game version.