How to Make a Factorio Mod: Adding Items, Recipes, and Names in Lua

In Factorio 2.0, we will add a practice item called tm-practice-plate made from two iron plates. This is an example of directly creating an item prototype, crafting recipe, and locale, and loading them into the mod folder. This is based on the base mod without relying on Space Age assets, and uses a separate test map instead of an existing factory save.

1. Preparing the Mod Folder and Files

Factorio's executable folder and user data folder may be different. Find the mods folder from the user data location in the official documentation. General Windows installations use %APPDATA%/Factorio/mods, but portable or custom setups vary. Back up your save files and existing mod settings, and create the tm-practice_1.0.0 folder.

tm-practice_1.0.0/
  info.json
  data.lua
  locale/
    en/strings.cfg
    ko/strings.cfg

2. Declaring Compatibility in info.json

Name is the internal identifier for the mod and matches the beginning of the folder name. Version must match _1.0.0 in the folder. Factorio_version is fixed to 2.0 to avoid confusion with 1.1 structures. Due to the base condition in dependencies, you can use the base game prototypes.

{
  "name": "tm-practice",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "title": "TroubleMaker Practice Plate",
  "author": "TroubleMaker",
  "factorio_version": "2.0",
  "dependencies": ["base >= 2.0.0"],
  "description": "An original item and recipe tutorial."
}

3. Adding Items and Crafting Recipes to data.lua

Copy the item prototype of the basic iron plate and assign a new name and stack size. Icons reference the internal path of the base game owned by the user, so game images are not duplicated in the ZIP. Write recipe ingredients and results using the explicit type/name/amount format of Factorio 2.0. Set enabled=true so it can be found on the test map without separate technology unlocks.

local plate = table.deepcopy(data.raw.item["iron-plate"])
plate.name = "tm-practice-plate"
plate.order = "a[tm-practice-plate]"
plate.stack_size = 100

data:extend({
  plate,
  {
    type = "recipe",
    name = "tm-practice-plate",
    enabled = true,
    energy_required = 1,
    ingredients = {
      {type = "item", name = "iron-plate", amount = 2}
    },
    results = {
      {type = "item", name = "tm-practice-plate", amount = 1}
    }
  }
})

4. Adding Display Names with Locale

Put the following text in locale/ko/strings.cfg. Match the prototype names precisely in the item-name and recipe-name sections. If Lua strings and locale keys differ, internal IDs or Unknown keys may be displayed.

[item-name]
tm-practice-plate=연습용 철판

[recipe-name]
tm-practice-plate=연습용 철판 제작

[item-description]
tm-practice-plate=모드 제작 학습용 아이템입니다.

In locale/en/strings.cfg, put your own English phrases using the same key structure: Practice plate, Make practice plate, An item for modding practice. Save the file as UTF-8. Saving .cfg in JSON format will not read correctly.

5. Enabling the Mod and Verifying Crafting

1. Run the game and enable TroubleMaker Practice Plate in Mods.
2. When the game restarts to read the mod, check that there are no error messages.
3. Play in a new sandbox or test map and prepare iron plates.
4. Find the practice plate recipe in the crafting menu and verify that 2 iron plates turn into 1 item.
5. Compare whether names and descriptions appear in their respective locale phrases in Korean and English settings.
6. Completely exit the game, disable the mod, and verify the basic setup in a separate test map.

6. Order of Reading Errors

If mod loading stops, look for the first error in factorio-current.log. Check iron-plate spelling and base dependencies for missing prototype errors, and results/ingredients formatting for recipe errors. If the mod is not in the list, check if the info.json path is nested two folders deep. Icons are the same, so having the same appearance as the base iron plate is not a bug. It is easier to test after adding your own custom icons, technology unlocks, and balance once this step succeeds.

7. Removal and Sharing

Removing a mod that adds items may cause those items to disappear from saves. Do not turn it off immediately in important factory saves; verify on a backed-up copy. Create the shared ZIP to contain a single tm-practice_1.0.0 folder and match the name and version. Specify testing conditions with other mods, supported game 2.0, and used base dependencies. After game updates, re-verify loading, crafting, and name display before raising the distribution version.

Original Documentation and Verification Criteria

An introductory guide written by the TroubleMaker operations team, checked against creator and official tool documents on October 7, 2026. Code and diagrams are our own examples for explanation purposes and do not represent actual gameplay verification of the game on this server. Verify and distribute with a separate test save using the versions specified in the text. Compare the latest versions and dependencies of each tool from the originals below.

Factorio 2.0 모드 제작 튜토리얼

Factorio locale 공식 문서

Factorio recipe prototype

Factorio 모딩 문서