Managing Your Factorio Kubernetes Server: RCON, Backups, and Diagnostics

Overview

This article provides a quick reference for managing your Factorio Kubernetes server. You will find RCON commands for player and server administration, backup procedures for world data, and diagnostic commands for troubleshooting common issues.

Before You Begin

Prerequisites

Factorio Kubernetes Server completed

View Logs

Live Logs

kubectl logs -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts -f

Recent Logs

kubectl logs -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts --tail=50

Error Search

kubectl logs -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts | grep -iE "(error|exception|failed)"

Access RCON Console

Factorio supports RCON¹ for remote administration.

Interactive Session

kubectl exec -it -n factorio deploy/factorio-factorio-server-charts -- rcon-cli

Single Command

kubectl exec -n factorio deploy/factorio-factorio-server-charts -- rcon-cli "<command>"


Note:	If `rcon-cli` isn't available, attach to the container directly for server console access.

Player Management

# List online players
/players

# List online players (verbose)
/players online

# Kick player
/kick <player> <reason>

# Ban player
/ban <player> <reason>

# Unban player
/unban <player>

Admin Management

# List admins
/admins

# Promote player to admin
/promote <player>

# Demote admin to regular player
/demote <player>

Whitelist

# Enable whitelist (alternative to user verification)
/whitelist enable

# Disable whitelist
/whitelist disable

# Add player to whitelist
/whitelist add <player>

# Remove from whitelist
/whitelist remove <player>

# List whitelisted players
/whitelist get


Note:	If using `require_user_verification: true`, whitelist is optional. Verification prevents impersonation; whitelist restricts access.

Server Control

# Save game
/server-save

# Graceful shutdown
/quit

Chat and Announcements

# Server message (shows as [Server])
/shout <message>

# Silent command (no chat output)
/silent-command <lua-code>

Manage World Data

List Saves

POD=$(kubectl get pod -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
kubectl exec -n factorio $POD -- ls -lh /factorio/saves

Check Disk Usage

kubectl exec -n factorio deploy/factorio-factorio-server-charts -- du -sh /factorio/

Create Backups

Full Server Backup

POD=$(kubectl get pod -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
mkdir -p ~/factorio-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)
kubectl cp factorio/$POD:/factorio ~/factorio-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)/

Saves Only

POD=$(kubectl get pod -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
kubectl cp factorio/$POD:/factorio/saves ~/factorio-backup/saves-$(date +%Y%m%d)/

Manage Mods

List Installed Mods

kubectl exec -n factorio deploy/factorio-factorio-server-charts -- ls /factorio/mods/

View Mod List

kubectl exec -n factorio deploy/factorio-factorio-server-charts -- cat /factorio/mods/mod-list.json

Troubleshoot Issues

Pod Not Starting

# Check pod status
kubectl get pods -n factorio

# Check events
kubectl describe pod -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts

# Check HelmRelease
flux get helmreleases -n factorio

Connection Issues

# Verify services
kubectl get svc -n factorio

# Check playit.gg agent (if using playit.gg)
kubectl logs -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts -c playit-agent

Version Mismatch


Tip:	Factorio client and server versions must match exactly. Update `helmrelease.yaml` image tag.

kubectl logs -n factorio -l app=factorio-factorio-server-charts | grep -i "version"

Restart Server

kubectl rollout restart deployment -n factorio factorio-factorio-server-charts
kubectl get pods -n factorio -w

Resources

Wube Software, "Factorio Server Commands," wiki.factorio.com. Accessed: Jan. 7, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://wiki.factorio.com/Console#Server_commands ↩