The reliable way to make someone an administrator on a Factorio server is to run the /promote command with that player’s exact name. An existing administrator can run it in-game; if nobody has admin rights yet, run it from the server’s own console. To remove access, use /demote. You can also manage several administrators with the server’s server-adminlist.json file.
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The admin list is separate from server-settings.json. By default, server-adminlist.json is kept beside factorio-current.log. A headless server can use another location when it is started with --server-adminlist FILE.
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What Factorio admin rights control
A Factorio administrator can use privileged server commands and manage multiplayer administration. Because the role is powerful, grant it only to people you trust and use the least complicated method that fits your situation.
Factorio documents two supported ways to maintain the administrator list:
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- Use the console commands
/promote,/demote, and/admins. - Edit the server’s
server-adminlist.jsonfile, or point the server to a file at a custom path with--server-adminlist FILE.
The command method is the safest choice when you need to promote one person immediately. The file method is useful when you are preparing a list for a headless server or maintaining several names outside the game.
Before you promote anyone
Get the player’s exact Factorio name
Use the name Factorio displays for the player, not a nickname from a hosting panel, chat service, or operating-system account. Names containing spaces or unusual characters should be copied exactly. If the command cannot find the player, verify the spelling and capitalization first.
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Confirm that you have an administrative route
The promote, demote, and admins commands are admin-only commands. An existing administrator can issue them from the game console. If the server currently has no administrator, use the dedicated server’s own console or terminal rather than trying to execute an admin-only command as an ordinary player.
Make a maintenance backup
Before editing an administrator-list file, make a copy of it. Keep the backup outside the live configuration directory and record which file the server is actually using. This gives you a recovery path if the JSON becomes invalid or a panel overwrites it.
Method 1: promote a player with the console
This is the direct method for a running server and normally takes effect as soon as the command succeeds.
- Join the Factorio server with an account that already has administrative rights, or open the server’s own console if no in-game administrator exists.
- Open the Factorio console. In the game, use the console key configured for your keyboard and open a chat/console command line.
- Enter the promote command with the player’s exact name:
/promote <player-name> - Submit the command and read the server response. A successful response confirms that the player has been promoted.
- Verify the current list with:
/admins
Replace <player-name> with the real account name and do not include the angle brackets. For example, the command pattern is /promote Alice when the player’s displayed name is Alice.
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Promoting someone who is online
Run the command while the player is connected, then have the player reconnect or continue playing according to the server’s response. The authoritative check is the output of /admins, not a hosting panel’s cached status.
Promoting someone who is not online
If the command accepts the exact name, it can be used from the server console without waiting for the player to join. If Factorio cannot resolve the name, use the file method only with care: an unverified report from a 2019 forum discussion suggested that file entries may be applied when a player is first created on joining, so editing the file alone may not promote an account that already exists. That behavior was not confirmed against the forum post or current documentation. For an existing account, the console command is the dependable fallback.
If you are setting up the first administrator
Connect to the dedicated server process through its own console and run /promote <player-name> there. Do not depend on an in-game command issued by a regular player: the promote command is restricted to administrators, while the server’s own console is the administrative control point.
Remove admin rights with demote
To revoke a player’s administrator access, run:
/demote <player-name>
- Run the command from an existing administrator account or the server console.
- Use the player’s exact displayed name.
- Run
/adminsto confirm that the name is no longer listed.
Demotion is preferable to deleting unrelated configuration files because it changes only the target player’s administrator status.
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Factorio’s documented administrator-list file is server-adminlist.json. It is not the same file as server-settings.json.
Find the correct file
By default, place or find server-adminlist.json in the same directory as factorio-current.log. The log’s location is therefore a practical way to identify the server’s active data directory. A file in a different directory will not be used unless the server was launched with a custom administrator-list path.
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Understand the JSON structure
The file contains a JSON array of usernames. A two-user list looks like this:
["Alice", "Bob"]An empty list is represented by:
[]Keep the file valid JSON: use double quotation marks around each name, separate entries with commas, and do not add a trailing comma after the last entry. Preserve the names exactly as Factorio identifies them.
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Edit the file safely
- Stop or place the server in a controlled maintenance state before changing the live file, and keep the backup you made earlier.
- Open the active
server-adminlist.jsonin a plain-text editor. - Add the new username as another quoted item in the top-level array. Do not replace the existing names unless you intend to remove their rights.
- Save the file as plain text with the exact filename
server-adminlist.json. - Check that the result is valid JSON and that the file is in the directory beside
factorio-current.log, unless a launch parameter specifies another path. - Start the server or apply the change during your provider’s supported maintenance procedure.
- After connecting, use
/adminsto inspect the list.
The official wiki describes this file as being created when a player is promoted through the console. If no file exists, promoting a player from the console is the most straightforward way to create the server-managed list before making further edits.
Is a restart required?
The available official descriptions identify the file and its location but do not establish a universal restart rule. Third-party summaries commonly say that a restart is needed after a file edit, but that requirement is not confirmed here. Use a controlled restart when your operating procedure permits it, then verify with /admins. If you need a change without downtime, use /promote from the server console instead.
Use a custom path on a headless server
A headless server can be told which administrator-list file to use with the launch parameter:
--server-adminlist FILEReplace FILE with the path to the JSON file you want Factorio to read. This option is useful when your service keeps configuration outside the directory containing factorio-current.log, or when a deployment system maintains a dedicated configuration location.
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Checklist for a custom file
- Confirm that the launch command or service definition includes
--server-adminlist. - Verify the path points to the file you edited, not an older copy.
- Ensure the process user can read the file.
- Keep the contents as a JSON array of usernames.
- After starting the server, verify the result with
/admins.
If the parameter is removed later, Factorio returns to its default file-location behavior, so document the setting with the rest of the server’s launch configuration.
Do not use server-settings.json for this
Some unofficial user-written guidance says that a headless server can be started with multiple administrators by editing server-settings.json. That advice conflicts with the official Multiplayer documentation and with current server-management discussions that identify server-adminlist.json as the administrator list.
Treat server-adminlist.json as the authoritative file for this task. Keep gameplay and server options in server-settings.json, and keep administrator usernames in the dedicated admin-list file. Editing the settings file may leave the actual admin list unchanged and makes troubleshooting harder.
Console command or file: which should you choose?
| Method | Best use | What you change | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
/promote |
Immediate promotion on a running server | The server’s administrator list | Must be issued by an existing administrator or from the server console |
/demote |
Immediate removal of one player | The target player’s administrator status | Must be issued by an existing administrator or from the server console |
server-adminlist.json |
Maintaining a prepared list or several names | A JSON array of usernames | File application timing and restart behavior are not fully established in the available official description |
--server-adminlist FILE |
Headless deployments with a non-default configuration path | The file path Factorio reads | The launch configuration must remain in place |
For a single player who needs access now, choose /promote. For repeatable server deployment, keep a valid JSON list under version control or in your configuration system and explicitly set --server-adminlist when the file is outside the default directory.
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Many hosting control panels expose an “admins” or “administrator list” field. The panel may write the JSON file for you, but labels and paths vary by provider. Confirm which Factorio launch command the panel uses and whether it supplies --server-adminlist. If the panel reports that a user is an admin but /admins does not list that name, inspect the active file and launch arguments rather than assuming the panel’s display is authoritative.
When a panel provides a built-in console, the same Factorio commands apply: enter /promote <player-name>, /demote <player-name>, or /admins in that console. Provider documentation is secondary to the server’s actual command output and active configuration.
Troubleshooting admin promotion
The promote command says the player cannot be found
- Copy the exact in-game name, including spaces, punctuation, and capitalization.
- Make sure you are connected to the intended server and not a different save or instance.
- If the player has never joined and the command cannot resolve the name, add the name to the JSON list and verify after the player joins, or use the server console when the account becomes available.
- For an existing player who is not promoted by a file edit, use the console command; the reported join-time behavior of file entries is not confirmed for the current version.
The command is rejected for lack of permission
The promote, demote, and admins commands are admin-only. Ask an existing administrator to run the command, or use the dedicated server console. A player who has not yet been promoted cannot bootstrap their own privileges through in-game chat.
The file is ignored
- Check the filename: it must be
server-adminlist.json. - Check the directory: by default it is beside
factorio-current.log. - Check the launch arguments for
--server-adminlist FILE; if present, edit the file at that path instead. - Open the file and verify that it is a JSON array, with quoted names and commas in the right places.
- Confirm that the server process can read the file.
- Restart through the normal maintenance procedure if your deployment requires configuration reloads, then run
/admins.
The JSON became invalid
Restore the backup, or replace the contents with a minimal valid array such as [] and add names one at a time. Do not attempt to repair a malformed file by adding comments: standard JSON does not allow them. If the server is running, use the console method after recovery so the server can recreate or update its managed list.
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Use /admins in the running server as the immediate check. Then compare the panel’s configured path, the actual --server-adminlist argument, and the file beside factorio-current.log. A panel can be editing one copy while Factorio reads another.
A promotion worked, but the player still cannot use an admin command
Run /admins again and confirm the exact name appears. Have the player reconnect if the server or client does not reflect the new privilege immediately. If the name is absent, repeat /promote from the server console using the exact displayed name.
Operational and security practices
- Grant administrator rights only to people who need them; the role permits privileged server actions.
- Keep a backup of
server-adminlist.jsonbefore bulk edits. - Document whether the server uses the default file beside
factorio-current.logor a custom path supplied by--server-adminlist. - After every change, verify with
/adminsrather than relying solely on a control-panel indicator. - When someone no longer needs access, use
/demoteand confirm the removal. - Recheck the official Factorio Console and Multiplayer documentation after a major game-version change. The available documentation does not indicate a mechanism change in 2026, but command behavior should be validated against the version you operate.
Quick reference
/promote <player-name>
/demote <player-name>
/adminsUse /promote for an immediate, targeted change; use server-adminlist.json for a maintained list; and use --server-adminlist FILE when a headless server stores that list at a custom path.
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