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Licensing

Starting at version 2.5.0, on-premise license servers are no longer supported.

On purchase, you will receive a Serial Key which uniquely identifies your license or pool of licenses. Each individual license can be used as a standalone or floating license. This means that you can choose how to use your license pool without needing to perform extra configuration steps. For example, from a pool of 10 licenses, you can use 2 as standalone licenses and the remaining as floating licenses.

Standalone Licenses

Standalone licenses are licenses bound to a single computer. These types of licenses are activated using a Serial Key and can be later deactivated, allowing them to be moved between computers. Internet connection is only required during the activation and deactivation process.

  • How to Activate: Go to FILE > OPTIONS > Licensing, insert the Serial Key and press ACTIVATE.
  • How to Deactivate: You must have administrator privileges in order to deactivate a license. Go to FILE > OPTIONS > Licensing and press DEACTIVATE.

Floating Licenses

A floating license is a license that persists only when Factory I/O is running. When Factory I/O is shut down, the license is automatically returned to the license pool. If, for any reason, Factory I/O does not terminate properly - caused by a crash or by an intermittent Internet connection - the license will automatically return to the license pool after 10 minutes. Floating licenses require a permanent Internet connection.

Floating licenses use a Share Code to grant access to the license pool. This means that only users who know the current share code are allowed to use floating licenses. At any moment, a share code can be changed by the license owner returning all floating licenses to the license pool. You have two ways of using a share code:

  1. Entering it in Factory I/O (FILE > OPTIONS > Licensing > Activate). The share code will be saved in your Windows account and used every time you start Factory I/O. Other Windows accounts won’t have access to this share code.
  2. Configure Factory I/O to use a share code at startup by including license.share_code = "XXX-XXX-XXX" in a file named auto.cfg and placing this file in ProgramData\Real Games\Factory IO. This will allow all Windows accounts to use this share code. Learn more about cfg files here.

In order to prevent unauthorized use, a share code is encrypted when stored locally on a computer.

Licenses Management

You can manage your licenses under your account at factoryio.com. This portal displays relevant information about your licenses and allows you to change Share Codes, revoke floating licenses, see where standalone licenses have been fulfilled and so on. Note that standalone licenses cannot be revoked through this portal and must be deactivated in Factory I/O.

Revoking a floating license will remove it from the Factory I/O client using it. This operation is useful when a user leaves Factory I/O running and the license owner requires that license back in the license pool.

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