Factorio stores its save files at %APPDATA%\Factorio\saves on Windows. Checkpoint64 already knows this folder — it backs it up automatically and keeps earlier versions, so a corrupted or overwritten save is one click from restored.
Where Factorio saves are stored
- Windows —
%APPDATA%\Factorio\saves - macOS —
~/Library/Application Support/factorio/saves - Linux —
~/.factorio/saves
The save data here is .zip files — back up the folder as a set, not single files, so a restore always keeps them consistent.
How to open the save folder
- Windows — press Win+R, paste
%APPDATA%\Factorio\saves, and press Enter. - macOS — in Finder press Cmd+Shift+G (Go to Folder) and paste
~/Library/Application Support/factorio/saves.
Backing up Factorio saves automatically
- Install Checkpoint64 (free) and pick Factorio — the save path above is already preset.
- Auto-backup watches the folder and uploads a new version whenever it changes, keeping full history.
- Restore any version in one click if a save corrupts, gets overwritten, or a mod breaks it.
For the deeper story — how Factorio saves break and how rollback works — read the full Factorio save backup guide.
Launch options: Checkpoint64 can start Factorio with 2 launch options you tick — see what each one does.
Sharing Factorio saves with friends
Factorio has co-op, so the folder above usually lives on one person's PC — whoever hosts. When they're offline nobody else can carry on, and if two people play separately, one session quietly overwrites the other.
Checkpoint64 lets a small group pass one Factorio world around instead of renting a dedicated server. Whoever plays next takes a server-enforced lock, pulls the latest save, plays, and pushes it back; everyone else stays read-only until the lock frees up, so nobody saves over anybody. Recent versions are kept, so a bad session is one restore away. The dedicated server alternative guide walks through the full take-turns flow.
Every way to do it, from playing live to taking turns: How to share your Factorio world with friends.
Hosting a Factorio server? The ports to forward, and how your team can join without forwarding any, are on the Factorio server ports page.