Astroneer Mods: How to Install Them (and Run Them on a Dedicated Server)

Astroneer mods are community-made .pak files that change items, vehicles, power, planets and more. The game has no built-in mod menu and System Era does not support them. Its patch notes say plainly: "We do not officially support mods". So you install Astroneer mods with a community mod manager, and each one needs a "mod integrator" step before the game will load it.

This guide covers the three things that trip people up:

• Which mods still work after November 2025.
• How to install mods on your own PC.
• How to put a mod set on a dedicated Astroneer server so your friends join the same modded world.

Checked against

Astroneer Patch 1.44.4 (16 September 2026), AstroModLoader Classic v1.8.2.0, and the AstroTechies modding documentation. The server steps match the GameServerKings Astroneer egg.

First: most "best Astroneer mods" lists are out of date

In November 2025 the Megatech update (1.36.42.0) moved Astroneer from Unreal Engine 4.23 to 4.27. According to the AstroTechies modding FAQ, "any mods that were last updated before November 21st, 2025 are incompatible with the latest version of the game", and anything built for game version 1.35 or earlier is "guaranteed to not function".

In practice:

• Check each mod's last-updated date before installing it. Anything older than 21 November 2025 will not load.
• astroneermods.space no longer exists. The site was shut down in late 2024 and now redirects to a read-only archive. atenfyr's old mod pages are archived too, and are marked "OBSOLETE, will NOT work on modern versions of the game."
• Expect breakage after each patch. Astroneer has shipped a patch roughly every month in 2026 (1.37 in February through 1.44 in September). Each one can break a mod until its author updates it.

Where to get Astroneer mods today

Every mod ships as a .pak file with a name like 000-FasterBatteryCharging-1.0.0_P.pak. The _P suffix is required, and the game won't load the file without it.

Installing mods on your PC (AstroModLoader Classic)

AstroModLoader Classic (AMLC) is the manager we use in this guide. Its folder layout is the one the server method below relies on. It works with the Steam and Microsoft Store PC versions and needs the .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0.

1. Launch Astroneer once and create a save, so %localappdata%\Astro exists.
2. Download AstroModLoader.exe from the AstroModLoader Classic releases page on GitHub (atenfyr/AstroModLoader-Classic).
3. Run it and drag each mod's .zip or .pak onto the window. AMLC stores downloads in %localappdata%\Astro\Saved\Mods and places active mods in %localappdata%\Astro\Saved\Paks.
4. Enable the mods you want. AMLC runs the mod integrator for you, which writes 999-AstroModIntegrator_P.pak into the same Paks folder. Then start the game.

The integrator is not optional. The modding FAQ calls it "an absolute requirement for playing with Astroneer mods". It combines changes from several mods to the same game files so they don't overwrite each other. You need to run it again every time the game updates and every time you change your mod list. With AMLC, opening the program does this for you.

Which mods the server needs

Each mod declares a sync value in its metadata.json. That value decides where the mod has to be installed:

A mod that leaves sync unset counts as serverclient, so assume both sides need it unless the mod page says otherwise. On Thunderstore, the Server-side and Client-side tags give you the same information. For example, Faster Battery Charging says "This is a server-side mod."

Mod managers only run on PC, so a modded server is effectively a PC-only server. Console players can't install serverclient mods.

Installing mods on your GameServerKings Astroneer server

The AstroTechies docs describe three ways to mod a dedicated server. Two of them run a mod loader on the server itself. Your GameServerKings server runs the Windows server build (AstroServer-Win64-Shipping.exe) under Proton on Linux. The panel gives you a console and file access, not a Windows desktop, so neither of those loaders can run there. The third method is the one that works: build the mod set on your PC, then upload it.

1. Build and test the mod set on your PC using AMLC, as above. Load a world, confirm the mods work, and quit. Your PC's %localappdata%\Astro\Saved\Paks folder now holds the mod .pak files plus a fresh 999-AstroModIntegrator_P.pak.
2. Stop the server in the panel and take a backup first. System Era warns that modded saves are likely to crash after big updates, so keep a clean copy.
3. Open the server files with the panel's File Manager or over SFTP. The server's own Saved folder lives inside the install at Astro/Saved/. This is the same folder that holds Config/WindowsServer/AstroServerSettings.ini.
4. Create Astro/Saved/Paks if it doesn't exist. Upload every serverclient and server mod .pak into it, plus 999-AstroModIntegrator_P.pak. You can leave client-only mods out.
5. Start the server and have one player join and check a modded feature in-game.

This follows where AstroModLoader Classic installs mods on a dedicated server (Astro/Saved/Paks) and the AstroTechies FAQ's advice to copy your local Paks folder to the server. We haven't yet tested a modded pak set on one of our servers, and the server runs under Proton rather than on Windows. If the modded feature doesn't show up in game, contact support and tell us which mods you uploaded.

Re-upload after every Astroneer patch

The server's Automatic Updates setting (Startup tab, on by default) updates the server each time it boots. When a patch lands, update the game on your PC, reopen AMLC so it re-integrates, and upload the new 999-AstroModIntegrator_P.pak along with any mods their authors have updated. You can switch Automatic Updates off while you wait for mod updates. Your players' Steam clients will still update, though.

AMLC can also "sync" a player's mods from a server. That feature is built for servers running AstroLauncher. The GameServerKings egg starts the server executable directly, so share your mod list with your players instead: an AMLC profile export (select the profile and press X to save it as a .zip your friends can drag onto their own AMLC), or a zip of the .pak files.

Troubleshooting

• Server crashes or hangs on boot after adding mods. Remove the newest .pak files one at a time. Also check every mod was updated after 21 November 2025, and that the integrator pak came from the same game version the server is running.
• Everything broke after an update. Rebuild the integrator pak as described in the warning above. If a mod hasn't been updated for the new patch, remove it until its author catches up.
• Friends can't join. Make sure each player has every serverclient mod installed, at the same versions as the server. Mismatched mod sets are the most common cause. For network-side problems, see the connection guide below.
• Want to go back to vanilla? Stop the server, move the .pak files out of Astro/Saved/Paks, and start it again. Mods that add new items can leave a save unloadable without them, so restore your pre-mod backup if the world won't load.

What to Read Next

• How to create a backup: take one before you add or remove mods
• How to upload files via SFTP: the easiest way to upload a batch of .pak files
• How to use your server panel: File Manager, Startup variables and the console
• Astroneer dedicated server: the encryption setting every player needs, and the owner settings
• Players can't connect to my server: when the problem isn't the mods

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