How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods

Space Engineers has a strong Steam Workshop. Mods are referenced by their Workshop ID and added to your server config. This guide covers installing them and the most popular ones. Complete Getting started with your Space Engineers server and Configuring your Space Engineers server first.

Finding Workshop IDs

Browse the Workshop at steamcommunity.com/app/244850/workshop/. Each mod's ID is in its URL: ?id=2675559574 means the ID is 2675559574.

Adding Mods to the Config

Edit the <Mods> section in SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg:

<Mods>
  <ModItem FriendlyName="Build Info">
    <Name>1500385986.sbm</Name>
    <PublishedFileId>1500385986</PublishedFileId>
    <PublishedServiceName>Steam</PublishedServiceName>
  </ModItem>
  <ModItem FriendlyName="Nanobot Build and Repair">
    <Name>857053359.sbm</Name>
    <PublishedFileId>857053359</PublishedFileId>
    <PublishedServiceName>Steam</PublishedServiceName>
  </ModItem>
</Mods>

For each mod:

• Name is <WorkshopID>.sbm
• PublishedFileId is the Workshop ID
• PublishedServiceName is Steam

The order of mods in this list matters

Some mods must load before others; mod authors usually document the recommended load order on the Workshop page.

If you generate your config locally with the in-game configurator (see Configuring your Space Engineers server), it builds this <Mods> block for you with the correct format, which avoids hand-editing mistakes.

Applying the Mods

After editing the config, restart the server. On boot, the server downloads each mod from Steam and applies it. Watch the console for download progress and any errors.

Players connecting to the server auto-download the same mods through Steam, so you do not need to distribute anything manually.

Enabling mods on your own client

If you only want to play on the server, you do not have to enable anything. Keen's wiki is explicit that mods "are automatically downloaded or updated to the latest version upon loading or joining a world that uses the respective mods", and that "this happens regardless of your subscribed status to any of the mods". Join the server and they arrive.

Enabling mods in a world you own locally is a different job, and it is done in the game's UI rather than in a config file:

1. Find the mods on the Steam Workshop and subscribe to them. Subscribing downloads them into your local mods directory.

2. Open Space Engineers and click Load Game.

3. Select the save and click Edit.

4. On the World Settings screen, click Mods. Subscribed mods are listed on the left, active mods on the right.

5. Move a mod to the right to enable it, and back to the left to disable it.

That screen writes the same <Mods> block this page is about, into the world's own config. It is also the least error-prone way to build a list for a server: set the world up locally, confirm it loads, then upload it.

Cross-play servers cannot use Steam Workshop mods

A server's network type is either Steam or EOS. Keen's dedicated server documentation states the trade-off plainly: a server configured for cross-platform play "can be joined by both PC and console players", but "it cannot use Steam workshop mods". Mods on those servers come from mod.io instead, and PublishedServiceName is set to mod.io rather than Steam.

Popular Mods

• Build Info: Shows block specs (mass, power, components) in the build menu. Nearly essential
• Nanobot Build and Repair: Drones that auto-build and repair blocks
• Easy Inventory: Drag-and-drop inventory management
• Aerodynamic Physics: Atmospheric flight realism
• Modular Encounters Systems (MES): Adds enemy AI ship encounters
• AQD - Quality of Life: A bundle of QoL improvements
• Speed Limit Increase: Raises the top speed cap
• Industrial Overhaul: Reworks crafting and production chains
• More NPC Encounters: Adds NPC stations and ships

Performance tools like Concealment are Torch plugins, not Workshop mods

Nothing in the list above unloads or pauses inactive grids. The tools that do — Concealment being the best known — are Torch plugins: server-side code you install by uploading a .zip into the Plugins folder and registering its GUID in Torch.cfg, which has nothing to do with the <Mods> block on this page. If server performance is what you are chasing, see How to install Torch and setup plugins instead.

Backups Before Mod Changes

Snapshot before adding or removing a mod

Always take a Backups snapshot on your Space Engineers game server before adding or removing a mod. Mod conflicts and removals can corrupt a world, especially mods that add custom blocks (removing the mod orphans every block it provided). See Getting started with your Space Engineers server for the backup workflow.

Removing a Mod

1. Take a backup first.

2. Stop the server.

3. Remove the mod's <ModItem> block from the config.

4. Start the server.

If the mod added custom blocks that players placed, those grids may be damaged or removed when the mod is gone. This is why backups before mod changes matter.

Why your mods did not load

Almost every "I added the mod and nothing changed" comes down to one thing: the <Mods> block you edited is not the one the server read.

There are two of them. SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg has the <Mods> block shown above. Every world save also carries its own, in Sandbox_config.sbc inside that world's folder, in exactly the same ModItem format — Keen document that file and its <Mods> element in the official world configuration reference. A world that already exists brings its mod list with it.

Check these two in order:

1. Are you editing the world the server actually loads? LoadWorld in SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg names it. If it points at one save folder and you edited a config in another, the server never saw your change. Configuring your Space Engineers server covers LoadWorld and where saves live.

2. Do the two lists agree? Open Saves/<world>/Sandbox_config.sbc and confirm the same ModItem entries are present there. Stop the server before editing it.

If both are right and a mod still does not appear:

• Check PublishedFileId against the Workshop URL. A wrong but well-formed ID is not a syntax error, so the config still parses and the server still boots — it just is not the mod you wanted.
• Check Name matches the ID. It must be <WorkshopID>.sbm. Copying a ModItem block and changing only the PublishedFileId leaves a Name pointing at the old mod.
• Confirm the mod still exists. Open the Workshop page for the ID. Mods get unlisted and removed, and a removed one cannot be downloaded.

The boot log is the fastest answer

The server logs each mod as it downloads and applies it. If a mod is not in that log, it was never in the list the server read — go back to step 1 rather than reinstalling anything.

Common Issues

• Mod download fails on boot: Confirm Steam is reachable. Our egg uses SteamCMD; transient network issues usually clear on a restart.
• Server stuck at "loading world": Often a mod conflict or load-order problem. Remove mods one at a time to find the culprit. The console shows which mod was loading when the hang started.
• Mod works alone but breaks with others: Two mods conflict. Check each mod's Workshop page for known incompatibilities, and confirm load order.
• Custom blocks vanished: A mod that provided those blocks was removed or failed to load. Restore from a backup taken while the mod was working.

What to Read Next

• Torch Server for the Concealment plugin and other server-side performance tools
• Configuring your Space Engineers server for the config file these mods are added to
• Getting started with your Space Engineers server for the backup workflow

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