--- title: "How to install Torch plugins for Space Engineers" description: "Torch adds a plugin loader, web admin and performance tools to Space Engineers. Install a plugin: upload the .zip unextracted, add its GUID to Torch.cfg." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/space-engineers/how-to-install-torch/" category: "Space Engineers" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/space-engineers/" published: "2026-03-26T02:27:05.843Z" updated: "2026-08-07T21:07:36.577Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # How to install Torch plugins for Space Engineers Torch is a community-built replacement wrapper for the Space Engineers dedicated server. It runs your world the same way the vanilla server does, but adds a plugin framework, a web-based admin interface and a set of performance tools that vanilla has no equivalent for. If your server is struggling with grid counts or you want proper admin commands, this is the route. Complete [Getting started with your Space Engineers server](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/getting-started-with-your-server/) and [Configuring your Space Engineers server](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/configuration-overview/) first. > [!NOTE] Torch and Workshop mods are different things > Torch plugins are **server-side** code that changes how the server behaves — cleanup, concealment, admin tooling. Steam Workshop mods are **content** added to the world and loaded by every client. They are configured separately and you can run both. For Workshop content see [How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/how-to-install-mods/). ## What Torch Actually Gives You Vanilla Space Engineers dedicated is a bare process with no plugin surface and minimal administration. Torch sits in front of it and adds: - **A plugin loader**, so community plugins can hook the server - **A web UI** for administration without being in-game - **Performance tooling** — the biggest practical reason most servers move to Torch, because Space Engineers slows down as grid and block counts climb - **A profiler** for finding which grids or mods are costing you simulation speed Torch is maintained by the community on GitHub under the TorchAPI organisation, not by Keen. That matters for expectations: it usually lags a day or two behind a major Space Engineers patch, and plugins lag behind Torch. > [!WARNING] Stop the server before you touch anything > Torch and the vanilla server both rewrite their configuration on shutdown. Editing files while the server is running means your changes are discarded when it stops. Stop it from your [rented Space Engineers server](/games/space-engineers-hosting/) first, and take a backup — see [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/). ## Installing a Torch Plugin Plugins are distributed as `.zip` archives and registered by GUID. The step people get wrong is extracting the archive — don't. 1. **Find the plugin** at `torchapi.com/plugins` and download its `.zip`. Note the plugin's **GUID** from its page; you need it in step 4. 2. **Stop your server** from the panel. 3. **Upload the `.zip` — unextracted — into the `Plugins` folder** in the File Manager. Torch reads the archive directly. Extracting it is the single most common reason a plugin silently fails to load. 4. **Register the GUID in `Torch.cfg`.** Open it in the File Manager and add the plugin's GUID to the `Plugins` field, wrapped in `` tags: ```xml title="Torch.cfg" cbfdd6ab-4cda-4544-a201-f73efa3d46c0 ``` 5. **Start the server** and watch the Console. Torch logs each plugin as it loads; a plugin that fails to load says so there. A plugin that is uploaded but not registered in `Torch.cfg` will not load, and a GUID registered without the matching `.zip` present will throw an error on boot. Both halves are required. ## Plugins Worth Running | Plugin | What it does | |---|---| | **Essentials** | The one nearly every Torch server installs. Admin commands, player utilities, scheduled tasks and cleanup tools. GUID `cbfdd6ab-4cda-4544-a201-f73efa3d46c0` | | **Concealment** | Unloads grids with no players nearby and brings them back on approach. The highest-impact performance plugin on a busy server | Keep the list short. Every plugin is community code running inside your server process, and each one is another thing that can break when Space Engineers updates. Install what solves a problem you actually have. > [!IMPORTANT] Check plugin compatibility after every Space Engineers update > A monthly Keen patch can break Torch, and a Torch update can break plugins. The order of recovery is always the same: wait for Torch to update, then wait for each plugin. If your server will not boot after a patch, remove the plugin GUIDs from `Torch.cfg` first — that isolates whether the problem is Torch itself or something it loaded. ## Troubleshooting - **Plugin does not appear to load** — it was extracted. Delete the folder, re-upload the original `.zip` intact. - **Plugin loaded but does nothing** — the GUID is missing from `Torch.cfg`, or is in the file but outside the `` block. - **Server will not start after adding a plugin** — remove that GUID, start clean to confirm the server is fine, then reintroduce one plugin at a time. - **Changes to `Torch.cfg` keep reverting** — you edited while the server was running. Stop it, edit, then start. - **Everything broke after a game update** — expected. Strip the plugin GUIDs, confirm vanilla Torch boots, then add plugins back as their authors ship updates. ## FAQ ### What is Torch for Space Engineers? A community-maintained replacement for the vanilla dedicated server wrapper. It adds a plugin framework, a web admin interface and performance tools, while running the same world files. ### Do I need Torch to run mods? No. Steam Workshop mods work on a vanilla dedicated server and are configured in your server config — see [How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/how-to-install-mods/). Torch is for server-side plugins, which are a different thing. ### Where do I get Torch plugins? From `torchapi.com/plugins`. Download the `.zip`, upload it without extracting, and register the plugin's GUID in `Torch.cfg`. ### Why isn't my Torch plugin loading? Almost always one of two things: the `.zip` was extracted before upload, or its GUID was never added to the `Plugins` block in `Torch.cfg`. Both are required. ### Will Torch improve my server's performance? On its own, marginally. The gains come from plugins — Concealment in particular, which unloads grids nobody is near. On a server slowed by grid count rather than by mods, that is the single biggest lever available. ## What to Read Next - [Getting started with your Space Engineers server](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/getting-started-with-your-server/) — first boot and connecting. - [Configuring your Space Engineers server](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/configuration-overview/) — the full `SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg` reference. - [How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods](/knowledge-base/space-engineers/how-to-install-mods/) — Workshop content, which is separate from Torch plugins. - [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/) — before you install anything. --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings