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 and Configuring your Space Engineers server first.

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.

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.

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 first, and take a backup — see 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 <guid> tags:

<Plugins>
  <guid>cbfdd6ab-4cda-4544-a201-f73efa3d46c0</guid>
</Plugins>

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

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.

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 <Plugins> 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. 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 — first boot and connecting.
• Configuring your Space Engineers server — the full SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg reference.
• How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods — Workshop content, which is separate from Torch plugins.
• How to create a backup — before you install anything.

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