How to Install Torch Plugins on a Space Engineers Server

To install a Torch plugin on a Space Engineers server, download the plugin's .zip from the Torch plugin site, upload it unextracted into the server's Plugins folder, add the plugin's GUID inside the <Plugins> list in Torch.cfg, and restart. The plugin loads at startup and writes its own config file you can then edit. The server has to be running Torch, not the plain dedicated server, for any of this to work.

Mods versus plugins

People mix these up, so it is worth one paragraph. Mods are Steam Workshop content: new blocks, weapons, scripts. Both the server and every player load them, and they go in the world's mod list. Our guide to adding mods to a Space Engineers server covers those.

Plugins run only on the server, inside Torch, a community made wrapper around the Space Engineers dedicated server. Players never download them. They add admin commands, grid cleanup, block limits, scheduled restarts, Discord bridges and profiling tools that the vanilla server lacks. You can run both at the same time: Torch still loads the world's mod list exactly as the normal server would.

Step 1: Run the server on Torch

If you self host, you download Torch from the official TorchAPI project, unzip it into an empty folder and start Torch.Server.exe. It downloads the Space Engineers dedicated server files on first run and creates its Instance folder, where the world and SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg live. Torch describes itself as still in early development, so expect the odd rough edge.

On GamezServers, Torch is a server type you pick in the panel: switch from Standard to Space Engineers - Torch. Take a backup first, because the two types keep their worlds in different places (config/Saves/ on Standard, Instance/Saves/ on Torch). If you want to keep your current world, move it into Instance/Saves/ with the same folder name as your World Name setting. Our world moving guide explains the folder layout.

Let the first Torch start finish completely. It installs a lot of files, and stopping it halfway leaves a broken install that is faster to reinstall than to repair.

Step 2: Find the plugin and its GUID

Torch plugins are published on the plugin list at torchapi.com/plugins. Each plugin page has a download for the .zip and a GUID, a long ID that tells Torch which plugin is which. The GUID is also in the page's address bar. For example, Essentials, the plugin most servers start with, has this GUID:

cbfdd6ab-4cda-4544-a201-f73efa3d46c0

Before you download, check the plugin page for its last update. Plugins depend on Space Engineers internals, and an abandoned plugin may not load on the current game version.

Step 3: Upload the zip, unextracted

1. Stop the server.
2. Open the Plugins folder in the server's root, next to Torch.Server.exe. On our servers that is in the file manager or over SFTP.
3. Upload the plugin .zip as it is. Do not unzip it. Torch reads plugins from their zip files, and an extracted folder is ignored.

If you are adding several plugins, upload them all now, then do the config edit once.

Step 4: Add the GUID to Torch.cfg

Torch.cfg sits in the server root. It is XML, and it has a <Plugins> element listing the GUIDs Torch should load:

<Plugins>
  <guid>cbfdd6ab-4cda-4544-a201-f73efa3d46c0</guid>
  <guid>PASTE-ANOTHER-GUID-HERE</guid>
</Plugins>

Keep one <guid> per plugin, inside the existing <Plugins> element. If the file shows <Plugins /> (empty), replace it with an opening and closing tag pair as above. Save the file.

Edit Torch.cfg only while the server is stopped. Torch writes its config on shutdown, and edits made while it is running get overwritten.

Step 5: Start and read the log

Start the server and watch the console. Torch lists each plugin as it loads, and a broken plugin logs an error with its name. On our servers you see this in the live console in the panel.

When it is up, join the game and test. Torch plugin commands are typed in the in-game chat with an ! prefix by an admin. With Essentials:

!cleanup help
!cleanup scan

!cleanup help lists every condition the cleanup command understands, and scan shows what would match before anything is deleted. Run scan or list before delete, every time.

Step 6: Configure the plugin

Most plugins write a config file the first time they load, usually in the Instance folder named after the plugin (for example Instance/Essentials.cfg). Stop the server before editing it, the same as Torch.cfg. Options like scheduled restarts, automatic commands and cleanup rules live there.

Plugins worth knowing

These are commonly run on community servers. Check each one's page on the plugin site for compatibility with the current game version.

For a friends server, Essentials alone covers most needs. Public servers usually add a block limiter and a profiler, because one oversized ship can drag the simulation speed down for everyone.

When a plugin will not load

That last one matters. When Keen ships a big update, Torch and its plugins can lag behind for a day or two. On our servers the fix is to switch the server type back to Standard in the panel for a while, since the Standard server always runs Keen's own build. Take a backup before switching either way.

Keep a backup before every change

Plugins can change your world. A cleanup command with the wrong condition deletes grids for good, and a misbehaving plugin can corrupt a save. Take a backup before adding plugins and before the first real cleanup. On GamezServers that is one click in the panel, and restoring is just as quick.

Running Torch without the setup

A Space Engineers server on GamezServers lets you switch between Standard and Torch in the panel, with Torch.cfg, the Plugins folder and plugin configs open in the file manager and over SFTP. Game mode, max players, server name, auto save interval, in game scripts, experimental mode and the Remote API are panel settings, and the live console shows the Torch log as plugins load. You can change plans any time if your plugin stack and grids outgrow the memory. For the full self hosted picture, see how to host a Space Engineers server.

FAQ

Do players need to install Torch plugins?

No. Plugins run only on the server. Players join with the normal game and only download the world's Workshop mods.

Should I extract the Torch plugin zip?

No. Upload the .zip into the Plugins folder as it is. Torch ignores extracted folders.

Where do I find a plugin's GUID?

On the plugin's page on the Torch plugin site, and in that page's address bar.

Can I use Torch plugins and Workshop mods together?

Yes. Torch loads the world's mod list the same way the standard server does, and plugins run on top.

Why did my plugins stop working after a Space Engineers update?

Plugins hook into game code, so a game update can break them until their authors release a new version. Remove the plugin or run the standard server type until then.