How to Install and Manage Mods on Your Space Engineers Server

Space Engineers has a thriving modding community, and adding mods to your server is one of the best ways to shake up the vanilla experience. Whether you want new ships, extra building components, or gameplay overhauls, the RiverHosting panel makes the process straightforward. You do not need to edit any configuration files by hand or know anything about the underlying server software.

This guide walks you through finding, adding, and managing mods on your Space Engineers server from start to finish.

Before you start

• You need an active Space Engineers server hosted with RiverHosting. Log in to the panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
• Your server must be stopped before you make mod changes. Applying mods while the server is running can cause the changes to not take effect, or cause the server to crash.
• Mods for Space Engineers are published on the Steam Workshop. You will need the Workshop ID for each mod you want to add. The Workshop ID is the number at the end of the mod page URL on the Steam website.

1. Open the Mods page for your Space Engineers server

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
2. Click on your Space Engineers server from the server list.
3. In the left-hand menu, click Mods. This is the dedicated mod management page for your server.

The Mods page shows you the mods that are currently active on your server. If this is a fresh server, the list will be empty.

2. Add a mod to your server

1. On the Mods page, look for the field to enter a mod Workshop ID.
2. Type or paste the Workshop ID for the mod you want to add.
3. Click the button to add or save the mod. The mod will be added to your active mod list.
4. Repeat this process for each additional mod you want to install.

3. Remove a mod from your server

1. Go to the Mods page in the left-hand menu.
2. Find the mod you want to remove in the active mod list.
3. Click the remove or delete button next to that mod.
4. Save your changes if prompted.

4. Start your server and confirm the mods are loaded

1. After saving your mod list, go back to the main server page.
2. Click the Start button to start your server.
3. Click Console in the left-hand menu to open the live server console.
4. Watch the console output as the server starts. Space Engineers will download and load each Workshop mod during startup. You should see entries referencing each mod being loaded.
5. Once the server finishes starting, connect to it in-game and verify the mods are working as expected.

5. Manage your mod list over time

As your server grows, you may want to update or reorganise your mods. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Updating mods: Space Engineers servers fetch the latest version of each Workshop mod automatically when the server restarts. Restarting your server is usually all you need to do to pick up mod updates.
• Backing up before changes: Before adding, removing, or swapping mods, use the Backups tab to create a manual backup of your server. This gives you a restore point if something goes wrong.
• Checking the console for errors: If a mod causes problems, the Console page will usually show error messages during startup. These can help you identify which mod is causing the issue.
• Keeping the mod list tidy: Too many mods can slow down server startup and increase memory usage. Remove mods you are no longer using to keep things running smoothly.

Troubleshooting

• Mods are not appearing in-game: Make sure you saved your changes on the Mods page and fully restarted the server afterwards. Check the Console for any errors during startup.
• Server is crashing after adding a mod: One of the newly added mods may be incompatible with your current Space Engineers version or with another mod. Try removing the most recently added mod and restarting to isolate the problem.
• Workshop ID not being accepted: Double-check that you copied only the numbers from the URL and did not include any extra characters. The ID should be a plain number with no spaces or letters.
• Server starts but mods are not loaded: Confirm the mod is published as a public Steam Workshop item. Private or friends-only Workshop items cannot be downloaded by a dedicated server.
• Objects missing from your world after removing a mod: This is expected behaviour. Blocks and items added by a mod that has been removed will be gone from your save. Restore from a backup if you need to recover them.

Need help?

If you run into trouble that you cannot resolve on your own, the RiverHosting support team is happy to help.