Working on the Factorio Plugin

Factorio uses a hybrid mod + daemon architecture — unique among Savecraft plugins. A Lua mod writes JSON to script-output/savecraft/, the daemon watches via fsnotify, and a thin WASM parser converts to ndjson. Design doc: plugins/factorio/README.md.

Architecture

plugins/factorio/
├── mod/                    # Factorio Lua mod (control.lua, info.json)
├── parser/                 # WASM pass-through parser (JSON → ndjson)
├── reference/              # WASM reference modules (recipe_lookup, ratio_calculator)
│   ├── data/               # Generated Go struct literals (*_gen.go)
│   └── views/              # Svelte reference views (ratio-calculator.svelte)
├── tools/
│   ├── datagen/            # Parses data-raw-dump.json → generated Go files
│   └── spritesheet/        # Packs icon PNGs into sprite sheet + manifest
├── sprites/                # Generated sprite sheets (items.png, fluids.png + JSON manifests)
├── plugin.toml             # Plugin metadata, sources = ["wasm", "mod"]
└── Justfile

Verification

cd plugins/factorio
just test                   # Parser + reference module tests (32 tests)
just build                  # Build parser.wasm + reference.wasm
just datagen                # Regenerate from data-raw-dump.json
just spritesheet            # Regenerate sprite sheets from .reference/ PNGs

Full suite: just test-go (all Go) + just test-worker (all Worker) + just build-views (view compilation).

View changes require `just build-views` + committing `views.gen.ts`. See working-on-views skill for details. CI does not rebuild views — forgetting this ships stale HTML.

Key Conventions

Recipe Disambiguation

Never guess which recipe to use. When multiple non-recycling recipes produce the same item (e.g., solid-fuel from 3 oil sources), resolveRecipe() returns an error listing the options. The AI uses recipe_lookup (product query) to find options, picks contextually, and passes the explicit recipe name via the recipe or recipe_overrides parameters.

Anti-Hallucination Modules Have No Views

recipe_lookup and tech_tree_navigator return data for the LLM to reason over. No player-facing visualization — the AI narrates results. Views exist only for modules whose output the player needs to SEE (ratio_calculator, oil_balancer, etc.).

Shared Chart Components

FlowChart lives in views/src/components/charts/ (shared, game-agnostic Sankey-style flow visualization). Factorio-specific components (ProductionChain, MachineNode, factorio-colors.ts) live in plugins/factorio/components/. FactorioIcon is in views/src/components/factorio/.

Data Pipeline

Source Data (from Steam Deck)

.reference/factorio-data-raw-dump.json    # factorio --dump-data (27MB, all prototypes)
.reference/factorio-sprites/{item,fluid,...}/  # factorio --dump-icon-sprites (64x64 PNGs)
.reference/factorio-locale/*-locale.json  # factorio --dump-prototype-locale (display names)
.reference/factorio-saves/                # Test save files

Extracting Fresh Data

# SSH to Steam Deck ([email protected], password in memory)
# WARNING: Factorio CLI commands may steal focus from active games on the Deck
nix-shell -p sshpass --run 'sshpass -p "..." ssh [email protected] \
  "~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Factorio/bin/x64/factorio --dump-data"'
# Then SCP from ~/.factorio/script-output/

Datagen Flow

.reference/factorio-data-raw-dump.json
  → go run ./plugins/factorio/tools/datagen/
  → plugins/factorio/reference/data/*_gen.go
    recipes_gen.go    (659 recipes)
    technologies_gen.go (275 techs)
    machines_gen.go   (17 crafting machines)
    modules_gen.go    (12 modules)
    logistics_gen.go  (belts, inserters, beacons)
    fluids_gen.go     (33 fluids)
  → compiled into reference.wasm (GOOS=wasip1 GOARCH=wasm)

Factorio data quirk: Empty collections are {} (object) not [] (array). The datagen tool handles this with parseStringArray().

Sprite Sheet Flow

.reference/factorio-sprites/item/*.png (340 icons, 64x64)
  → go run ./plugins/factorio/tools/spritesheet/
  → plugins/factorio/sprites/items.png (2048x704, 2.3MB)
  → plugins/factorio/sprites/items.json (manifest: name → {x,y,w,h,label})

Labels come from .reference/factorio-locale/item-locale.json.

Lua Mod (Factorio 2.0 API)

Critical 2.0 Renames

Mod Structure

• mod/info.json — mod metadata, factorio_version: "2.0" (two-part only)
• mod/control.lua — script.on_nth_tick() hooks: lightweight stats every 300 ticks (5s), heavy entity scans every 1800 ticks (30s)
• Output path: script-output/savecraft/state.json
• Mod is untested in-game — API calls are based on research, not runtime verification

Reference Module Architecture

Go WASM with baked-in data (RimWorld pattern, NOT native TypeScript like MTGA). Entry point: reference/main.go with query routing.

Ratio Calculator Formulas

effective_speed = machine.CraftingSpeed × (1 + module_speed + beacon_speed)
beacon_speed = Σ(module_effect × dist_effectivity / √n) across all beacons
output_per_craft = result_amount × (1 + productivity_bonus)
items_per_sec = (effective_speed / craft_time) × output_per_craft

Productivity does NOT increase ingredient consumption — only gives free bonus output. This is validated by TestValidation_ProductivityModules_AM3.

Adding New Reference Modules

1. Add handler function in plugins/factorio/reference/
2. Wire into main.go switch statement
3. Add to schema() in main.go
4. Add to [reference.modules.*] in plugin.toml
5. If player-facing: add view in plugins/factorio/reference/views/

Attribution

views/src/attributions.ts has a wube entry for Factorio content. Plugin.toml declares [attribution] sources = ["wube"].