In Factorio, efficiency is key to running a largescale, automated factory. As the factory grows, you’re required to adapt to the growing challenges, including mining additional resources, scaling smelting columns, and even incorporating trains to meet supply demands. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself transporting oil, managing automation assemblies, and optimizing the factory layout to streamline production and processing requirements.



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This is when keyboard shortcuts become incredibly useful, as they improve your ability to manage every aspect of your factory efficiently. Whether it’s inventory management, building complex railway systems, or working with robotics, using shortcuts in Factorio enables you to be quicker, smarter, and more precise at working with thousands of entities.

If you’re playing the game on macOS, the CTRL key is replaced by the Command key.


Character Control & Basic Interaction Keyboard Shortcuts

Showcasing a simple green circuit and lab setup in Factorio


In Factorio, you’ll need to rely on your character to move around and interact with almost all entities in your factory. There are four keyboard keys that help you control your character and several shortcuts that assist you in interacting with various items in the game. The following table lists the fundamental shortcuts you should know as a beginner to the game:

Function

Shortcut

Description

Move Character

WASD

Moves character around the map.

Run

Shift+WASD

Makes the character move faster.

Open Character Screen

E

Opens the character’s personal inventory.

Open Object GUI

Lift Click

Opens an entity’s interaction menu.

Confirm Window

E

Confirms choice and closes GUI.

Mine

Right Click

Manually mines resources.

Build

Left Click

Builds an entity on the ground.

Build Ghost

Shift+Left Click

Builds a transparent ghost instead of an actual entity for reference.

Super-Forced Build

CTRL+Shift+Left Click

Ignores overlapping warnings and builds a blueprint.

Clear Cursor

Q

Clears the cursor of any selected item.

Pipette Tool

Q

Assigns an item to the cursor.

Rotate

R

Rotates an entity clockwise before or after building.

Reverse Rotate

Shift+R

Rotates an entity counterclockwise before or after building.

Flip Horizontal

H

Flips a blueprint or entity horizontally.

Flip Vertically

V

Flips a blueprint or entity vertically.

Pick Up Items From The Ground

F

Allows you to pick up items from the ground or conveyor belts.

Drop Items

Z

Allows you to drop any item from the inventory.

Toggle Alt Mode

ALT

Overlays production UI over entities.

Zoom In

Mouse Wheel Up

Allows you to zoom into the factory.

Zoom Out

Mouse Wheel Down

Allows you to zoom out of the factory.

Use Item

Right Click

Applicable to special items like Repair Kit.

Queue Command

Shift+Right Click

Allows you to queue entities for construction or deconstruction.

Toggle Chat/Console

`

Allows you to toggle the console and chat window.

Copy Entity Settings

Shift+Right Click

Copies the entity, it’s orientation, and recipe.

Paste Entity Settings

Shift+Left Click

Pastes the entity, it’s orientation, and recipe.

Shoot Enemy

Spacebar

Shoots at an enemy.

Shoot Selected

Shift+Spacebar

Targets and shoots an enemy.

Next Weapon

C

Switches to the next equipped weapon.


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Crafting & Inventory Management Keyboard Shortcuts

Inventory management and crafting panel in Factorio

As you start connecting multiple entities to build a basic factory, you’ll be doing the majority of item crafting by hand, and knowing the associated shortcuts makes this arduous process bearable in the early game. To craft recipes, you’ll also need to gather the required materials, and along with that comes the necessity to manage your inventory efficiently. The following shortcuts will help you craft recipes easily and manage the inventory without hassle:


Function

Shortcut

Description

Craft 1 Item

Left Click

Allows you to craft only 1x of the selected recipe.

Craft 5 Items

Right Click

Allows you to craft 5x of the selected recipe.

Craft All

Shift+Left Click

Crafts the maximum possible number of items of a selected recipe.

Cancel Crafting 1 Item

Lift Click

Cancels an ongoing recipe crafting of 1 item.

Cancel Crafting 5 Items

Right Click

Cancels an ongoing recipe crafting of 5 items.

Cancel Crafting All

Shift+Left Click

Cancels an ongoing recipe crafting of all recipes.

Pick Up/Drop Item Stack

Left Click

Pick up an item from the ground or drop an item from the inventory.

Stack Transfer

Shift+Left Click

Transfer a stack of items from one inventory to another.

Inventory Transfer

CTRL+Left Click

Transfers all items from one inventory to another.

Fast Entity Transfer

CTRL+Left Click

Transfer the selected item to an entity.

Cursor Split

Right Click

Transfers half of the selected items from the cursor to an entity.

Stack Split

Shift+Right Click

Transfer half of the item stack from one inventory to another.

Inventory Split

CTRL+Right Click

Transfers half the selected stack of items from one inventory to another. Selecting an empty slot transfers half of all available item stacks.

Fast Inventory Split

CTRL+Right Click

Transfers half of the held stack into an inventory or entity.

Toggle Filter

CTRL+Right Click

Creates or removes a filter from an inventory.

Open Item GUI

Right Click

Opens an interaction panel for an item in the inventory.

Copy Inventory Filter

Shift+Right Click

Copies a filter from an inventory.

Paste Inventory Filter

Shift+Left Click

Pastes a filter into another inventory.

Switch Quickbar Slots

1-10

Allows you to quickly switch between items placed in the quickbar slots.

Switch Additional Quickbar Slots

Shift 1-10

Allows you to quickly switch between items placed in the secondary quickbar slots.

Rotate Active Quickbar

X

Switches between available active quickbars.


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Showcasing a repair pack in Factorio

In Factorio, tools provide finer controls over how you manage your entities in the factory, enabling you to create blueprints, manage clipboards, and wire circuits, which help you achieve granular control over production and inventory management. As the factory is equipped with advanced technologies, you’ll also have to interact with new dedicated panels to further optimize automation and production output. Here are all the shortcuts available to access tools and panels in Factorio:


Function

Shortcut

Description

Copy

CTRL+C

Allows you to copy a selection from your factory.

Paste

CTRL+V

Pastes the copied selection onto an available area.

Cut

CTRL+X

Cuts a selection from your factory, and marks the affected entities with a deconstruction mark.

Cycle Clipboard

Shift+Mouse Wheel Up/Shift+Mouse Wheel Down

Allows you to cycle through clipboard history.

Undo

CTRL+Z

Allows you to revert a change.

Redo

Shift+CTRL+Z

Allows you to redo an undo command.

Artillery Targeting Remote

ALT+T

Allows you to manually control the artillery.

Make New Blueprint

ALT+B

Converts a selected copy of entities into a blueprint.

Copper Wire Connection Mode

ALT+C

Allows you to connect one entity to another via circuits for finer control. Connects entities to a circuit chain separate from red and green circuits.

Create A New Deconstruction Planner

ALT+D

Marks the selection of entities for deconstruction.

Discharge Defense Remote

ALT+Y

Allows you to release an electric shock from the armor to damage any nearby enemies.

Green Wire Connection Mode

ALT+G

Allows you to connect one entity to another via circuits for finer control. Connects entities to a circuit chain separate from copper and red circuits.

Red Wire Connection Mode

ALT+R

Allows you to connect one entity to another via circuits for finer control. Connects entities to a circuit chain separate from copper and green circuits.

Spidertron Remote

ALT+A

Allows you to control the Spidertron remotely.

Make New Upgrade Planner

ALT+U

Marks the selection of entities for an upgrade.

Toggle Exoskeleton

ALT+E

Toggles between equipping or unequipping the exoskeleton.

Toggle Personal Logistics Request

ALT+L

Enables or disables item drop off into personal inventory.

Toggle Personal Roboport

ALT+F

Enables or disables the personal roboport.

Open Character Logistics

F1

Allows you to zoom into the factory.

Zoom Out

Mouse Wheel Down

Allows you to zoom out of the factory.

Use Item

Right Click

Applicable to special items like Repair Kit.

Queue Command

Shift+Right Click

Allows you to queue entities for construction or deconstruction.

Toggle Chat/Console

`

Allows you to toggle the console and chat window.

Copy Entity Settings

Shift+Right Click

Copies the entity, it’s orientation, and recipe.

Paste Entity Settings

Shift+Left Click

Pastes the entity, it’s orientation, and recipe.

Open Character Logistics/Info/Crafting Panel

F1, F2, F3

Opens a triple panel with the ability to manage character logistics, inventory, and craft items.

Toggle Menu

Esc

Pauses the game and opens the menu panel.

Toggle World Map

Tab

Opens and closes the world map.

Toggle Technology Screen

T

Opens and closes the technology and research panel.

Toggle Production Statistics

P

Opens and closes the production and efficiency panel.

Toggle Logistics Network

L

Zooms out the factory and shows logistics connections, including roboport range.

Toggle Blueprint Library

B

Opens and closes the blueprint library.

Toggle Train Overview

O

Opens and closes the train panel that shows all trains and stations.

Open Factoriopedia

ALT+Left Click

Clicking an entity with ALT+Left Click shows detailed and helpful info on its uses in the game.

Previous Panel

ALT+Left Arrow Key

Cycles through previously opened panels.

Next Panel

ALT+Right Arrow Key

Cycles through any available next panels.


This list of shortcuts
excludes debug mode shortcuts
, which are designed for developers and modders to analyze the game’s state.

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Blueprint Manager And Other Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Placing a bluepring in Factorio

As you progress to the mid and late game in Factorio, you’ll inevitably start relying on blueprints to expand and streamline your factory. Blueprints allow you to replicate a setup without all the manual work and let robots take care of the construction and upgrade. Additionally, if you decide to install mods to enhance your experience, the game also includes additional shortcuts to help you better manage mods:


Function

Shortcut

Description

Pause

P

Pauses the game.

Confirm Message

Tab

Confirms an onscreen message.

Select Previous Technology

Backspace

Switches to a previous technology within the technology panel.

Select Previous Mod

Backspace

Switches to a previous mod within the mods panel.

Connect Train

J

Connect a selected train or character-controlled train to adjacent trains.

Disconnect Train

K

Disconnect a selected train or character-controlled train from adjacent trains.

Next Player In Replay

F10

Switches to the next player in the replay screen.

Move Blueprint Absolute Grid Up, Down, Left, Right

CTRL+UP Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow

Adjusts the blueprint’s alignment to the game’s absolute grid.

Move Blueprint Entities Up, Down, Left, Right

Shift+UP Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow

Adjusts the entities within a blueprint.

Next Variation

Middle-Click

Cycles the next variation of a selected entity in the map editor.

Previous Variation

Shift+Middle Click

Cycles to the previous variation of a selected entity in the map editor.

Clone Item

Shift+Middle Click

Clones an item or entity in the map editor.

Delete Item

Shift+Middle Click

Deletes an item or entity in the map editor.

Toggle Entity Pauses

Numpad 0

Pauses or unpauses an entity in the map editor.

Tick Once

Numpad .

Performs one game tick and pauses the game in the map editor.

Increase Game Speed

Shift+Numpad +

Speeds up the game in the map editor.

Decrease Game Speed

Shift+Numpad –

Slows down the game in the map editor.

Reset Game Speed to 1

Shift+Numpad *

Resets the game speed to default speed in the map editor.

Set Clone Brush Source

Shift+Right Click

Assigns an entity or recipe to the clone brush in map editor.

Set Clone Brush Destination

Shift+Left Click

Pastes the entity or recipe set to the clone brush in map editor.

Switch to Surface

Left CTRL/Left CTRL+3

Switches to different surfaces, useful when building elevated trains.


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