Sync game data

Syncing makes PyOps plan against the Factorio version, mods, and startup settings installed on this computer. Every project keeps its own imported reference data.

Before you sync

1. Start Factorio normally and confirm the intended mods and startup settings are active.
2. Exit Factorio completely.
3. In PyOps, open Settings → Game data.
4. Select Sync game data….

The Reference data card summarizes the active project's current Factorio data.

Factorio must be closed

The sync starts Factorio in headless modes. Factorio's instance lock prevents that while a normal game instance is running. Reuse the dump already on disk is the exception — it imports an existing dump instead of producing one, so it works while you play.

Reuse the dump already on disk

Factorio leaves each dump in its script-output folder, and PyOps never deletes it. When the game and its mods have not changed but PyOps has — after an update that reads more of the dump than the previous version did — select Reuse the dump already on disk. PyOps imports that file directly: no helper mod, no headless Factorio, and no need to close the game. The dialog shows when the dump was taken and how large it is, and the progress flow drops straight to Import into database.

PyOps checks two things that a file's timestamp cannot show, and warns when either makes the existing dump untrustworthy:

• The enabled mod set changed. The game would now dump different prototypes, so the file no longer describes it.
• The dump helper changed. PyOps' helper patches prototypes while the dump runs, so its edits are baked into the file. A helper update means the dump was shaped by an older one.

In both cases, run a normal sync instead. If the option is unavailable, no dump exists yet — run a full sync once to produce one.

Choose whether to rebuild icons

The sync dialog offers Also re-dump icon sprites.

Leave icon rebuilding off for routine data refreshes; select it when mod graphics changed or icons are missing.

• Leave it off for the usual data refresh. PyOps reuses the existing icon atlas.
• Turn it on after a mod changes item, fluid, recipe, or machine graphics, or when icons are missing. This loads the full game and takes longer.

If icon rebuilding appears stuck, check Steam

Steam may open a confirmation dialog asking whether to launch Factorio. This does not happen on every run, and the dialog may be waiting behind another window. Check Steam and confirm the launch so the icon dump can continue.

Select Sync now. You may hide the progress dialog; the sync continues in the background.

What the progress steps mean

Step	Purpose
Prepare dump helper	Temporarily enables the helper that coordinates the dump.
Dump prototype data	Reads Factorio's recipes, items, machines, technologies, and other prototypes.
Dump localization	Imports the names and descriptions shown by the current mod set.
Import into database	Converts the dump into the active project's planning data.
Compute cost analysis	Calculates the relative recipe and resource costs used by analysis views.
Apply mod renames	Updates plans for prototype renames declared by mods.

When icon rebuilding is selected, Dump icon sprites and Rebuild icon atlas also appear. When the existing dump is reused, every step that runs Factorio is skipped and the flow begins at Import into database.

Confirm the result

A successful run ends at Reference data updated. Select Done, then check the Reference data card on Settings → Game data. It should list non-zero recipe, item, fluid, and machine counts.

After a later mod change—or a PyOps update that reads additional or changed dump data—the app shows Data stale and opens the same re-sync prompt. The dialog identifies whether the mods, the PyOps data reader, or both changed. Use Re-sync now to refresh the project. Ignore for now leaves the existing data and plans unchanged, with Data stale kept in the navigation as a way back.

Continue to Build your first block.