How to Use Blueprints — Complete Guide

What Are Blueprints?

Blueprints let you copy a factory design, save it for later, and paste it anywhere. They are essential for scaling your base.

Basic Blueprint Workflow

1. Copy a Design

1. Press G (blueprint tool)
2. Drag a rectangle around the area you want to copy
3. The blueprint appears in your cursor — place it in your inventory

2. Save to a Blueprint Book

1. Open your inventory
2. Click the blueprint
3. Click Save right arrow choose a Blueprint Book
4. Give it a descriptive name

3. Import a Blueprint String

1. Copy a blueprint string (from the web or a friend)
2. Press Ctrl+V while the blueprint tool (G) is selected
3. The blueprint appears in your inventory

4. Export a Blueprint String

1. Select a blueprint in your inventory
2. Click the export button (top-right)
3. Ctrl+C to copy the string
4. Share it!

Blueprint Books Organization

A well-organized blueprint book saves hours of searching:

Upgrade Planner

The upgrade planner (in your inventory) lets you upgrade all buildings in an area:

• Stone furnace right arrow Steel furnace right arrow Electric furnace
• Basic belt right arrow Fast belt right arrow Express belt
• Assembler 1 right arrow Assembler 2 right arrow Assembler 3

Pro tip: Use the upgrade planner before pasting a blueprint to automatically upgrade all buildings to your current technology level.

Deconstruction Planner

The deconstruction planner removes buildings in an area:

1. Select the deconstruction planner (in inventory)
2. Drag over the area to mark
3. Construction robots will remove the buildings

Warning: Deconstructing a building destroys it. Use shift+deconstruction planner to filter which items to keep.

Next: Blueprints Overview — community blueprint collections.