Super Factory Manager

Overview

Super Factory Manager (SFM) is a logistics and automation mod that replaces messy pipe networks with a single, programmable control block. Instead of placing dozens of Hoppers, Item Conduits, or pipes between your machines, you place one Machine Inventory Manager, connect it to your inventories with Inventory Cables, and build a visual flowchart program that tells items, fluids, and redstone signals exactly where to go. The mod adds 11 blocks and 1 item, but the depth comes from the 17 different programming components you can wire together inside the Manager's GUI.

The Manager can reach inventories up to 256 blocks away through cables, connect to up to 2,048 inventories simultaneously, and run up to 511 program components at once. It handles items, fluids, redstone signals, and even auto-crafting. You can browse all the mod's items and recipes using the tabs on this page.

Core Blocks

Machine Inventory Manager

The central block of the mod. It stores your entire program (up to 511 components), discovers all inventories connected through cables or touching it directly, and executes your flow logic on every trigger cycle. It has a hardness of 2.0 and is made from Iron. The Manager itself also functions as a cable node, so blocks adjacent to it are automatically part of the network. When placed or when cables change, it automatically rescans for connected inventories.

Inventory Cable

The basic connector. Cables link the Manager to distant inventories. They have a hardness of 0.4, making them quick to break. Any block with an inventory (vanilla or modded) that is adjacent to a cable becomes accessible to the Manager. The maximum cable chain length from the Manager is 256 blocks, and you can connect up to 2,048 inventories total.

Inventory Relay and Advanced Inventory Relay

The Inventory Relay acts as a cable that can also interface with connected inventories directionally. The Advanced Inventory Relay adds a permission system for multiplayer: the player who places it becomes the owner, and can grant Editor or User access to other players. Editors can control which player inventories the relay accesses, while Users have read-only visibility. This is useful for shared automation systems where you want to control who can interact with certain inventories.

The Programming System

Right-clicking the Manager opens a visual canvas where you place, configure, and wire together program components. Each component appears as a draggable box with input and output connection pins on its sides. You wire components together by clicking one pin and dragging to another. The program flows from Triggers through Inputs, Outputs, Conditions, and other logic components.

Triggers

Every program starts with a Trigger. Triggers can fire on a timed interval (minimum 1 second / 20 ticks), on a Redstone pulse (high pulse, low pulse, while high, or while low), or on a block update detected by a Block Detector (BUD). You can configure which Redstone Receivers or Block Detectors the Trigger listens to, which sides to detect signals on, and the required signal strength range (0 through 15). A single Manager can have multiple Triggers running independent flows simultaneously.

Input and Output

Input components pull items from selected inventories. Output components push items to selected inventories. Both let you specify which connected inventories to use, which sides of those inventories to access (important for machines with sided inventories like Furnaces), which slot ranges to use, and item filters. Item filtering supports four detection modes: Precise (exact item match), NBT-independent (ignores NBT tags), Fuzzy (ignores damage values), and Ore Dictionary (matches equivalent ores across mods). You can use either a whitelist or blacklist approach.

Fluid Input and Fluid Output

These work like their item counterparts but for fluids. You select tanks instead of inventories, choose fluid types to filter, and specify amounts in either Buckets or Milli Buckets. Fluid transfers follow the same trigger and connection logic as item transfers.

Conditions

Condition components check whether an inventory contains certain items (or a tank contains certain fluids) and branch the flow accordingly. They have a True output and a False output, letting you build if/else logic. The Redstone Condition checks the signal strength at Redstone Nodes and branches based on whether it meets your configured range. Conditions can require all targets to match or just one.

Advanced Programming Components

Flow Control (Split and Collect)

Flow Control components let you split one signal into multiple paths (2 or 5 outputs) or collect multiple paths into one (2 or 5 inputs). The split mode can use "Fair Split" to distribute items evenly across outputs, or sequential mode to fill each destination in order. This is essential for distributing items across multiple machines or merging outputs from several sources.

For Each Loop

The For Each Loop iterates over a list of inventories stored in a Variable, executing the connected logic once per inventory. You configure a list variable (the collection to iterate over) and an element variable (representing the current inventory in each iteration). This is how you process multiple inventories dynamically without wiring each one individually.

Container Variables

SFM supports 16 color-coded variables (White, Orange, Magenta, Light Blue, Yellow, Lime, Pink, Gray, Light Gray, Cyan, Purple, Blue, Brown, Green, Red, Black). Each variable stores a reference to one or more inventories and can be declared once, then used across multiple Input, Output, and Condition components. This lets you dynamically reference inventories and build more flexible programs. Variables must be declared before use; using an undeclared variable will show an error.

Auto Crafter

The Auto Crafter component can execute crafting recipes using items from connected inventories. You set a recipe in its crafting grid, configure priority (move items before crafting, or craft before moving), and designate an overflow inventory for leftover container items like Buckets. When triggered, it pulls the required ingredients from connected inventories, crafts the result, and outputs it along the flow.

Redstone Integration

Redstone Receiver

This block detects incoming Redstone signals on all six sides and reports them to the Manager. You can use Redstone Receivers as trigger conditions: for example, only run your item sorting program when a lever is flipped. The Trigger component lets you select specific Receivers to listen to and configure whether it responds to high pulses, low pulses, or sustained signals. You can also set an analog strength range (e.g., only trigger when signal strength is between 8 and 15).

Redstone Emitter

The Redstone Emitter outputs configurable Redstone signals per side. Through the Redstone Emitter programming component, you can set the output to a fixed strength (0-15), toggle it on and off, take the max or min of multiple inputs, or increase/decrease incrementally. Emitters can produce either strong or weak power and support pulse mode with configurable duration. Pulse override modes include Extend Old (lengthen existing pulse), Keep All (stack up to 200 pulses per side), Keep Old (ignore new while active), and Keep New (cancel old pulse).

Utility Blocks

Block Detector (BUD)

The Block Detector monitors all six adjacent blocks for state changes (block type and metadata). When a neighboring block changes, it triggers the Manager. In the Trigger component, you can configure which Block Detectors to listen to and filter by specific sides. The detector stores both the current and previous block states, so you can set up logic that responds to specific transitions (e.g., a block appearing or disappearing). This is perfect for triggering automation when a crop finishes growing or a machine completes processing.

Block Gate (Breaker)

The Block Gate can break and place blocks in a configurable direction. It uses a simulated player (a Forge FakePlayer named "[SFM_PLAYER]") to perform the action, which means it respects mod protections and interacts with blocks as a player would. Items from broken blocks appear in its internal inventory, accessible to the Manager's Input components. You can also place items into its inventory via Output components, and it will attempt to place them as blocks in the target direction. Right-click the block to change its placement direction (sneak-click to invert).

Item Valve and Rapid Item Valve

The Item Valve picks up dropped item entities within a 3-block cube radius and makes them available to the Manager's network. It is directional, so you can aim it toward the area you want to collect from. The Rapid Item Valve (Advanced variant) also collects player-thrown items, not just naturally dropped ones. These are invaluable for collecting mob farm drops, broken block items, or any situation where items end up on the ground.

Sign Updater

The Sign Updater is placed adjacent to a vanilla Sign and can dynamically update its text through the Sign programming component. You can configure which of the four lines to update and set the text content. This lets you create dynamic displays showing system status, item counts, or other program state.

Cable Camouflage System

SFM includes three camouflage variants that disguise cables as other blocks, keeping your builds looking clean. All three are crafted from Inventory Cables and can be controlled programmatically through the Camouflage programming component.

Cable Camouflage (Basic)

Disguises the outside of the cable as any solid block. Through the Camouflage programming component, you can set which block to mimic on each of the six sides independently. The block's appearance updates dynamically when the program runs.

Double Sided Cable Camouflage

This variant can display a different block on its inside faces versus its outside faces. The Camouflage programming component offers four inside modes: Only Outside (only changes outer appearance), Only Inside (only inner), Same (both sides match), and Opposite (inside shows the opposite side's block). This is useful for walls where you want one material facing a room and another facing a corridor.

Transforming Cable Camouflage

The most advanced variant adds custom collision bounds and shapes. You can resize the block's hitbox along all three axes (X, Y, Z) with 32 subdivisions per axis, toggle collision on or off entirely, and choose between full collision or custom bounds. This lets you create invisible paths, partial blocks, or decorative shapes that players can walk through. The bounds and collision settings are configured through the Camouflage programming component's Bounds menu.

Cable Clusters

Cable Clusters let you combine multiple cable-type blocks into a single block, reducing clutter. You craft a Cable Cluster from cables and then combine it with other SFM blocks (Block Detectors, Block Gates, Redstone Emitters, Redstone Receivers, Item Valves, Inventory Relays, Camouflages, and Sign Updaters) in a crafting grid. Each element retains its full functionality within the cluster. The Advanced Cable Cluster (crafted by surrounding a Cable Cluster with 8 Inventory Cables) also acts as a cable node in the network, so it extends connectivity while housing other components.

Clusters are particularly powerful when you need several SFM blocks in a tight space. Instead of placing a Block Detector, a Redstone Emitter, and a Camouflage block as three separate blocks, combine them into one Cluster that does all three jobs.

Memory Disc

The Memory Disc is the mod's only standalone item. It stores a complete copy of a Manager's program configuration, letting you transfer setups between Managers or back up complex programs. To use it, sneak-right-click a Manager while holding the disc. If the disc is empty, it copies the Manager's program data onto the disc (including its world coordinates as a reference). If the disc already has data, it writes that program into the Manager. The disc tooltip shows either the author name or the coordinates of the Manager it was copied from. The disc has a stack size of 1.

Manager Settings and Preferences

The Manager GUI includes a Preferences button that lets you customize the interface behavior. Auto-Close Groups will automatically close group components when you reopen the interface. Auto-Side automatically selects the Up direction for Output components and Down for Input and Condition components, saving clicks when configuring sided inventories. Auto-Blacklist starts Input components with an empty blacklist (meaning they accept everything by default). Enlarge Interfaces scales the GUI to fit your screen. Auto Move First sets new Auto Crafter components to prioritize moving items before crafting.

In Creative mode, the Manager Settings menu adds a Limitless option that removes all restrictions: the 511 component limit, the 2,048 inventory limit, and the 256-block cable reach limit. This is useful for testing massive automation setups in creative worlds.

Example Automation Setups

Furnace Automation

Connect a Manager to a source Chest and a Furnace via cables. Create a Trigger on interval, then add two Output components: one that sends Coal to the Furnace's bottom side (fuel slot), and one that sends everything else to the Furnace's top side (input slot). Add an Input component that pulls from the Furnace's side slot (output) back to a results Chest. Use the Target Inventory menu to configure which side of the Furnace each component interacts with.

Conditional Item Sorting

Use a Condition component to check if a destination Chest contains fewer than 64 of a specific item. Wire the True output to an Output that sends that item to the Chest, and the False output to an Output that routes overflow to a different Chest. Chain multiple Condition and Output pairs to build a priority-based sorting system that fills important storage first.

Redstone-Controlled Processing

Place a Redstone Receiver next to a Lever and connect it to the Manager's cable network. Set your Trigger to fire "On high pulse" from that specific Receiver. Now your entire automation program only runs when the Lever is on. Combine this with a Redstone Emitter on the output side to signal downstream systems when processing completes.