Claim and connect to a Satisfactory dedicated server safely

Satisfactory's in-game Server Manager is where you connect to and administer a dedicated factory. Your CloudExa panel account and the game's administrator password have different roles. Work through one owner connection before inviting everyone, especially if the service already contains an imported factory.
1. Confirm the server you are opening
Open your service in the game panel and record its assigned address, standard game port and any separate reliable-messaging allocation. Check the console for a completed startup rather than assuming that a running status means a factory has loaded. Compare the server and client release branches; do not switch a live factory to an experimental branch just to make a connection attempt.
For an existing service, take a completed backup before changing sessions or configuration. Note the current session name and save timestamp. If you expected an established factory but see a first-time setup screen, stop and confirm the address and save selection instead of creating a replacement world.
2. Add the service in the game
Open Satisfactory and select Server Manager from the main menu.
Add the address and standard port assigned to your service.
If this is a genuinely new, unclaimed server, follow the claim process to choose its name and set a unique administrator password.
Use the manager to select the intended session or create the first factory only when the service is meant to be empty.
Keep the administrator password in a password manager. Player access protection is a separate choice: set a player password when you want an invitation-only factory, and share that credential rather than the administrator credential.
3. Understand the network allocations
For the documented 1.1-and-later networking model, the standard port carries TCP and UDP traffic, and reliable messaging uses another TCP port. Defaults are 7777 and 8888, but your assigned allocations take precedence. These numbers describe the game, not permission to use unallocated ports on a shared host.
Older instructions mentioning only the former 15000 and 15777 ports do not describe this current layout. If the service lacks a required allocation or the advertised reliable port does not match its public mapping, ask support to check the template. Avoid editing host firewalls or copying a home-router forwarding recipe into a managed service.
4. Verify the factory before sharing it
Join with an ordinary player connection and check the session name, expected buildings and player access. Make a small permitted change and confirm that normal saving succeeds. Then disconnect and reconnect once; an administrator screen alone is not a gameplay test. Review the intended auto-load session and save behaviour before relying on unattended restarts.
Keep administrator, session and backup details private when posting screenshots. If connection or claiming fails, send support the server ID, client/server versions, assigned ports, timestamp and exact error. Do not delete server settings or save files to force the claim screen to reappear.
Related CloudExa guides
Protect game saves before changes
Follow connection diagnostics
References
Coffee Stain dedicated-server support
Developer-recommended Satisfactory dedicated-server wiki