Complete guide to Sandustry blueprints — create, save, export, import and share factory designs. Learn the workflow, tileable modules and SandustryVault.

Sandustry Blueprints: Complete Guide to Creating, Sharing & Importing Factory Designs

Sandustry blueprints let you save, copy, and share working factory modules so you never have to rebuild the same layout twice. Press C to select, Ctrl+C to copy, then save from the Blueprints tab — or import a community string to instantly place a proven design. This guide covers the full workflow, from creating your first blueprint to browsing community designs on SandustryVault.

What Are Blueprints in Sandustry?

A blueprint is a saved selection of factory blocks — machines, belts, filters, walls, and more — that you can reuse across your save or share with other players. Instead of rebuilding a working shaker module, burner setup, or sand washer from scratch every time, you save it once as a blueprint and paste it wherever needed.

Blueprints are especially valuable for complex modules that involve multiple machines, specific conveyor directions, filter orientations, and precise spacing. Once you have solved a layout problem, a blueprint preserves that solution permanently.

How to Create a Blueprint

The process of turning a working factory section into a saved blueprint follows a simple sequence:

Press C, then click and drag to make a selection around the factory section you want to save.
Press Ctrl+C to copy the selection to your clipboard.
Press Q to open the Building menu, then switch to the Blueprints tab.
Your copied selection appears in the Clipboard area. Click the Save as Blueprint icon.
Give it a descriptive name. The blueprint now appears in your save's blueprint book.

The key habit that saves the most trouble: only save a blueprint after you have watched it work. A module can look perfect while having a backwards filter, a missing machine, or a belt pointing the wrong way. Save the solution, not the experiment.

How to Export and Share a Blueprint

Once a blueprint is saved in your book, you can export it as a text string that works outside your current save:

Open the Blueprints tab (Q → Blueprints).
Find the blueprint you want to share.
Click Export — the game displays a long string of characters.
Copy that string and paste it anywhere — a text file, a Discord message, or a community site.

This string is the portable version of your design. It can travel outside your current blueprint library and be imported by any other player.

How to Import a Blueprint String

When you have a blueprint string from another player or a community site:

Open Q → Blueprints → Import.
Paste the blueprint string into the input field.
Click Confirm. The design is added to your save's blueprint book.
Select it and place it in your factory.

Always place an imported blueprint in open space first, not directly against your crowded factory. Inspect it, run a small amount of material through it, and verify that all machines, filters, and conveyor outputs are correct before connecting it to your main production line.

Flipping and Rotating Blueprints

If an imported blueprint faces the wrong direction, press Ctrl+H to flip it. You need to do this for each copy, but it means you are not locked into the original orientation. This is useful when fitting a tileable module into a space that runs in the opposite direction.

If you paste a blueprint in the wrong place, use Ctrl+Z to undo immediately. Cleaning up a large module block by block is exactly the kind of work blueprints are supposed to save you from.

Best Practices for Blueprint Design

Experienced players follow several principles that keep their blueprint libraries useful:

Save only proven modules. Build, run material through it, find mistakes, fix them, run again — then save. A saved mistake is worse than no blueprint at all.
Use descriptive names. "Gold Washer" or "Kinetic Press Module" tells you what the blueprint does. "Factory 1" or "Good Setup" does not.
Keep blueprints focused on one job. A small tileable module (one shaker unit, one burner section) is easier to fit into new factories than one enormous save of your entire base.
Prefer tileable designs. A module that can be placed side by side lets you scale throughput by pasting copies, rather than redesigning a larger factory from scratch.
Do not blueprint temporary builds. If you know you will demolish something after the next research unlock, leave it temporary. Only save designs you would be happy to build again.

Community Blueprint Resources: SandustryVault

SandustryVault (sandustryvault.com) is a community website for browsing, searching, and submitting Sandustry blueprints. It offers:

Search by title, description, author, or tag.
Tag filtering — click a tag to show only blueprints with that tag; click again to clear.
Sorting by Most Popular (most-copied) or Newest.
Full preview — click any card to open it with the complete description before copying.
Submissions — hit "Submit a blueprint," paste your string, and add a title, tags, and an optional screenshot link. Submissions are reviewed before going live.

Blueprint Workflow Summary

Here is the complete workflow that experienced players use:

Creating: Select with C → Ctrl+C → Q → Blueprints → Clipboard → Save as Blueprint → name it.

Exporting: Blueprints tab → find your blueprint → Export → copy the string.

Importing: Q → Blueprints → Import → paste string → Confirm → place in open space → inspect → test with material → then connect or duplicate.

The button presses are the easy part. The decision that matters is when you save. Blueprints deliver the most value when they preserve a factory problem you have already solved, not one you are still trying to understand.

Sandustry Blueprints Guide: Create & Share Factory Designs