Craftingstation

Based on game build 7140014 | Last updated: 2026-03-03

Overview

CraftingStation manages the list of items and recipes known to a crafting entity (e.g., a workbench or forge). It stores learned items and their corresponding recipes, tracks per-recipe crafting limits, and handles serialization for save/load. When a recipe reaches its crafting limit and is crafted again, it automatically forgets the recipe and triggers technology tree evaluation on the doer(s) via the builder component.

Usage example

local inst = CreateEntity()
inst:AddComponent("craftingstation")

inst.components.craftingstation:LearnItem("carving_knife", "carving_knife_recipe")
inst.components.craftingstation:SetRecipeCraftingLimit("carving_knife_recipe", 1)

-- Craft the recipe once (reaches limit and is forgotten)
inst.components.craftingstation:RecipeCraftingLimit({char = true}, "carving_knife_recipe")

Dependencies & tags

Components used: builder — accessed via doer.components.builder:EvaluateTechTrees() when a recipe with a crafting limit expires. Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
items	table (array of strings)	{}	List of item names known by this station.
recipes	table (array of strings)	{}	List of recipe names known, aligned 1:1 with items.
recipecraftinglimit	table (string → number)	{}	Maps recipe names to remaining allowed crafts.
nosave	boolean or nil	false	If true, save/load data is bypassed; internal use only.

Main functions

LearnItem(itemname, recipetouse)

• Description: Adds a new item and its corresponding recipe to the learned list if not already known.
• Parameters:
  itemname (string) — name of the item to learn.
  recipetouse (string) — name of the associated recipe.
• Returns: Nothing.

KnowsItem(itemname)

• Description: Checks whether the station has learned a specific item.
• Parameters:
  itemname (string) — item name to check.
• Returns: true if known, otherwise false.

KnowsRecipe(recipename)

• Description: Checks whether the station has learned a specific recipe.
• Parameters:
  recipename (string) — recipe name to check.
• Returns: true if known, otherwise false.

GetItems()

• Description: Returns the full list of learned item names.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: table (array of strings) — list of item names.

GetRecipes()

• Description: Returns the full list of learned recipe names.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: table (array of strings) — list of recipe names.

GetRecipeCraftingLimit(recipename)

• Description: Returns the remaining crafting limit for a recipe.
• Parameters:
  recipename (string) — recipe name.
• Returns: number or nil — remaining allowed crafts, or nil if unlimited.

SetRecipeCraftingLimit(recipename, amount)

• Description: Sets the maximum number of times a recipe may be crafted.
• Parameters:
  recipename (string) — recipe name.
  amount (number) — non-negative limit; a value of 0 effectively disables crafting.
• Returns: Nothing.

RecipeCrafted(doers, recipename)

• Description: Decrements the crafting limit for the given recipe. If the limit reaches 0, forgets the recipe and calls EvaluateTechTrees on each doer’s builder component.
• Parameters:
  doers (table) — map (usually {[entity] = true}) of entities performing the craft.
  recipename (string) — recipe being crafted.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: If recipename is not in recipecraftinglimit, no action is taken.

ForgetItem(itemname)

• Description: Removes a specific item and its corresponding recipe from all tracking tables.
• Parameters:
  itemname (string) — item to forget.
• Returns: Nothing.

ForgetRecipe(recipename)

• Description: Removes a specific recipe (and its corresponding item) from all tracking tables.
• Parameters:
  recipename (string) — recipe to forget.
• Returns: Nothing.

ForgetAllItems()

• Description: Clears all learned items, recipes, and recipe limits.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnSave()

• Description: Returns serializable state for saving, or nil if nosave is true.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: table or nil — state with keys items, recipes, and recipecraftinglimit.

OnLoad(data)

• Description: Restores saved state. Validates that items and recipes arrays are same length; if not, clears all data.
• Parameters:
  data (table) — state returned from a prior OnSave() call.
• Returns: Nothing.

Events & listeners

None identified.