Two-Way Inserter
Make inserters useful in both directions.
Normally, an inserter carries items from A to B and returns empty.
With Two-Way Inserter enabled, it can use that return trip to carry another item from B back to A.
Forward: A -> B
Reverse: A <- B
The original placement direction always remains the Forward / primary direction.
Reverse transport is used when something useful can be carried back.
Features
- Adds Two-Way mode to existing inserters
- No separate inserter item or prototype required
- Uses both the forward and return trip for item transport
-
Forward and Reverse can have separate:
-
Filters
- Filter modes
- Stack size overrides
- Pickup/drop positions
- Periodically checks Reverse when Forward transport is idle
- Works with assembling machines, chests, belts, and other entities that normal inserters can interact with
- Supports compatible modded inserters
- Optional integration with Smart Inserters
Example
A single inserter can supply ingredients to a machine and bring its products back:
Chest
|
| Iron plates
v
Inserter
^
| Iron gears
|
Assembler
Instead of requiring one inserter for input and another for output, one inserter can perform both jobs.
Configuration
Open an inserter and enable Two-Way mode.
Use Edit: Forward / Reverse to select which direction you want to configure.
The normal Factorio inserter GUI is then used to edit the selected profile.
For example:
Forward:
Whitelist iron plates
Reverse:
Blacklist iron plates
This allows the inserter to feed iron plates into a machine without immediately carrying them back out.
Forward and Reverse profiles
The original placement direction is always treated as Forward.
Forward: A -> B
Reverse: B -> A
Forward has priority.
After a successful Forward transfer, the inserter checks whether it can carry something back during the return trip.
If Forward transport is idle, the inserter periodically checks whether Reverse transport is possible.
Factorio's normal inserter logic still decides whether an item can actually be picked up or inserted. Two-Way Inserter does not try to interpret recipes, ingredients, products, or machine inventories itself.
Smart Inserters compatibility
Smart Inserters is supported as an optional compatibility mod.
When Smart Inserters is installed, pickup and drop positions can be configured independently for the Forward and Reverse profiles using Smart Inserters' existing controls.
For example:
Forward:
A outer belt lane -> B inner belt lane
Reverse:
B outer belt lane -> A inner belt lane
Smart Inserters is not required.
Inserter rotation
Rotating a Two-Way Inserter rotates the entire configuration.
Forward remains the primary direction, while the Reverse profile rotates together with it.
Custom Forward and Reverse pickup/drop positions are preserved relative to the inserter when rotated.
Compatibility
Two-Way Inserter is designed to work with existing entities whose prototype type is inserter, including compatible inserters added by other mods.
It does not create separate Two-Way versions of every inserter.
Because modded inserters can implement unusual behavior, compatibility with every custom inserter cannot be guaranteed.
Current limitations
Two-Way-specific settings are currently not preserved through blueprints or entity-settings copy/paste.
Dedicated blueprint support may be added later if there is enough practical demand.
Requirements
- Factorio 2.0
- Base game
- Smart Inserters — optional
Feedback and bug reports
Bug reports and compatibility reports are welcome on GitHub: