Modding:Player Guide

Do you want to play Stardew Valley with mods? This page is for you!

Intro

What are mods?

A mod is just a package of files which changes Stardew Valley in some way. Mods can add features (like showing NPCs on the map), change game mechanics (like making fences decay more slowly), make cosmetic changes (like making your house look like a hobbit home), and more.

There are three types of mods:

• SMAPI mods use SMAPI (the Stardew Valley mod loader) to run code within the game. These mods are powerful and convenient. After installing SMAPI, you can install mods by dropping them into a folder and uninstall them by deleting their folder. You can use multiple SMAPI mods, and they'll rarely conflict.
• SMAPI content packs are loaded by a SMAPI mod. As a player, you can just install them the same way as SMAPI mods.
• XNB mods are discouraged and not documented here (see using XNB mods).

What is SMAPI?

SMAPI is the mod loader for Stardew Valley — it launches the game with mod support and lets mods interact directly with the game code. It's safely installed alongside your normal game, and you can uninstall it anytime.

Can I use mods on Linux, Mac, Windows, or consoles?

Mod support for each platform:

Platform	Mod support
Linux	✓ fully supported
Mac	✓ fully supported
Windows	✓ fully supported
Nintendo Switch	✖ no mod support
PS4	✖ no mod support
XBox One	✖ no mod support

Almost all mods will work on any supported platform, since SMAPI rewrites them for compatibility.

Can mods corrupt my save?

Yes, but it's extremely rare. Only a few mods affect your save file at all (including GetDressed, Makeshift Multiplayer, and Save Anywhere). If you avoid those, mods are very unlikely to corrupt your save file. If you're worried, just back up your save files occasionally. That's strongly recommended even if you don't use mods, since save corruption is almost always caused by the game itself.

In most cases, you can fix save corruption by undoing the last save.

Can I stop using mods later?

Yep. With a few exceptions (see previous question), mods don't directly affect your save file so you can stop using them anytime.

Do mods disable Steam achievements?

Steam achievements work fine, as long as you launch SMAPI through Steam. Make sure you follow the install instructions to configure Steam on Windows (no Steam changes needed on Linux or Mac). If the Steam overlay works, the achievements should work too.

Finding the game files

Save files

See Saves.

Game folder

See Modding:Player Guide/Getting Started#Find your game folder.

SMAPI log

The SMAPI log has useful info for troubleshooting problems (like your versions, mods, game path, errors, etc).

Here's how to share it:

1. Find the log file here:

   Platform	Path
   Windows	%appdata%\StardewValley\ErrorLogs\SMAPI-latest.txt (Paste "%appdata%" into the address bar, Windows knows where it is.)
   Linux	~/.config/StardewValley/ErrorLogs/SMAPI-latest.txt (The folder is hidden by default. From Files, click Go » Enter Location and enter "~/.config".)
   Mac	~/.config/StardewValley/ErrorLogs/SMAPI-latest.txt (The folder is hidden by default. From Finder, click Go » Go to Folder and enter "~/.config".)

2. Upload the file to log.smapi.io and share the link.