Modding:Installing SMAPI on Windows

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Player's guide to using mods

• Getting Started
• Troubleshooting
• Key Bindings
• Compatibility

This page explains how to install SMAPI (the tool which lets you use mods) on Windows.

See instructions for: Android • Linux • macOS • Steam Deck.

Install SMAPI

1. Run the game without SMAPI at least once (so it can do first-time setup).
2. Download the latest version of SMAPI.
3. Extract the .zip file somewhere. (Your downloads folder is fine.)
4. Double-click install on Windows.bat¹, and follow the on-screen instructions.
5. Configure your game client: see the instructions for Steam, GOG Galaxy, or Xbox app.

¹ To install manually instead, see instructions in the installer's readme.

Configure your game client

Steam

You need to launch SMAPI through Steam if you want the Steam overlay, achievements, and playtime tracking to work. (If you don't care about achievements or tracking game time, you can just launch  StardewModdingAPI.exe in your game folder to play with mods.)

Here's how to configure it:

1. Keep SMAPI's installer window open.
   (If you already closed it, just run it again. No need to uninstall first.)
2. Copy the text in the installer window that looks like this (see how to copy text):
   
   Make sure you copy the entire line, including both quotation marks " and the %command% part.
   Your final path should look something like this: "Your path here" %command%
3. In the Steam client, right-click on Stardew Valley and choose Properties:
   
4. Click the textbox under Launch Options:
   
5. Replace anything in the textbox with the text you copied from the installer.
   To paste text, click in the box and press CTRL and V.
6. This text should consist of "Your SMAPI API Filepath" %command%
   Default for most users is "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley\StardewModdingAPI.exe" %command%
   The quotes - and %command% - are both necessary, so include them!
7. From now on, just launch the game through Steam to run SMAPI with the Steam overlay and achievements.

Alternatively, you can add SMAPI as a non-Steam game if you would like separate Steam play buttons for an unmodded and modded version of the game.

To configure it this alternate way:

1. Keep SMAPI's installer window open, as in the previous method.
   (If you already closed it, just run it again. No need to uninstall first.)
2. Copy the text in the installer window as above, without the %command% portion.
3. In the Steam Client, select "Games" at the top-left of the client window, then select "Add a Non-Steam game to my library..."
4. In the menu that comes up afterwards, select "Browse..."
5. Navigate to the game's local files by pasting the text copied from the SMAPI installer in the file area above. Alternately, if you would prefer, you can navigate to your game files directly - you can find your game folder by browsing local files of Stardew Valley, but as above for most users the game's files on Steam are located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley.
6. Select StardewModdingAPI and click "open". SMAPI will be added to the list of programs to add to the Games Library. Select "Add Selected Programs" in the Steam Window you selected "Browse..." from previously, and an entry for StardewModdingAPI will be made in your Steam Library.
7. (Optional) In the Steam client, right-click on StardewModdingAPI and choose Properties. You can now change the title of StardewModdingAPI to whatever you would like in the top field - it is suggested to title it "SMAPI" or "Stardew Valley Modded" (without quotations) if you do not wish to keep the original name. (This will not alter your installation in any way, it will simply change the title of the mod client in your Steam Library.)

You can now select play on StardewModdingAPI (or its alternate title) and SMAPI will launch, preserving the original "Stardew Valley" entry in your Steam Library for use in playing the unmodded game. The Steam overlay will still be available, and Steam recognizes that Stardew Valley is being run as well, adding to your playtime. Achievements will also work as usual, as Stardew Valley is recognized by Steam as being active when SMAPI is being run.

GOG Galaxy

You need to launch SMAPI through GOG Galaxy if you want its playtime tracking to work. (If you don't care about tracking game time, you can just launch  StardewModdingAPI.exe in your game folder to play with mods.)

Here's how to configure it:

1. Open Notepad and paste in the following: start "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Stardew Valley\StardewModdingAPI.exe"
   (If your game is installed to a different folder, replace the path in the command above.)
2. Click on File and then Save As.
   
3. In the Save As window that appears: navigate to your Stardew Valley game folder, change Save as type to All Files, change the file name to start.bat, and click Save.
   
   
4. In the GOG Galaxy client, click on Stardew Valley > settings icon > Manage installation > Configure.
   
5. In the menu that appears, enable the "Custom executables / arguments" checkbox.
   
6. Click Add another executable / arguments.
   
7. Choose start.bat in the window that appears and click Open.
   
8. Enable the Default Executable radio button under the File 2 section you just added, and click OK.
   

From now on, you can launch Stardew Valley through GOG Galaxy and both the SMAPI console and game will load as expected!

Xbox app

Mods work with the Xbox app, but there's a few extra steps.

Before you install SMAPI:

1. Open the Stardew Valley section in the Xbox app.
2. Click the ... > Manage button:
   
   
3. Click the Files tab and then Browse to open your game folder:
   
   
4. Open the Stardew Valley > Content folder. You should see a lot of files with names like api-ms-win-core-*:
   
   
5. Copy the full path from the address bar at the top.

Run the SMAPI installer:

1. Run the SMAPI installer like usual, but:
   • Download the installer to somewhere that's not the game directory (like your downloads folder).
   • When it asks where to install, enter the path you copied from the previous step.

After you install SMAPI:

1. In your game folder:
   1. rename  Stardew Valley.exe to another name such as Stardew Valley original.exe;
   2. make a copy of  StardewModdingAPI.exe and name the copy  Stardew Valley.exe.

That's it! Now just launch the game through the Xbox app to play with mods. Note that when the game updates, you'll need to redo the last two sections.

Update SMAPI

Just install the new version; the installer will automatically clean up previous versions. (You don't need to configure Steam or GOG Galaxy again.)

Uninstall

1. Run run the installer again, but choose uninstall to remove SMAPI. (Not applicable for Xbox app.)
2. If you configured Steam or GOG Galaxy to launch SMAPI, undo your changes:
   • Steam: in the Steam client: right-click on Stardew Valley, choose Properties > General > Set Launch Options, and blank the launch options textbox.
   • GOG Galaxy: in the GOG Galaxy client: click on Stardew Valley, click the settings icon next to the 'Play' button, click Manage installation > Configure, and clear the Custom executables / arguments checkbox.
   • Xbox app:
   1. follow the installation steps for Xbox app to open your game folder;
   2. rename  Stardew Valley.exe to  StardewModdingAPI.exe;
   3. rename StardewModding Valley original.exe (or the name you chose when installing SMAPI) back to  Stardew Valley.exe.

(If you want to play without mods temporarily, you can just launch  Stardew Valley.exe directly or rename your Mods folder instead. Not applicable for Xbox app.)

Troubleshooting

"Oops, couldn't find the game automatically"

If you are using Game Pass, folder permissions will probably cause problems if you try this. Otherwise, if the installer shows that message, you can help it find the game folder. To do that:

1. Exit the installer.
2. Find your game folder.
3. Move the installer folder into the game folder. (Make sure you move the whole folder, not just the files inside it!)
4. Run the installer again and it should auto-detect the game folder now.

You can safely delete the installer folder when it's done.

I can't find a specific file mentioned in the guide!

Windows hides file extensions by default. To reveal them, simply tick the option in file explorer.

If using Windows 11, refer to this screenshot instead:

Issues with SMAPI or mods

See the troubleshooting page for help with issues after installation.

← Getting Started