Modding:Modder Guide/APIs/Config

Creating SMAPI mods

---

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  Basic SMAPI APIs:

  • Mod structure
  • Manifest
  • Events
  • Configuration
  • Load & edit content
  • Data
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  • Translation
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  Advanced SMAPI APIs:

  • Content packs
  • Mod console commands
  • Mod integrations
  • Harmony patching

• Specific guides

← Modding:Index

You can let users configure your mod through a standard config.json file. SMAPI will automatically create the file and take care of reading, normalising, and updating it.

Config model

Creating a config model

The config model is a C# class you create, with properties representing the settings you want to store. It can contain almost anything from a few boolean fields to a complex object graph (though you should try to keep things simple for players). Here's a simple config model:

class ModConfig
{
   public bool ExampleBoolean { get; set; }
   public int ExampleNumber { get; set; }
}

That model would be saved to config.json with this content:

{
   "ExampleBoolean": false,
   "ExampleNumber": 0
}

Default values

You can set default values in your data model:

class ModConfig
{
   public bool ExampleBoolean { get; set; } = true;
   public int ExampleNumber { get; set; } = 5;
}

...or set defaults with a constructor:

class ModConfig
{
   public bool ExampleBoolean { get; set; }
   public int ExampleNumber { get; set; }

   public ModConfig()
   {
      this.ExampleBoolean = true;
      this.ExampleNumber = 5;
   }
}

Using the config file

To read the config.json (SMAPI will create it automatically):

1. Create your config model.
2. Access the config values in your ModEntry class:

   /// <summary>The main entry point for the mod.</summary>
   public class ModEntry : Mod
   {
       /*********
       ** Properties
       *********/
       /// <summary>The mod configuration from the player.</summary>
       private ModConfig Config;
   
   
       /*********
       ** Public methods
       *********/
       /// <summary>The mod entry point, called after the mod is first loaded.</summary>
       /// <param name="helper">Provides simplified APIs for writing mods.</param>
       public override void Entry(IModHelper helper)
       {
           this.Config = this.Helper.ReadConfig<ModConfig>();
           bool exampleBool = this.Config.ExampleBoolean;
       }
   }
   

That's it! When the player launches the game, SMAPI will create the config.json file automatically if it doesn't exist yet, using the default config options you provided in your model. If you need to save some changes, you can use this.Helper.WriteConfig(this.Config).

Keybind settings

Main article: Modding:Modder Guide/APIs/Input

You can use SMAPI's SButton type directly in your config model to configure keybindings:

class ModConfig
{
   public SButton ToggleKey { get; set; } = SButton.F2;
}

The value is automatically written/parsed in the config.json file as a string:

{
   "ToggleKey": "F2"
}

The following describes the upcoming SMAPI 3.9, and may change before release.

For compatibility with split-screen (when you may have players on both keyboard and controller), you should use KeybindList instead:

class ModConfig
{
   public KeybindList ToggleKey { get; set; } = KeybindList.ForSingle(SButton.F2);
}

This is written/parsed the same way, but lets players specify multi-key or alternative bindings like "LeftShift + F2, LeftTrigger".