Modding:Modder Guide/APIs/Content Packs

Creating SMAPI mods

---

• Get started
• Game fundamentals
• Test & troubleshoot
• Release
• API reference

  Basic SMAPI APIs:

  • Mod structure
  • Manifest
  • Events
  • Configuration
  • Load & edit content
  • Data
  • Input
  • Logging
  • Reflection
  • Multiplayer
  • Translation
  • Update checks
  • Utilities

  Advanced SMAPI APIs:

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

• Specific guides

← Modding:Index

A content pack is a special type of mod that isn't run by SMAPI directly, but contains files your own mod can read.

Content pack format

A content pack is a folder containing a manifest.json file which specifies your mod in its ContentPackFor field (see manifest). The format beyond that is up to you to define. For example, Content Patcher requires a content.json file, but that's not validated by SMAPI itself. Instead, SMAPI provides an API you can use to read any other file you need from the content pack.

See Modding:Content packs for more info about content packs.

Content pack API

You can get a list of content packs installed for your mod, and access the files within it:

foreach(IContentPack contentPack in this.Helper.GetContentPacks())
{
   this.Monitor.Log($"Reading content pack: {contentPack.Manifest.Name} {contentPack.Manifest.Version} from {contentPack.DirectoryPath}");

    // read a JSON file
    YourDataFile data = contentPack.ReadJsonFile<YourDataFile>("content.json");

    // load an asset or image
    Texture2D image = contentPack.LoadAsset<Texture2D>("image.png");
}

If you need to pass a content pack asset name to game code, you can use its GetActualAssetKey method:

tilesheet.ImageSource = contentPack.GetActualAssetKey("image.png");

The following describes the upcoming SMAPI 2.10, and may change before release.

You can get a list of content packs installed for your mod, and access the files within it:

foreach(IContentPack contentPack in this.Helper.ContentPacks.GetOwned())
{
   this.Monitor.Log($"Reading content pack: {contentPack.Manifest.Name} {contentPack.Manifest.Version} from {contentPack.DirectoryPath}");

    // read a JSON file
    YourDataFile data = contentPack.ReadJsonFile<YourDataFile>("content.json");

    // load an asset or image
    Texture2D image = contentPack.LoadAsset<Texture2D>("image.png");
}

In specialised cases, you can create a fake content pack for a given directory path:

// create with random manifest data
IContentPack contentPack = this.Helper.ContentPack.CreateFake(
   directoryPath: Path.Combine(this.Helper.DirectoryPath, "content-pack"),
);

// create with given manifest fields
IContentPack contentPack = this.Helper.ContentPack.CreateFake(
   directoryPath: Path.Combine(this.Helper.DirectoryPath, "content-pack"),
   id: Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"),
   name: "temporary content pack",
   description: "...",
   author: "...",
   version: new SemanticVersion(1, 0, 0)
);

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