If you've visited this page, you're likely interested in how to install a mod for Stardew Valley. This means you’ve decided to use modifications for this game. And that’s the right choice! While Stardew Valley is already a very interesting and engaging farming simulator, mods can make it even better!

There are a huge number of different mods for the game, adding new content, functions, and features. So, let’s not delay and get directly to the instructions for installing mods for Stardew Valley!

For convenience, we will perform all actions step by step to make it easier and clearer to understand what and how to do. This will help avoid mistakes and save a lot of time.

Step 1: Download SMAPI

Mods for Stardew Valley won't work without SMAPI! The game itself cannot recognize any modifications and additions. Therefore, this library was created to enable the use of third-party mods. It stands for Stardew Modding API.

The first thing you need to do is download the Modding API. You can do this by going to the SMAPI page on Modland, the developer's official website, or any other resource. We recommend downloading from Modland or the official site!

• Go to the page - SMAPI.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the description and click the appropriate button to download (see screenshot).
• You will be redirected to the next stage of downloading. Wait 5 seconds and click "Download."

Step 2: Install SMAPI

Now that SMAPI is downloaded, it needs to be extracted. You can use any convenient archive tool for this, such as 7Zip, WinRAR, WinZip, or any other.

Extract it anywhere, but not in the game directory!

In the folder extracted from the archive, there will be 3 installation files for Windows/Linux/Mac OS, as well as an "internal" folder with all the files and a text file with instructions for manually installing SMAPI.

Below, we will detail how to install SMAPI for each operating system.

How to Install SMAPI on Windows

In the extracted folder "SMAPI version Installer," find the file "install on Windows.bat".

Double-click the left mouse button to run it. A command line will open, installing the necessary library to use mods in Stardew Valley.

If the file doesn't run, right-click on it and select "Run as Administrator" from the context menu.

A console window will open. Wait until everything is loaded as shown in the screenshot below. Once you see similar instructions, follow them. There will be 2 stages. In the first stage, select the folder where the game is installed. If you have the standard installation path, type "1" and press Enter. If the path is not the one shown in the instructions under "1," type "2," press Enter, and specify the path where the game is installed.

Next, you will proceed to the next installation step. Type "1" if you want to install SMAPI and "2" if you need to uninstall it.

If the installation is successful, you will see a message like this:

As shown in the screenshot above, the installer tells us which file to run for the installed mods to work in Stardew Valley.

Important! If you want to use mods, you need to start the game exclusively through the "StardewModdingAPI.exe" file. This file will launch Stardew Valley through the installed SMAPI library, which directly activates the mods in the game. If you start the game through the usual launch file, the mods will not work!

For convenience, you can create a shortcut on the desktop or rename the old launch file "Stardew Valley.exe" to something like "old_stardew_valley.exe" and the "StardewModdingAPI.exe" file to "Stardew Valley.exe" This simple trick will allow the existing desktop shortcut to automatically launch the modding library. However, it is better to create a separate shortcut for this API.

If you have the Steam version of the game, you also need to set a special command to launch the installed application. Here's how to do it:

• Launch Steam.
• Find Stardew Valley in your game list.
• Right-click on the game. A context menu will open, where you need to select "Properties."
• In the opened settings window, go to the "General" section.
• In the "Launch Options" field, enter the following command: "path to the root folder of the game\StardewModdingAPI.exe" %command%. Note that the quotes are mandatory!
• Done. Now you can enjoy the game with mods. We will discuss how to install them below.

The installation is now complete.

Installation for Linux/Mac OS

To install the modding library for Stardew Valley on Linux and Mac OS, the instructions are similar. You only need to run the file for the corresponding operating system, which is in the archive.

Simply run the installation file named "install on Linux.sh" as a program and follow the further instructions.

Make sure that Stardew Valley is installed; otherwise, the installer will give an error.

If the method of running the file doesn't work, you can use another, more complex but reliable method.

Do the following:

Launch the Terminal.

Navigate to the extracted folder where the necessary installation file is located. You can do this using the "cd" command and specifying the following path: "Downloads/SMAPI/4.0.8\4.0.8\installer/internal/linux" Note that the path may be different depending on the version.

Now you need to assign rights to one of the files. Execute the command in the terminal: "chmod u+x SMAPI.Installer". Pay attention to the case of the letters — it's important!

Go back a few levels in the directory hierarchy by executing the command "cd ../..". This will take you back 2 folders. Or you can execute "cd" and then again give the command - cd Downloads/SMAPI/4.0.8\4.0.8\installer/

Then you need to assign rights to the installation file and run it. Assign rights with the command - "chmod u+x install\ on\ Linux.sh". Note that in the command we use the backslash, to avoid issues with spaces in the terminal.

Finally, run the installation file with: "./install\ on\ Linux.sh".

As shown in the screenshot above, we have launched the SMAPI installer. Now follow the further instructions.

Important! Paths to files may differ! Pay attention to this. Also note that if there are spaces in file names, they need to be separated with the backslash, as shown in the screenshots above.

For Mac OS installation, simply run the installation file named "install on macOS.command" and follow the installer instructions, which are similar to those for Windows or Linux. Therefore, there is no need to describe this process multiple times. The installation script will provide hints on what to do.

Also, in the program folder, you can see a "README.txt" file. This is a manual installation guide. If the above methods didn’t work for you, you can use the instructions from this file.

However, the manual installation method is highly discouraged! Use it only if the automatic installation of Stardew Modding API fails and repeated attempts do not solve the problem.

Step 3: Install the Mod

In reality, the most challenging step is already behind us. Installing the modifications themselves is very simple and quick.

• Go to the mods section for Stardew Valley on ModLand.
• Download the mod you want to install.
• The archive will be downloaded. Extract it into the "Mods" folder located in the game directory. This folder will appear after the successful installation of Stardew Modding API!
• Done, the mod is installed!

As you can see, the process of adding modifications is very simple. The main challenge lies in installing the necessary component that will run them in the game.

Don't forget that for the mods to work, you must launch the game through StardewModdingAPI.exe!