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This file provides more technical documentation about SMAPI. If you only want to use or create mods, this section isn't relevant to you; see the main README to use or create mods.
This document is about SMAPI itself; see also mod build package and web services.
You can customise some SMAPI behaviour by editing the smapi-internal/config.json
file in your
game folder. See documentation in the file for more info.
The SMAPI installer recognises three command-line arguments:
argument | purpose |
---|---|
--install |
Preselects the install action, skipping the prompt asking what the user wants to do. |
--uninstall |
Preselects the uninstall action, skipping the prompt asking what the user wants to do. |
--game-path "path" |
Specifies the full path to the folder containing the Stardew Valley executable, skipping automatic detection and any prompt to choose a path. If the path is not valid, the installer displays an error. |
--no-prompt |
Don't let the installer wait for user input (e.g. for cases where it's being run by a script). If the installer is unable to continue without user input, it'll fail instead. |
SMAPI itself recognises five arguments, but these are meant for internal use or testing, and might change without warning. On Linux/macOS, command-line arguments won't work; see environment variables below instead.
argument | purpose |
---|---|
--developer-mode --developer-mode-off |
Enable or disable features intended for mod developers. Currently this only makes TRACE -level messages appear in the console. |
--no-terminal |
SMAPI won't log anything to the console. On Linux/macOS only, this will also prevent the launch script from trying to open a terminal window. (Messages will still be written to the log file.) |
--prefer-terminal-name |
On Linux/macOS only, the terminal with which to open the SMAPI console. For example, --prefer-terminal-name=xterm to use xterm regardless of which terminal is the default one. |
--use-current-shell |
On Linux/macOS only, the launch script won't try to open a terminal window. All console output will be sent to the shell running the launch script. |
--mods-path |
The path to search for mods, if not the standard Mods folder. This can be a path relative to the game folder (like --mods-path "Mods (test)" ) or an absolute path. |
The above SMAPI arguments may not work on Linux/macOS due to the way the game launcher works. You can set temporary environment variables instead. For example:
SMAPI_MODS_PATH="Mods (multiplayer)" /path/to/StardewValley
environment variable | purpose |
---|---|
SMAPI_DEVELOPER_MODE |
Equivalent to --developer-mode and --developer-mode-off above. The value must be true or false . |
SMAPI_MODS_PATH |
Equivalent to --mods-path above. |
SMAPI_NO_TERMINAL |
Equivalent to --no-terminal above. |
$SMAPI_PREFER_TERMINAL_NAME |
Equivalent to --prefer-terminal-name above. |
SMAPI_USE_CURRENT_SHELL |
Equivalent to --use-current-shell above. |
SMAPI uses a small number of conditional compilation constants, which you can set by editing the
<DefineConstants>
element in SMAPI.csproj
. Supported constants:
flag | purpose |
---|---|
SMAPI_FOR_WINDOWS |
Whether SMAPI is being compiled for Windows; if not set, the code assumes Linux/macOS. Set automatically in common.targets . |
Using an official SMAPI release is recommended for most users, but you can compile from source
directly if needed. Just open the project in an IDE like Visual
Studio or Rider,
and build the SMAPI
project. The project will automatically adjust the build settings for your
current OS and Stardew Valley install path.
Rebuilding the solution in debug mode will copy the SMAPI files into your game folder. Starting
the SMAPI
project with debugging from Visual Studio or Rider should launch SMAPI with the
debugger attached, so you can intercept errors and step through the code being executed.
SMAPI uses a custom build of Harmony 2.2.2, which
is included in the build
folder. To use a different build, just replace 0Harmony.dll
in that
folder before compiling.
This is the unified process that works on any platform. However, it needs a few extra steps on Windows (e.g. running Steam in WSL); see 'On Windows' below for an alternative quick option.
- On Windows only:
- Install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
- Run
sudo apt update
in WSL to update the package list. - The rest of the instructions below should be run in WSL.
- Install the required software:
- Install the .NET 5 SDK.
For Ubuntu-based systems, you can runlsb_release -a
to get the Ubuntu version number. - Install Steam.
- Launch
steam
and install the game like usual. - Download and install your preferred IDE. For the latest standalone Rider
version:
wget "<download url here>" -O rider-install.tar.gz sudo tar -xzvf rider-install.tar.gz -C /opt ln -s "/opt/JetBrains Rider-<version>/bin/rider.sh" ./rider.sh
- Install the .NET 5 SDK.
- Clone the SMAPI repo:
git clone https://github.com/Pathoschild/SMAPI.git
- Run these commands to start Steam:
export TERM=xterm steam
- Launch the game through the Steam UI.
-
Run
build/unix/prepare-install-package.sh VERSION_HERE
to create the release package in the rootbin
folder.Make sure you use a semantic version. Recommended format:
build type format example dev build <version>-alpha.<date>
4.0.0-alpha.20251230
prerelease <version>-beta.<date>
4.0.0-beta.20251230
release <version>
4.0.0
This is the alternative quick process for Windows only. This avoids needing Steam installed on WSL, and can be used to create Windows-only builds without using WSL at all. See 'on any platform' above for the unified process.
- Set up Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL):
- Install WSL.
- Run
sudo apt update
in WSL to update the package list. - The rest of the instructions below should be run in WSL.
- Install the required software:
- Install the .NET 5 SDK.
- Install Stardew Valley.
- Clone the SMAPI repo:
git clone https://github.com/Pathoschild/SMAPI.git
-
Run
build/windows/prepare-install-package.ps1 VERSION_HERE
in PowerShell to create the release package folders in the rootbin
folder.Make sure you use a semantic version. Recommended format:
build type format example dev build <version>-alpha.<date>
4.0.0-alpha.20251230
prerelease <version>-beta.<date>
4.0.0-beta.20251230
release <version>
4.0.0
-
Launch WSL and run this script:
# edit to match the build created in steps 1 # In WSL, `/mnt/c/example` accesses `C:\example` on the Windows filesystem. version="4.0.0" binFolder="/mnt/e/source/_Stardew/SMAPI/bin" build/windows/finalize-install-package.sh "$version" "$binFolder"
Note: to prepare a test Windows-only build, you can pass --windows-only
in the first step and
skip the second one.
See release notes.