Mods on Mac?

[fluong]

The Early Access version of the game had a modsettings text file you could edit to activate a mod. That is no longer the case with the full release. The Mods folder is still in your Documents folder, but I tried to place a cosmetic mod there. The mod doesn't load. Has anyone tried to install a mod and succeeded?

[IvoryTemplar]

You should probably ask the forum on whatever mod site you used since the only people who post about mods here are people who complain about breaking their game because they don't know how to use them.

[mkinfrared]

I created a simple mod manager for mac. Check it out https://github.com/mkinfrared/baldurs-gate3-mod-manager

[アンジェル]

For those who do prefer it manually

Originally posted by Dmitriy6081:

This is how I install mods on the Mac version. May change in the future. I included attachments as examples. Make a backup of your Larian Studios folder inside of Documents (Local) beforehand.

Works with simple pak files. Advanced mods requiring dll files or dependencies will not work since the game is fundamentally different.

1. Download and extract your mod
2. Open the info.json file inside the mod folder with Visual Studio Code (or similar) and take note of 3 values: Name, Folder, and UUID. (See 1.png)
3. Go to Documents (Local) > Larian Studios > Baldur's Gate 3 > PlayerProfiles > Public and open modsettings.lsx with Visual Studio Code (or similar)
4. Create a new ModuleShortDesc node in the Mods node and paste it under the GustavDev node (See 2.png)
5. Change the Folder, Name, and UUID values to the values of your mod and leave the Version64 value blank (See 3.png)
6. After you’ve saved your changes use Get Info on the modsettings.lsx file and check Locked (See 4.png)
7. Go to Documents (Local) > Larian Studios > Baldur's Gate 3 > Mods (Create the folder if it doesn’t exist)
8. Move your pak file from the mod you downloaded into this folder (See 5.png)
9. Play the game

I used The Debug Book[www.nexusmods.com] mod as an example.

You’ll need to unlock your modsettings.lsx whenever your want to make changes in the future. It has to be locked or it will be overwritten when the game sees a data mismatch.

Notes
ModOrder doesn’t matter. MD5 and Version64 in the ModuleShortDesc nodes can be left blank.

Mac version is Apple silicon native and uses Metal but still needs work. Seems like the GOG Mac version is the least good experience out there. Simple version of Larian Launcher. GOG Galaxy overlay, cloud saves, and achievements don’t work. Might be an issue with macOS Sonoma though, but that’s my experience.

You could use Parallels Desktop and play the game in Windows 11 if you have the overhead. Everything worked for me there using DirectX 11.

Tested on
Baldur’s Gate 3 v4.1.1.3732833
Larian Launcher v1.0.00
GOG Galaxy v2.0.71 (2)
macOS Sonoma 14.0 (23A344)

[fluong]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

For those who do prefer it manually

Originally posted by Dmitriy6081:

This is how I install mods on the Mac version. May change in the future. I included attachments as examples. Make a backup of your Larian Studios folder inside of Documents (Local) beforehand.

Works with simple pak files. Advanced mods requiring dll files or dependencies will not work since the game is fundamentally different.

1. Download and extract your mod
2. Open the info.json file inside the mod folder with Visual Studio Code (or similar) and take note of 3 values: Name, Folder, and UUID. (See 1.png)
3. Go to Documents (Local) > Larian Studios > Baldur's Gate 3 > PlayerProfiles > Public and open modsettings.lsx with Visual Studio Code (or similar)
4. Create a new ModuleShortDesc node in the Mods node and paste it under the GustavDev node (See 2.png)
5. Change the Folder, Name, and UUID values to the values of your mod and leave the Version64 value blank (See 3.png)
6. After you’ve saved your changes use Get Info on the modsettings.lsx file and check Locked (See 4.png)
7. Go to Documents (Local) > Larian Studios > Baldur's Gate 3 > Mods (Create the folder if it doesn’t exist)
8. Move your pak file from the mod you downloaded into this folder (See 5.png)
9. Play the game

I used The Debug Book[www.nexusmods.com] mod as an example.

You’ll need to unlock your modsettings.lsx whenever your want to make changes in the future. It has to be locked or it will be overwritten when the game sees a data mismatch.

Notes
ModOrder doesn’t matter. MD5 and Version64 in the ModuleShortDesc nodes can be left blank.

Mac version is Apple silicon native and uses Metal but still needs work. Seems like the GOG Mac version is the least good experience out there. Simple version of Larian Launcher. GOG Galaxy overlay, cloud saves, and achievements don’t work. Might be an issue with macOS Sonoma though, but that’s my experience.

You could use Parallels Desktop and play the game in Windows 11 if you have the overhead. Everything worked for me there using DirectX 11.

Tested on
Baldur’s Gate 3 v4.1.1.3732833
Larian Launcher v1.0.00
GOG Galaxy v2.0.71 (2)
macOS Sonoma 14.0 (23A344)

For what it's worth, you can also open modsettings.lsx with TextEdit

[Shadow (Team Morale Manager)]

Originally posted by mkinfrared:

I created a simple mod manager for mac. Check it out https://github.com/mkinfrared/baldurs-gate3-mod-manager

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