The ULTIMATE MODDING GUIDE for GTA San Andreas! (2025 Guide)

The BEST San Andreas modding guide for beginners and pros, 10+ years of modding experience in one easy to follow guide!

Introduction

Modding San Andreas as a beginner can be difficult. There's a lot of outdated and straight up wrong information out there regarding how you should mod the beloved classic.

However, with 10+ years of experience modding San Andreas, I've decided to make the ULTIMATE MODDING GUIDE for the game.

This guide will teach you the latest and best way to mod San Andreas. You'll learn the following...

• How to prepare San Andreas for modding
  
• How to install the best and essential San Andreas mods
  
• How to install Modloader for San Andreas and learn in-depth how Modloader works
  
• How San Andreas works itself and what file types do what
  
• How to diagnose and solve San Andreas crashes
  
• Where to download San Andreas mods from
  
• Essential pro tips

If you find this guide helpful, be sure to share it with others and also give it a thumbs up.

So, get comfortable, grab a drink and prepare to mod San Andreas, the correct way.

Help & Support

If you need any help or something has changed from this guide, feel free to message me on Steam or on Bluesky. If you find this guide helpful, please consider supporting me on Patreon! <3

• Bluesky[bsky.app]
  
• Patreon[patreon.com]

Questions & Answers

What's the difference between this guide and other guides?

Other guides typically just show you how to install mods, without actually explaining how they work. So sure, by the end of most guides, you will have a modded game.

However, what happens after that when it comes to installing mods on your own? It can get quite confusing, as a lot of these other guides don't really teach you why you should install certain mods one way and other mods another way.

By the end of the ULTIMATE MODDING GUIDE for GTA San Andreas, you will be able to download any mod for San Andreas, and understand how you should install it.

You'll also learn how Modloader works in-depth, which most guides don't cover correctly, and you'll also learn how to diagnose and solve crashes yourself, which is bound to happen as you play around with mods.

Lastly, the ULTIMATE MODDING GUIDE for GTA San Andreas is also fully subtitled. So it's easy to translate for non-English speakers and it's also easier to follow for those who are hard of hearing.

Why should I follow this guide instead of using a Modpack?

Modpacks can be a quick and easy way to mod San Andreas, but if you want to install any mods after you install a Modpack, it can be a massive pain, even if you know what you're doing.

Modpacks often aren't organised optimally, and it's also common for them to use outdated mods.

If you don't know what you're doing, you generally won't know what mods are actually included in a Modpack either, and you could run into issues installing duplicate mods if you decide to start installing mods yourself.

As well as that, you generally learn nothing by installing a Modpack. They're usually just drag and drop, whereas with this guide, you'll learn all there is to know about modding San Andreas.

Episode #1 - Getting Started

In the first episode, we get ourselves ready for modding.

So we'll make sure we have the correct version of San Andreas, make sure we have our OS setup correctly to view file formats and also cover some rules to follow before starting.

Episode #2 - Installing Essentials

In this episode, we'll install the essential GTA SA mods which make the game much more playable on modern systems.

So, we'll be installing an ASI Loader, CLEO, ModLoader, SilentPatch and more in this part of the guide, as well as learning about most of them in-depth.

Episode #3 - Modloader Tutorial & Learning File Types

In this episode, we're going to install mod tools for GTA SA, including an IMG Editor and TXD Editor. We'll also make our own basic mod for San Andreas, and install it with and without Modloader so you get an idea of how Modloader works.

Throughout the guide, we're also going to cover almost all of the San Andreas file types so you know exactly what each type of file does and what mods may use them for.

Episode #4 - Installing More Mods

In this episode, we're going to install more GTA SA mods.

This will include installing texture mods such as ROSA Project Evolved and other great mods such as Project 2DFX. We'll also learn how some of these mods function and cover what their files do.

Episode #5 - Diagnosing and Solving Crashes

In this episode, we learn how to diagnose and solve GTA SA crashes, as well as ways to prevent crashes when you're installing mods.

Episode #6 - Where to Find Mods and Pro Tips

In the last episode of this modding guide for San Andreas, we're going to go over where you can download GTA SA mods, and I'll also share with you some essential pro tips you can use when modding San Andreas.

[Chud]

rockstar launcher is the only official way to get the original PC ports

[krumpato]

where do i even get gta sa in 2025 bruh

[AlphaZeroX96]

Does anyone know if it's safe to switch off 3GB after patching the exe?

[BillyBobBo]

I'm getting a crash in San Fierro giving me a message about nvd3dum.dll but no solution. Did anyone ever run into to this issue or is it some Windows 11 problem?

[Apoletestry]

Pyro18 have you tried installing NewOpcodes.cleo?

[Pyro18]

I followed everything, installed some mods, and now I can't play because of an "Error loading cleo/Newopcodes.cleo" popup

[V-Land]

Trying to figure out if cleo has an updated version for GTA-SA DE latest on steam. really just trying to get classic fun with cheats without achievements disabled.

In all honesty i would like a mod that re reenables achievements without cleo but couldnt find it

[TJGM]

The guide is to teach you how to mod, not just modding your game one way. So no.

[stefaustin.sr]

is there a before and after or side by side comparison video so i can tell if its worth it?

[g.salambassi]

Great guides, can I make a suggestion for the videos for anyone watching 1.5x speed for watching(you can thank me later)