Modding Signs of Life

A mod can add items, creatures, buildings, plants, armor, recipes, and more. On disk, a mod is just a folder (or a zip of that folder) with a modinfo.json file. Small mods may only need a few files and some artwork. Use Lua when an item or creature needs custom behavior.

Windows copies of the game include Mod Prep. Open it from Mods → Create / Edit Mods, or run Tools/Mod Prep.bat next to the game. It creates a starter project, checks your files, and prepares a package for Steam Workshop. The game's Mods menu is what actually uploads.

Guides

• Getting started — create, check, and see your first item in-game
• Community translations — translate the game through GitHub, no programming required
• Troubleshooting — fix missing mods, images, test copies, and Steam uploads
• Mod files and folders — how a mod is arranged and what Mod Prep does
• Ambient wildlife spawns — encounter mod creatures in existing worlds
• Custom worlds — add another kind of world to the Sandbox menu
• Detailed world building — control terrain, sky, creatures, and other settings
• Lua safety and limits — what a script may and may not do

Lua programming reference

If you are writing Lua, these pages list the commands the game makes available. They are rebuilt whenever the wiki is published:

• API overview
• World · Utils · Hooks
• Types and handles — returned views, query lists, vectors, timing values, and handles passed back to the API
• Game objects: Item · Armor · Creature · Player · Structure · Flora · Projectile

For worked examples of targeting, status effects, structure interactions, networked held-item actions, and projectile controls, see Lua safety and limits.

Item stats and recipes

See the reference home page.