Vintage Story mods come from the official Mod DB at mods.vintagestory.at, which listed 9,349 mods on 5 November 2026. On your server, mods live in one folder, data/Mods, and most mods are a single .zip file. This page covers how to install them, what your players need, and how to keep a modded server healthy.
The one-click way
The Mods tab on your dashboard searches the Mod DB for you. Pick a mod and click install: we choose the release built for your server's game version, and install the other mods it depends on. Removing a mod is one click too. Restart the server to load the change.
Installing a mod by hand
Each release of a mod on the Mod DB is tagged with the game versions it was made for. Pick the newest release tagged for your server's version, 1.22.x on a new server.
- Take a backup on the Backups tab.
- Stop the server.
- Download the mod's
.zipand upload it, as it is, intodata/Modswith the Files tab or SFTP. Do not extract it: the game loads the zip. - Start the server and watch the console. If it does not reach
Dedicated Server now running, the console is the first place to look.
The game also has its own console command for this, /moddb install. On version 1.22.7 the built-in installer currently errors, so use the dashboard or upload the file.
Mods that need other mods
A mod can list other mods it depends on, often a library such as Config lib or Pet AI. Pet AI's own description says it "does nothing on its own". Check the mod's page for what it depends on, and install each dependency in data/Mods too.
What your players need
Every player needs the same mods as the server, in the same versions. The Mod DB marks each mod by where it runs:
- Both (universal): the server and every player need it. This is most mods. The only exception is a mod whose author has said players can join without it.
- Server: runs on the server only. Players do not install it.
- Client: runs on a player's own game only, such as HUD Clock or Status Hud Continued. Each player can choose their own.
Players install mods the same way the game's wiki describes for single player: put the .zip into their own Mods folder, without extracting it.
| System | Players' Mods folder |
|---|---|
| Windows | %appdata%\VintagestoryData\Mods |
| Linux | ~/.config/VintagestoryData/Mods |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/VintagestoryData/Mods |
The game can open the folder for them: Mod Manager in the main menu, then Open Mods Folder. After copying the files in, they click Reload Mods or restart the game.
To share the list, the Mods tab on your dashboard shows each installed mod's exact name, version and Mod DB link. Send that to your group so everyone installs the same files.
Removing a mod
Take a backup before you remove a mod: the game's wiki lists removing a mod as one of the times to back up a save. Then stop the server, delete the mod's zip from data/Mods, and start it again. Blocks and items that came from the mod have nothing to load from any more. The game has block remapping tools, /bir, for fixing broken blocks after a mod's blocks are removed or changed, but a backup is the simple way back.
Mods and game updates
A mod is built for a game version. The game's own troubleshooting guide says to update your mods at the same time as the game, though some mods keep working. Mod authors need time to catch up: of the 200 most-downloaded mods, 72 had a release for 1.22 on the day 1.22.0 came out, 116 within a week and 150 within 30 days. See Updating your server before you update a modded server.
Mods and memory
On our test server, an idle server used about 1.2 GB of memory without mods and 2.1 GB with 16 popular mods, including Primitive Survival, Butchering and Better Ruins. A large mod list needs room. See Plans & resources.
Related
- The mods worth starting with: Best Vintage Story mods for a multiplayer server
- A player cannot join after you added mods: Players can't join