Difference between revisions of "Mods"

Latest revision as of 18:48, 21 November 2023

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An example of the mod Mesecons.

Mods (short for modifications or modules) are user-created modifications to a game in such a way that adds to or alters the gameplay. Some larger mods may add a lot of content to the game, while other smaller mods may add more settings/customization options or tweak the gameplay in small ways. Server mods or plugins mainly give server admins more options and ease of use, and all mods for singleplayer can also be used in multiplayer.

While Minetest mods are generally safe to install as they run by default in a sandboxed environment, one should exercise caution with mods as they may modify your world data in an undesired way. A good way to protect your game from such problems is to regularily back up your world folder(s) when installing new mods.

To browse the selection of mods available for Minetest games see ContentDB.

Modpacks

A modpack (short: “MP”) is a collection of mods to group them together. Basically, a modpack is just special directory containing the actual mod directories. It's purely a logical grouping and is done mostly for convenience and to group closely-related mods together. The main difference is that they will be displayed as a openable blue text item in the minetest mod selector containing the component mods to allow granular control. Apart from that, there is nothing special about modpacks or mods inside a modpack. Individual mods in a modpack can still be enabled and disabled as if they were standalone mods.

Client-Side Mods

A Client-Side Mod (short: “CSM”) is a mod used to customize your Minetest client. Client-Side Mods can be used when connected to a Minetest server because they are loaded locally. Client-Side mods require at least Minetest 0.4.15-dev from sources, compiled after April 1st, 2017. Please note that the API is currently not stable and can change.

Finding mods

Generally, all mods you would want are available on ContentDB nowadays. They can be installed from the main menu by going to the Content tab and clicking on the Browse online content button.

For old or experimental mods, check the Mods subforum.

Installation

Starting with Mintest version 5.0.0 mods can be installed using the Content tab in the Minetest launcher.

To manually install content for Minetest see How to install content.

Creating mods

Mods are written in the scripting language Lua. The official Lua API documentation can be found at lua_api.txt or in HTML format here.

Modding tutorials

Minetest Modding Book by rubenwardy with editing by Shara.
Intro to modding on the developer wiki

Listing actual running mods

The ingame server command /mods will list the active mods of the actual running game.

Most popular mods used on public servers listed at servers.minetest.net as of April 2020

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Languages}}
+{{Languages|nocat=1}}
-<!--TOC-->
+[[File:Mesecons example.jpg|thumb|An example of the mod [https://content.minetest.net/packages/Jeija/mesecons/ Mesecons].]]
-{|align=right
+'''Mods''' (short for '''modifications''' or '''modules''') are user-created modifications to a game in such a way that adds to or alters the gameplay. Some larger mods may add a lot of content to the game, while other smaller mods may add more settings/customization options or tweak the gameplay in small ways. [[Server]] mods or plugins mainly give server admins more options and ease of use, and all mods for singleplayer can also be used in multiplayer.
- | __TOC__
- |}
+While Minetest mods are generally safe to install as they run by default in a sandboxed environment, one should exercise caution with mods as they may modify your world data in an undesired way. A good way to protect your game from such problems is to regularily [[Backup Solutions|back up]] your world folder(s) when installing new mods.
-<!--========================================================================================-->
+To browse the selection of mods available for Minetest games see [https://content.minetest.net/packages/?type=mod ContentDB].
-= Mods =
+__TOC__
-<div style="float: left; width: 80%">
+== Modpacks ==
+A modpack (short: “MP”) is a collection of mods to group them together. Basically, a modpack is just special directory containing the actual mod directories. It's purely a logical grouping and is done mostly for convenience and to group closely-related mods together. The main difference is that they will be displayed as a openable blue text item in the minetest mod selector containing the component mods to allow granular control. Apart from that, there is nothing special about modpacks or mods inside a modpack. Individual mods in a modpack can still be enabled and disabled as if they were standalone mods.
-[[File:Mesecons example.jpg|thumb|An example of a mod (here: Mesecons).]]
+== Client-Side Mods ==
+A Client-Side Mod (short: “CSM”) is a mod used to customize your Minetest client. Client-Side Mods can be used when connected to a Minetest server because they are loaded locally. Client-Side mods require at least Minetest 0.4.15-dev from sources, compiled after April 1st, 2017. Please note that the API is currently not stable and can change.
-'''Mods''' (short for '''modifications''' or '''modules''') are user-created modifications to the game in such a way that adds to or alters the gameplay.
+== Finding mods ==
+Generally, all mods you would want are available on [https://content.minetest.net ContentDB] nowadays. They can be installed from the main menu by going to the <i>Content</i> tab and clicking on the <i>Browse online content</i> button.
-Some larger mods may add a lot of content to the game, while other smaller mods may add more settings/customization options, or optimize the speed, gameplay, or graphics of Minetest.
+For old or experimental mods, check the [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?f=46 Mods] subforum.
-[[Server]] mods or plugins mainly give server admins more options and ease of use, and all mods for single-player can also be used in multiplayer.
+== Installation ==
-</div>
+Starting with Mintest version 5.0.0 mods can be installed using the <i>Content</i> tab in the Minetest launcher.
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<div width: 100%">
+To manually install content for Minetest see [https://content.minetest.net/help/installing/ How to install content].
-While Minetest mods are generally safe to install, one should exercise caution with mods to prevent crashes, system instability, deletion of game/save data, or potential malware infections from a bad link or the mod itself.
-A good way to protect your game from such problems is to back up your Minetest folder if you choose to use mods.
+== Creating mods ==
+Mods are written in the scripting language [https://www.lua.org/ Lua]. The official Lua API documentation can be found at [https://github.com/minetest/minetest/blob/master/doc/lua_api.txt lua_api.txt] or in HTML format [https://minetest.gitlab.io/minetest/ here].
-There are many mods or plugins available to complement the original [[Games/Minetest Game|Minetest game]] or give server admins more options and control over their servers.
+=== Modding tutorials ===
-</div>
+* [https://rubenwardy.com/minetest_modding_book/en/index.html Minetest Modding Book] by [https://rubenwardy.com/ rubenwardy] with editing by [https://forum.minetest.net/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=19807 Shara].
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
+* [https://dev.minetest.net/Modding_Intro Intro to modding on the developer wiki]
-<!--========================================================================================-->
-= Modpacks =
-<div style=" width: 100%">
-A modpack (short: “MP”) is a collection of mods to group them together. Basically, a modpack is just special directory containing the actual mod directories.
-It's purely a logical grouping and is done mostly for convenience and to group closely-related mods together. The main difference is that they will be displayed differently in the mod manager in Minetest.
-Apart from that, there is nothing special about modpacks or mods inside a modpack. Individual mods in a modpack can still be enabled and disabled as if they were standalone mods.
-</div>
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<!--========================================================================================-->
-= Client-Side Mods =
-<div style=" width: 100%">
-A Client-Side Mod (short: “CSM”) is a mod used to customize your Minetest client. Client-Side Mods can be used when connected to a Minetest server because they are loaded locally.
-Client-Side mods require at least Minetest 0.4.15-dev from sources, compiled after April 1st, 2017.
-Please note API is currently not stable and can change.
-</div>
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<!--========================================================================================-->
-= Installation =
-<div style=" width: 100%">
-''See also [[Help:Installing Mods|Installing Mods]] and [[Help:Installing Client-Side Mods|Installing Client-Side Mods]].''
-</div>
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<!--========================================================================================-->
-= Finding mods =
-== Official sources ==
-'''Preferred: [[Content DB]].''' Click on the “Content” tab in-game to find mods.
-* [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?f=11 “Mod Releases” subforum]
-* [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?f=9 “WIP Mods” subforum] (For mods that are not quite finished. Here be dragons!)
-* [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?f=53 “Client-side modding” subforum] (Only for client-side mods)
-* [http://www.minetest.net/customize/#mods Mods listed on minetest.net] (This list is not very up-to-date)
-== Unofficial sources ==
-Unofficial resources for mods are:
-* [http://krock-works.uk.to/minetest/modSearch.php Minetest Mod Search]
-* [[Minetest Bower]]
-= Creating mods =
-<div style=" width: 100%">
-Mods are created in [https://www.lua.org/ Lua], a relativiely simple scripting/programming language. They can be created by anyone who is able to code in Lua and understands Minetest's Lua API.
-The official Lua API documentation can be viewed in [https://github.com/minetest/minetest/blob/master/doc/lua_api.txt lua_api.txt].
-Other important learning resources:
-* [http://rubenwardy.com/minetest_modding_book/ Minetest Modding Online Tutorial Book] (Highly recommended)
-* [http://dev.minetest.net/Intro Intro to modding] (on the developer wiki)
-</div>
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<!--========================================================================================-->
-= Listing server mods =
-<div style=" width: 100%">
-If you’re on a [[server]], you can issue the [[Server commands|server command]] <code>/mods</code> to query the server to tell you the list of its installed mods.
-[[File:Modsonservers.png|1000px|big|middle|Most popular mods used on public servers listed at [http://servers.minetest.net/ servers.minetest.net] as of September 9th, 2019]]
-</div>
-<div style="clear: both"></div>
+== Listing actual running mods ==
+The ingame [[Server commands|server command]] <i>/mods</i> will list the active mods of the actual running game.
+[[File:Modsonservers.png|thumb|right|Most popular mods used on public servers listed at [https://servers.minetest.net servers.minetest.net] as of April 2020]]
+{{clear}}
 [[Category:Mods]]
+[[Category:Languages pages]]