mod.json File

A central file that tells mod loader what to do

Introduction

The mod.json file is the central file that tells mod loaders like OneLoader which files to load, and some data about the mod, like its name and description. It's vaguely inspired by package.json, but only in terms of role, and less in terms of content structure.

Structure

To describe the structure of a JSON file for a specific purpose, JSON schemas are used. You can find the current (at the time of writing) JSON schema for OneLoader mod.json files here: https://rph.space/oneloader.manifestv1.schema.json

This schema can be used for validating the structure of a mod.json file through Node.js, but also through your editor, and to get auto-completion (linting/hinting) as well. For VSCode (and maybe other editors too), all you need to do is start your mod.json like this:

{
  "$schema": "https://rph.space/oneloader.manifestv1.schema.json"
}

Your editor should then download the schema and give you hints about which fields the JSON file has.

Individual Fields

manifestVersion

Describes which version of OneLoader schema this mod.json is supposed to be compatible with. If you set the $schema field as described above, it's version should match up with this one. This field's purpose is to be able to tell OneLoader which version of the schema it is, since $schema is a special field that shouldn't be processed by code for this kind of validation. At the time of writing, this value should be 1.

id

The id is a unique identifier for every OMORI mod. It's used by OneLoader to allow users to prioritize one mod over another mod when there's a conflict, among other things. It's important that this string is unique (among the mods on mods.one) for OneLoader to operate properly with multiple mods.

name

The name field is an arbitrary string you can choose that will be displayed in OneLoader's menu for managing mods. No special care needs to be taken considering name collisions, but using a proper name will make it easier for users of your mod :)

description

The description is also arbitrary, and will also be displayed in OneLoader's mod menu.

version

The version is also arbitrary, but it's highly recommended to use something along the lines of “v1.0” for versioning. In software development, semver is a popular principle to use for naming versions.

files

The files property is an object of fields that each contain an array of strings, which represent either individual files, or directories.