r2modman is a free, open-source desktop mod manager for games that use Thunderstore. It installs mods and their dependencies into isolated profiles, keeps the normal Steam launch intact so you can still play vanilla, edits supported config files and starts the game modded from one button. This page gives you the current v3.2.19 files for Windows, Linux and Steam Deck, the exact install order, and the checks that tell you a mod really loaded.
Each button opens the real v3.2.19 file on the ebkr/r2modmanPlus release. Match the file name and size below before you run anything.
r2modman-Setup-3.2.19.exeDownload r2modman-3.2.19.AppImageDownload r2modman.flatpakDownload r2modman is a free, MIT-licensed desktop mod manager for games that use Thunderstore. Its package page has passed 10.4M downloads and 1,394 upvotes across 117 public releases.
Current release v3.2.19 · published August 21, 2026r2modman publishes a separate build for each desktop platform. v3.2.19 ships a Windows setup installer, an AppImage and four distribution packages (deb, rpm, pacman, tar.gz), plus a Flatpak for the Steam Deck.
Keeping the three layers separate makes installation and troubleshooting much easier.
A free, MIT-licensed desktop app for Windows and Linux, built on Electron. It reads Thunderstore, downloads packages and their dependencies, keeps each game’s mods in separate profiles, edits supported configs, checks for updates and launches the game modded. It installs into its own folder, never inside the game directory.
Inspect the open-source projectThe website and package index that r2modman reads from. Every mod has a page with its versions, README, dependency metadata, download count and upvote rating. Thunderstore is also where the r2modman package is published as ebkr/r2modman, which is why the download count and upvotes on this page come from there.
Open the package pageThe game’s mod loader, usually BepInEx, is what actually injects plugin DLLs at runtime. r2modman can only manage a game that already has a Thunderstore community and a compatible loader; it does not add loader support to games that lack it, and it is not itself a loader.
Read the setup Wikir2modman is most useful when you want repeatable, switchable game profiles rather than a single pile of installed mods.
You searched for r2modman download or how to install r2modman and need more than a file link. This page walks the game path, the profile, the loader, dependencies, Start modded and the first success check, in order.
You play a Thunderstore community such as Lethal Company, PEAK, Risk of Rain 2, ULTRAKILL or Valheim, and you need separate vanilla, multiplayer and experimental profiles you can export and restore.
You need a Linux or Steam Deck install with AppImage, deb, rpm, pacman, Flatpak, Proton, Steam library permissions, Game Mode and Desktop Mode, .forceproton and --no-sandbox guidance.
You test a local mod, compare loader versions, share a profile, or diagnose BepInEx, preloader DLL, Steam path and mods-not-working errors with evidence instead of guesswork.
Each checkpoint answers two questions: what to do next, and what evidence tells you it worked.
In Game Selection, pick the community for the game you actually own — a similarly named entry can use a different loader, folder layout or package index. Then open Steam, right-click the game, choose Manage and Browse local files, and keep that folder visible. In r2modman, open Settings → Directories and compare the two paths.
Success signal: the path in Settings → Directories is the same folder Steam opened, including the correct drive and library.Create a profile whose name states its job — Vanilla, Loader test or Baseline. A profile stores the installed packages, their versions and their enabled state; it does not store your game saves. Keep this one small so it can act as a control group: if a large modpack fails later, you can launch the loader-only profile for comparison instead of guessing.
Success signal: the new profile appears next to your others and launches with nothing installed.Open the Online tab. The package carrying the blue Pinned tag is the one its community treats as required — in most communities that is the loader pack, such as BepInEx, which nearly every other mod depends on. Install that first, then shared libraries, then the feature mod. Use Download with dependencies so required packages come along, and check the Installed tab afterward to confirm the versions. A finished download is not proof the loader started.
Success signal: Installed shows the loader and its dependency chain with versions, and nothing is missing.Use Start modded for the profile you just built. Launching the game normally through Steam gives the unmodded experience on purpose, and that is how you keep a vanilla comparison. On the first modded launch, watch for the loader console or log and test the exact in-game behaviour the author describes. If your loader produced no config files yet, launch modded once: BepInEx and similar loaders generate configs on first run.
Success signal: a loader log, an on-screen message or the documented in-game feature confirms the mod is active — not just that r2modman reported it installed.Once the baseline works, add a few related packages at a time and launch between batches. Downloaded packages are cached on disk and shared across profiles, so re-installing a version you already fetched is near-instant. Before a large change, export the profile. If the next launch fails, disable only the newest batch and try again — faster and safer than deleting everything and rebuilding from memory.
Success signal: you can name the last change that broke the launch and return to the previous working state.Record the game version, the r2modman release, the loader version, the profile name and any config values you changed. Export the profile as a code or a .r2z file so you can rebuild it later or on another machine. The export describes packages and versions: local or manually installed DLLs, extra config files and game saves are not included and need their own backup.
Success signal: you or a friend can rebuild the profile from the export plus your notes, without guessing a single version.Good mod management is controlled change: know what moved, what happens next, and how to get back to a working state.
A profile holds its own packages, versions and enabled state. Keep a Vanilla profile as your control group, a Stable profile for normal play and a Lab profile for experiments, and switch between them without touching the others.
Read the profile guideThe Online tab shows each mod’s README, download count and upvote rating, and tags the community’s required package with a blue Pinned label. Download with dependencies pulls in what the package needs, so the loader and shared libraries arrive before the feature mod.
Follow the install orderr2modman downloads its own updates while it runs and applies them when you close it. Mod versions you already fetched are cached on disk and reused across profiles, so a re-install is near-instant instead of another download.
Learn the safe update pathSettings can export a profile as a code or a .r2z file, which describes the packages and versions so a friend can rebuild your setup. Local and manually installed mods, saves and custom files are not included and need their own backup.
Understand the data boundaryr2modman is straightforward once the layers are clear. These are the decision points that prevent the most common dead ends.
Windows: r2modman-Setup-3.2.19.exe, about 157 MB. Linux: the AppImage for a portable build, or deb, rpm, pacman or tar.gz to match your distribution. Steam Deck: the Flatpak, installed from Desktop Mode. Check the size and SHA-512 in the download center before running anything.
Compare every platform and checksumNo. It can only manage a game that already has a Thunderstore community and a compatible loader. If your game is not there, there is nothing to install — and a mod page mentioning the game is not a compatibility guarantee. The manager also filters out other mod managers and a short list of excluded packages.
Browse game centersCheck four things in order: you used Start modded, Settings → Directories matches the folder Steam opens from Manage → Browse local files, the loader actually started, and the required dependencies are present. Confirm the Steam launch options box is empty. A black screen is a different fault — open Settings → Debugging and run Reset game installation, which clears the game folder and has Steam re-validate the files.
Open the diagnosis playbookExport the profile as a code and a .r2z file, copy the configs and saves you care about, and test the update in a separate Lab profile built from that export. The download cache only saves re-downloading packages: it cannot recreate a save file, a hand-edited config or a known-good set of versions.
Read the update procedureA code or .r2z export describes the packages and versions. Manually installed and locally imported mods are not installed for the recipient, and saves and custom files live elsewhere. Share those separately, and only when the mod licence allows it. For multiplayer, every client needs matching packages and versions.
Learn profile sharing limitsCompare the exact file against the SHA-512 the current release publishes in the download center, or hash it locally with the checksum verifier. Five of the eight v3.2.19 files have one. A match confirms the file is intact and is the published build; it says nothing about a third-party mod you install later.
Use the local verifierThese screens follow the path from game selection to profile maintenance. The interface can shift between releases, but the workflow and the labels stay the same.
Interface screens from the r2modman project · view the source project
Support comes from each game’s Thunderstore community and loader, and it changes as games update. These are the communities with the most active r2modman setups; more than 200 others are listed in the project changelog.
Five quick checks that make your first diagnosis easy if something goes wrong.
These cover the questions that decide whether a problem belongs to the manager, the game path, the loader, a dependency or a third-party mod.
r2modman is a free, open-source desktop mod manager for games that use Thunderstore. It downloads packages and their dependencies, keeps each game's mods in separate profiles, edits supported config files, checks for updates and starts the game modded from one button. It is not the game itself, and it is not the loader: BepInEx and similar tools do the actual plugin loading at runtime.
No. Thunderstore is the website and package index: it holds each mod's page, versions, README, dependency metadata, download count and upvote rating. r2modman is the desktop application that reads that index and keeps the local profile you launch the game with. The r2modman package itself is published on Thunderstore as ebkr/r2modman.
Windows: the Setup installer, r2modman-Setup-3.2.19.exe, about 157 MB. Linux: the AppImage is the most portable option, or choose deb, rpm, pacman or tar.gz to match your distribution. Steam Deck: the Flatpak, installed in Desktop Mode, then optionally added to Game Mode. Every format and older release is listed in the download center with its byte size, and the current release publishes SHA-512 values for five of its eight files.
There is no macOS build in the current v3.2.19 release: the published assets are Windows and Linux only. Do not try to run a Windows or Linux package on a Mac. Re-check the release assets if macOS support is added later.
For most supported PC games, yes. r2modman uses the Steam install and game directory to locate files and to hand off a modded launch. The exact requirement is game-specific, and Proton or Flatpak adds another path and permission layer on Linux.
The normal Steam launch starts the unmodded game path on purpose, so you always keep a vanilla setup. Start modded applies the selected profile and its loader handoff. If a package is installed but you launch through Steam, the game can open normally while no mod is loaded, which makes the fault look like something else.
The loader or core pack first. On the Online tab, the package carrying the blue Pinned tag is the community’s required one — usually the loader pack such as BepInEx that nearly every other mod depends on. Then add shared libraries, then the feature mod. That order gives you a clean checkpoint after each layer.
Check four layers in order: you launched with Start modded, Settings → Directories points at the Steam game folder, the loader initialised, and required dependencies are present. Also make sure the Steam launch options box is empty. Then isolate the mod in a clean profile and read the first loader exception rather than the final generic exit message.
Yes, and it is one of the main reasons to use profiles. Keep a Vanilla or Loader-only profile as a control group and a separate Stable profile for normal modded play. Use Start modded for the profile you want and the regular Steam launch when you want the unmodded path.
Yes. Open Settings → Profile → Export profile and pick As a code for a short text string, or As a file for a .r2z file. The recipient loads it on the profile selection screen with Import / Update. Note that manually installed and locally imported mods are not installed on import, and saves and custom files are not part of the export.
No. The cache stores downloaded packages locally and shares them across profiles, so a version you already fetched installs near-instantly. It cannot recover saves, hand-edited configs, local mods or a known-good combination of versions. Export the profile and copy important files before clearing the cache. To clear it, open Settings, click Data and profile folders → Browse, and remove packages from the mods/cache folder.
Separate the changes. Export Stable, import it into Lab from the profile selection screen, update the manager first, then test the loader, dependencies and feature mods in small batches. r2modman downloads its own updates while it runs and applies them once you close the app, so the app update is the easy part; the modpack is where care pays off.
Confirm the exact platform file, version, size and checksum. On Linux, run the AppImage from a terminal so you can tell apart a missing execute permission, missing libraries and an Electron sandbox error, and try --no-sandbox to identify a sandbox block. On Windows, check whether security software quarantined a file. The manager also reports spawn EACCES when Steam needs administrator rights and spawn ENOENT when the Steam directory is wrong.
The manager is MIT-licensed and open source, so its behaviour can be inspected in the repository. Every third-party mod is separate code with its own author, permissions, licence and compatibility risk. Review package documentation, avoid unknown binaries, and follow each game's anti-cheat, server and terms-of-use rules.
No. Support depends on a current Thunderstore community, a compatible loader, the game version and sometimes the platform. A page or search result that mentions a game is not a compatibility guarantee; check the game-specific center and the package README before installing.
The list is not fixed. r2modman tracks Thunderstore communities, and since version 3.2.17 it can add supported games automatically. More than 200 game titles appear by name in the project's public changelog under the games-added notes, and prominent communities include Lethal Company, Risk of Rain 2, Valheim, PEAK, ULTRAKILL, R.E.P.O., ATLYSS and Schedule I.
r2modman keeps its own application data, separate from the game. From Settings → Directories, press Browse next to Data folder to open the r2modmanPlus-local folder; profiles and the shared mods/cache live inside it. The exact path differs between Windows, native Linux packages and Flatpak, so open it from Settings rather than memorising a path.
Yes. r2modman is free and open source under the MIT licence, published by ebkr at github.com/ebkr/r2modmanPlus. There is no paid tier and no account required to download or use it; the mods themselves are downloaded from Thunderstore.
The loader's console window is usually stealing the input. When a game opens a terminal window alongside it, that window can take the controller and the game never sees it. In BepInEx this is fixed by disabling the console in the BepInEx core config. Config files are generated the first time you launch modded, so launch once before looking for them.
Yes, with limits. Settings → Profile has an Import local mod entry for a mod that is not published, or for when you cannot reach Thunderstore. A local import may not carry dependency metadata, version tracking or update checks, so note its source, loader and dependency versions yourself, and test it in a second profile, because nothing about a local file is checked against Thunderstore for you.
Your operating system, r2modman version, game version, profile name, loader version, the most recent change, the first meaningful log error and the smallest profile that reproduces the issue. Remove usernames, tokens and private paths before sharing logs.