How to install Thunderstore mods with r2modman

Pick the game community first

The Online tab reads Thunderstore live, so a package only appears if the game you selected has its own Thunderstore community. Confirm the community matches the game build you actually play, then check the package name in Author-PackageName form. Each card lists the loader requirement, target game version, dependency metadata and a View on Thunderstore link that opens the mod page in your browser. A package built for a different community can download and install cleanly and still do nothing, because the loader that reads it belongs to another game.

Read the card before you download

Expanding a card shows the description, a download icon with a count, and a thumbs-up rating, so you can judge a package before it touches your profile. A blue Pinned tag on the row marks the package its community treats as required, usually the loader pack such as BepInEx that nearly every other mod needs. A tick beside the row means the package is already installed in the active profile. Counts come from Thunderstore when the list loads, which is why a figure can look stale: download counts in the interface only refresh after you restart the manager.

Choose a version deliberately

Clicking Download opens a version selector before anything is written into the profile. The newest release is the usual choice, but for a shared pack the exact version is the thing that has to match, not just the package name. Note the version you install so you can compare it with other players later. Authors sometimes keep older releases for a reason, such as a build that targets an earlier game patch or one that avoided a dependency that later broke. Read the release notes for the version you pick instead of assuming newer is always safer.

Install the loader before any feature mod

The package carrying the blue Pinned tag on the Online tab is, for most communities, the loader pack — BepInEx or its community build. The tag means Thunderstore’s community flagged that package as required; the loader is what loads plugin DLLs at runtime while the manager only places files. If a game has no Thunderstore community and no compatible loader, r2modman cannot manage it at all. Launch once with only the loader installed and confirm the modded runtime starts. That single step separates a broken loader from a broken mod in a fraction of the time a full pack reinstall costs, and the loader-only profile becomes the reference point for every later comparison.

• Pinned essentials first: the loader pack every plugin depends on, carrying the blue Pinned tag on the Online tab.
• Dependencies second: shared libraries that plugins call at runtime.
• Feature mods last: one visible behaviour to verify per launch.

Use Download with dependencies

The Download with dependencies action pulls the required dependency tree along with the package you selected, which is why one click can add four or five rows to the Installed tab. Optional dependencies are not included, and neither are packages a README tells you to add by hand. Expand each new row and check that the name and version look right, because the Installed tab is the record of what actually landed rather than what you meant to install. If a dependency fails to resolve, search for its full Author-PackageName in the Online tab and install it before the mod that needs it.

Launch with Start modded and verify

Start modded applies the selected profile and performs the loader handoff, so the game receives a modded environment. Launching the game normally through Steam gives the unmodded experience by design, which is what keeps a vanilla install usable at any time. After launching, look for concrete evidence: a loader console, a version banner, or the exact behaviour the README describes. A tick in the Installed tab only proves the manager wrote files into the profile; it says nothing about whether the game loaded them. When nothing appears, the loader and its configuration are the first places to look.

Keep multiplayer sessions aligned

Multiplayer usually requires every client to run the same packages at the same versions, and server or anti-cheat rules still apply on top of that. Share the profile rather than a list of names, and have each player launch it once before the session. One package, DekuDesu-BetterHud, is listed as known incompatible, and the manager filters out other mod managers plus a short exclusion list, so a package that seems to be missing may be deliberately hidden rather than broken. Before playing, compare the Installed lists of two players; the usual mismatch is one client on a different version of a shared dependency.