# Publish Mod

Package and release a finished game mod.

- Repository: https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder (9317 stars)
- Category: Git and review
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add rehan-remade/universal-modder --skill publish-mod -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add rehan-remade/universal-modder --skill publish-mod -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add rehan-remade/universal-modder --skill publish-mod -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add rehan-remade/universal-modder --skill publish-mod -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add rehan-remade/universal-modder`

## Description

Package and release a finished game mod. Covers the pre-release lint (no game files, decompiled code or leaked keys), README and install steps, credits and AI disclosure, versioning, where to upload (Nexus Mods, Steam Workshop, Thunderstore, mod.io, GitHub releases), and the post with a video. Use when the user wants to ship, share, upload, release or post a mod.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Publish a mod

## 1. Lint
```bash
um publish check ./MyMod --game "<game install folder>"
```
- **FAIL:** files byte-identical to game files, leaked keys (fal/Anthropic/OpenAI/GitHub/AWS), `.env` files.
- **WARN:** decompiler fingerprints in source (`FUN_`/`DAT_`/`sub_` names, "Decompiled with" headers), large
  engine archives, absolute user paths, a missing README, fal assets without credit.

Fix every FAIL. Resolve each WARN deliberately. For example, AoE2 data mods do ship a modified `.dat`, which
is the platform's norm.

## 2. Package the way the platform expects

| Platform / loader | Package |
|---|---|
| tModLoader | Build → `.tmod`; publish from the in-game Mod Sources menu (Steam Workshop) |
| BepInEx / Thunderstore | zip with `manifest.json`, `icon.png` (256×256), `README.md`, `plugins/<Mod>.dll`; dependency strings like `BepInEx-BepInExPack-5.4.2100` |
| Nexus Mods | zip laid out as it installs (`Data/...` for Bethesda, `BepInEx/plugins/...`, `ue4ss/Mods/...`, `~mods/*.pak`) |
| AoE2 DE | the official mod site (ageofempires.com/mods) or the in-game uploader; data mods include `resources/_common/dat/...` |
| Steam Workshop | the game's own uploader or SDK tool |
| Minecraft | Modrinth / CurseForge jar with `fabric.mod.json` / `neoforge.mods.toml` |
| ROM hacks / GameMaker | patches only (BPS/IPS/xdelta), never the modified game file |

A Nexus mod with options gets a FOMOD installer: see the
[FOMOD tutorial](https://fomod-docs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html) and
[STEP's FOMOD guide](https://stepmodifications.org/wiki/Guide:FOMOD). Nexus Mods' own
[modding wiki](https://modding.wiki/en/home) covers the rest of their site's conventions.

The rest: https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/publish-mod/SKILL.md