FS25 Mod Deployment

Overview

Handles the full lifecycle of deploying FS25 mods: dev links for live editing, correct zip packaging for distribution, and modDesc.xml standards.

When to Use

• Setting up a new mod for local development
• Packaging a mod for sharing or publishing
• Creating or updating modDesc.xml
• User mentions "deploy", "package", "zip", "symlink", or "publish" in an FS25 mod context

Mods Folder by Platform

Platform	Path
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\mods\
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/FarmingSimulator2025/mods/

Game log is in the same parent directory as mods/, named log.txt.

Detect the platform and use the correct path automatically.

Dev Setup: Linking

For active development, link the mod folder into the game's mods directory. Changes are picked up immediately without copying.

macOS:

ln -s /absolute/path/to/FS25_ModName "<MODS_FOLDER>/FS25_ModName"

Windows (requires admin or Developer Mode):

mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\mods\FS25_ModName" "C:\path\to\FS25_ModName"

Packaging for Distribution

Contents must be at the root level of the zip — no nested folder.

macOS:

cd /path/to/FS25_ModName && zip -r ../FS25_ModName.zip . -x "*.DS_Store"

Windows (PowerShell):

Compress-Archive -Path "C:\path\to\FS25_ModName\*" -DestinationPath "C:\path\to\FS25_ModName.zip"

Correct	Wrong
zip root contains modDesc.xml	zip root contains FS25_ModName/modDesc.xml

Common mistake: Zipping the folder itself instead of its contents creates a nested structure. Always zip the contents, not the folder.

modDesc.xml Standards

<modDesc descVersion="106">
    <author>YOUR NAME HERE</author>
    <!-- ... -->
</modDesc>

• descVersion: 106 (current as of FS25 patch 1.5)
• author: Ask the user if not already known or configured in CLAUDE.md

Quick Reference

Task	macOS/Linux	Windows
Link mod	ln -s /path/to/mod "<MODS>/FS25_Name"	mklink /D "<MODS>\FS25_Name" "C:\path\to\mod"
Package zip	cd mod && zip -r ../FS25_Name.zip . -x "*.DS_Store"	Compress-Archive -Path "mod\*" -DestinationPath "FS25_Name.zip"
Verify zip	unzip -l FS25_Name.zip | head	Expand-Archive -Path FS25_Name.zip -ShowList (or 7zip)
Check log	tail -50 "<MODS>/../log.txt"	Get-Content "<MODS>\..\log.txt" -Tail 50
Remove link	rm "<MODS>/FS25_Name"	rmdir "<MODS>\FS25_Name"