Quickstart

This page takes you from nothing to a packaged mod that is ready to upload. You make a Lua script mod, check it, run it in a scenario, package it and preview its Workshop upload. Each command block marked  runs in a test, so the steps here work as written.

You need the game’s ModSDK folder. Its bin folder holds uptime-mod. Run the commands below from a folder you can write to. The uptime-mod command explains every flag.

1. Make a mod

uptime-mod new --template lua --id com.example.first-mod first-mod

This makes the folder first-mod with a manifest and two Lua files. It is a working autoscaler that accepts prospects and buys a host when capacity runs low.

2. Validate it

uptime-mod validate first-mod

The command checks the pack the way the game does. A clean pack prints ok: and a hash. Any problem prints the file, the field and the rule, and the exit code is 1.

3. Run it

uptime-mod run first-mod --scenario garage-to-glory --quanta 200

The command plays your mod in a scenario for 200 quanta, which is 50 minutes of sim time. It prints one JSON line for each command your mod landed. If it cannot find the game’s runner, pass --runner or set UPTIME_RUNNER.

4. Package it

uptime-mod package first-mod --out dist

The command writes dist/com.example.first-mod-1.0.0/, the folder you share. It also prints the pack hash.

To try the pack in the game, copy dist/<id>-<version>/ into your mods folder. For this mod, that is dist/com.example.first-mod-1.0.0/. Where the mods folder is gives the path on each system.

5. Preview the upload

uptime-mod upload first-mod --dry-run

The command packages the mod again, then prints what it would send to the Steam Workshop: the pack id and version, the hash, the title, the tags and the visibility. A first upload is private. It ends with dry run: nothing was sent to the Workshop, and it writes nothing into your folder. Drop --dry-run to upload for real, with Steam running and signed in to an account that owns Uptime. Workshop covers visibility, updates and what players see.

What next

Lua mods and Rust mods cover each language.
Script mods covers what every script mod shares.
Panels and Config add screens and settings.
Content packs add hardware, scenarios, customers and text with no code, and Equipment models gives a new host or switch its own 3D model.
Workshop covers sharing a mod, and Multiplayer covers what other players need to join a world that uses it.

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